Enclosure Engineering
Building enclosure design for high-performance buildings, with support for assembly development, detailing, peer review, and construction-phase input focused on durable, climate-responsive, energy-conscious outcomes.
enclosure | wildfire | forensics
Enclosure Design for High Performance Buildings
Emberline provides building enclosure consulting, wildfire risk review, and expert advisory services with a focus on durability, constructability, and climate resilience.
Approach
Direct, flexible, and technically grounded.
Emberline was established to provide senior level support and technical judgement and timely input at the points in the project where it matters most.
The focus is on practical, well-reasoned solutions grounded in building science fundamentals. Recommendations are intended to support the design team in making informed decisions, with emphasis on durability, simplicity, and performance under real-world conditions.
Building enclosure design is fundamentally about managing risk. Successful projects clearly understand the environmental loads acting on the building, the vulnerabilities within the enclosure system, and the continuity of the strategies used to resist those loads. Emberline’s work is grounded in this systems-based approach, with particular focus on climate hazards, including wildfire, and the performance of buildings in northern and remote environments.
Services
Focused advisory services.
Emberline provides advisory services related to building enclosure performance, durability, and climate hazard resilience. Services may be engaged independently or in combination, depending on project needs.
Wildfire Engineering
Wildfire-resilient design for buildings and sites, including risk-informed enclosure strategies, mitigation planning, interface fire exposure review, and practical resilience measures for wildfire-prone areas.
Forensic Review and Expert Advisory
Failure investigation, technical review, and expert advisory support related to enclosure failures, moisture issues, performance deficiencies, litigation matters, and other complex or disputed conditions.
Research and Policy
Leader in applied research, cutting-edge technology, risk tools and screening methodology, development of practical guidance, standards and policy frameworks.
Team
Robin Urquhart
M.B.Sc., M.A. (NRES), P.L.Eng. (BC/YT), RSE, CWMS (NFPA)
Enclosure Engineering | Wildfire Resilience | Forensic Review
Robin Urquhart, P.L.Eng., is a building enclosure specialist providing assessment, design review, forensic investigation, and technical consulting related to building enclosure assemblies, elements, and interfaces. His practice focuses on the performance, durability, and failure analysis of building enclosures in both new and existing buildings, with particular experience in targeted investigations, risk review, and technically complex enclosure problems. Robin has specialized expertise in wildfire-resistant enclosures, enclosure vulnerability to wildfire exposure, and wildfire-related damage mechanisms affecting the building envelope.
Robin’s background combines engineering, field construction, and applied wildfire practice. He is a Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist and has contributed to the development of wildfire-resilient rebuilding guidance, wildfire-resilient home technical guidance, and national wildfire standards work in Canada. His work is grounded in a systems-based understanding of how enclosure assemblies respond to moisture, heat, air leakage, wildfire exposure, and long-term service conditions. He provides clear, independent technical opinions for design teams, property owners, insurers, counsel, and other clients seeking rigorous assessment of building enclosure performance and failure.