IMI Webinar Series - Sustainability Strategies for Adaptable Reuse Projects
Join us as we explore how masonry enables durable buildings that perform over time and adapt effectively to future uses. Discover how life-cycle carbon accounting, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and material selection influence sustainability outcomes. We’ll highlight performance strategies like thermal mass, passive survivability, and storm resistance, showing how masonry can enhance occupant safety, durability, and operational efficiency. Through case studies, you’ll see how project teams use existing masonry enclosures to extend building life and meet evolving sustainability goals.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how masonry assemblies contribute to passive survivability, occupant safety, and building resilience during extreme weather events.
- Identify strategies to reduce embodied carbon in masonry construction through the use of EPDs and life-cycle assessment tools.
- Evaluate how proper masonry detailing improves durability, moisture management, and energy efficiency.
- Review case studies demonstrating how masonry supports adaptive reuse and reduces long-term maintenance and replacement costs.
About the Speaker:
Mark Swanson, AIA, CSI, LEED AP
North Central Regional Director, IMI
Mark is a licensed architect with decades of experience working for architectural and design/build firms. He has led project teams across several building project types including office buildings, aviation, retail, and multi-family housing. Mark has a passion for empowering the design, engineering, and construction community. He champions technological solutions to assist in the design, detailing, and documentation of masonry in contract documents and building information models.
Throughout his career, Mark has brought innovative solutions that keep masonry content and knowledge at the fingertips of the design and construction community. In addition, he promotes efficient and sustainable masonry strategies to lessen our impact on our environment and infrastructure.
Mark has over 7 years of ACE mentorship involvement, working with public high school students in Maryland and Minnesota. He has run masonry workshops at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture and runs a local monthly masonry educational series.