Changes in environmental forces drive mold growth

Real Estate Weekly, May 5, 2004 by Don Erwin

Once we rely on these wonder materials and technologies to perform building functions rather than relying on the architectural elements they replaced, the next logical step is to entirely remove the functional role once played by the architectural elements. Architectural elements without functions are, by definition, ornaments. They have no function except to please the eye. They no longer have an inherent context in which they must exist, and therefore can be applied anywhere where it pleases the eye.

The same holds true for architectural styles. Once, styles were specific to a certain place. But the ornaments that identify the style have had their functional role removed, so now styles can be used anywhere. It is not unusual, and in fact it is the norm, to find buildings of all styles from all historical periods and different environments plunked down cheek-by-jowl in the same development. There are cultured-stone Italianate villas next to brick-veneered Tudor homes; vinyl-sided carpenter gothic bungalows next to Styrofoam adobes. Functional ornamentation and style, once the result of necessity, have become options.

So what? It has made us lazy. It is relatively hard and expensive to build buildings which function well without the high-tech bandages that we now rely on. Easier and cheaper to rely on sealant, and just make the building look like we want it to. But the pretty trim on the front of a house or the stone watercourse at the base of a building was there to function, not simply to please the eye. And very often the function of the elements was to prevent the introduction of water into the building. Pitched roofs, clapboard siding, deep overhangs, elaborate window trim, and other devices that delight designers today all evolved to keep the interior dry. Dry houses and dry buildings don't grow mold.

Once architectural elements lost their functionality, the understanding of how and why they functioned was lost. Architects and builders were freed of the requirement that they understand how buildings function, and were free to simply decide how buildings look.

Many Architects have become designers of pictures of architecture, not designers of Architecture. Their product pleases the eye, but they do not function properly.

The lack of knowledge of the utilitarian underpinnings of the elements of architectural style has resulted in the creation of architectural time bombs in every community in America. The symptom of the time bombs is mold. The cause of the mold is unmanaged water in the building environment.

Don Erwin, R.A., a vice president of LZA Technology, is an architect specializing in forensic investigations and analysis of existing building performance. Drawing on 25 years of industry experience, he frequently provides litigation support as an expert witness in legal proceedings, including those related to liability and damages associated with mold contamination.