Building Science Hall of Fame
Those who have had a profound and lasting influence on the field now known as Building Science either by invention, promotion, direction, education, or practice.
Marcus Vitruvius Pollione
+/- 75 BC – 10 BC Roman Republic
Wrote the original building science book, De Architectura.
Many contributions to the building and design industry related to site planning, water distribution, enclosure assemblies, indoor air quality, material durability, constructability, daylighting, and more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvius
Fillipo Brunelleschi (aka Pippo)
1377 – 1446 Florence, Republic of Florence.
The first modern engineer, planner, and construction supervisor. Revered for his ability to develope complex architecture that was beautiful, functional, durable, and constructable. Famous for engineering and building the first ever back drained and ventilated dome roof over the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence (1420 – 1461), which has never had a significant leak. His work directly influenced Michelangelo, Leon Battista Alberti, Andrea Palladio, and others. His back drained and ventilated, double-shell dome design was copied in many other famous domes: St. Peter’s Basilica, The U.S. Capital, the Dôme des Invalides, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi
Benjamin Franklin
1706 – 1790 Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA
North America’s original building scientist: Founder of the Junto and the Library Company of Philadelphia; Inventor of the Franklin Stove – which improved heating efficiency and reduced smoke in homes and buildings – the lightning rod, and various building ventilation and heating concepts; He was a champion of open knowledge sharing and his work on convection, airflow management, and efficient heat transfer remains central to modern HVAC systems. Also had some involvement with the founding of the United States of America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
Alexander Cumming
1731 – 1814 Edinburgh, Scotland.
A watchmaker and organ builder who patented the first flush toilet design that didn’t stink. His 1775 invention added an S-trap to earlier, stinky designs. And that’s the same design still used today in most toilets. His work was a monumentally important contribution to improved indoor air quality in all buildings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cumming
Benjamin Thompson (AKA Count Rumford)
1753 – 1814 Woburn, MA
A despicable loyalist who abandoned his wife to save himself and then form the King’s American Dragoons before fleeing to Europe. Despite those wrong-headed life choices, Thompson developed improved fireplace and chimney designs that maximized radiant heat output, reduced draft volume, reduced wood fuel consumption, and reduced smoke blow back – all significant features of building heating systems before central heating was developed. His designs were widely used from the late 1700’s through the late 1800’s and are still common today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Thompson
Joseph Aspdin
1778 – 1855 Leeds, England
A bricklayer who created and manufactured the first “modern” Portland cement – the cornerstone of the modern building industry, serving as the primary binding agent in concrete, mortar, stucco, and grout. Concrete is the most manufactured material on Earth. His invention revolutionized construction, enabling the shift from load-bearing walls to skeletal frameworks, accelerating urbanization, and supporting large-scale infrastructure development worldwide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Aspdin
Angier March Perkins
1799 – 1881 Old Newburyport, Massachusetts.
A printer who started a heating and steam engineering business. By 1831 he had developed a method of warming buildings using hot water circulating through small, closed pipes – a foundational technology for modern central heating. He invented modern hydronic heating. His first system was installed at the home of the Governor of the Bank of England for the purpose of grape cultivation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angier_March_Perkins
Henry Flagg French
1813 – 1885 Chester, New Hampshire
An accomplished attorney who studied the best drainage engineering practices from around the world, combined those with climatological data from New England and wrote the first, and most comprehensive book about farm drainage, and drainage in general. It is the foundational document about control of ground water. The ‘French drain’ comes by its name because of his work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_F._French
Augustine Sackett
1841-1914 Warren, Connecticut.
A Navy veteran of the Civil War who invented and manufactured wallboard. His product replaced wet-applied plaster on wood or metal lath which improved construction schedules and reduced costs. Originally called Sackett Board, drywall is now the most common interior wall sheathing in both residential and commercial construction.
https://www.invent.org/inductees/augustine-sackett
Rafael Guastavino Moreno
1842 – 1908 Valencia, Spain.
A building engineer and builder who promoted, designed, and built load-bearing, thin-tile, long-span, fireproof arch and dome constructions which reduced building loads and improved fire safety. He designed and built many beautiful, functional, durable, and fire-safe buildings including the Boston Public Library, the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, the Ellis Island Great Hall, the Nebraska State Capitol, Carnegie Hall, The Biltmore Estate, the Bridge Market under the Queensboro Bridge, the interior dome of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, NC, and many, many more.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Guastavino_Moreno
Richard Mollier
1863 – 1935 Trieste, Germany.
A professor of applied Physics and Mechanics who pioneered significant experimental research in thermodynamics, particularly for water, steam, and moist air. He developed enthalpy-entropy charts – now known as Mollier diagrams – that are routinely used to visualize the working cycles of thermodynamic systems in air conditioning equipment, refrigeration systems, steam turbines, power plants, and the like. These charts are psychrometric charts in a different form (rotate it 90o and look at it in a mirror). Mollier invented the psychrometric chart, an exceptionally useful tool for building scientists.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mollier
Henry Reynolds
Grand Rapids, MI
A roofing contractor who invented asphalt shingle roofing by cutting asphalt-saturated rolls into individual pieces in 1903. This development enabled easier installation and improved adaptability to steep-sloped residential roofs. This is the most significant advance in the history of the roofing industry. Approximately 80% of all residential roofs in the United States are now clad with asphalt shingles.
Willis Haviland Carrier
1876 – 1950 Angola, New York
An engineer who invented electric powered air conditioning, flipped the Mollier diagram and popularized its use in its modern format – the psychrometric chart – and wrote the “Magna Carta” of psychrometrics: Rational Psychrometric Formulae. This document brought together concepts of relative humidity, absolute humidity, and dew-point temperature, making the design of fit-for-purpose air-conditioning systems possible. This technology was originally developed for industrial processes but has since been refined for use in all building types and, as of 2026, is installed in approximately 90% of all buildings in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Carrier
Charles Haven
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A refrigeration engineer who patented an improved dual-pane insulated glass unit in 1934 that was ultimately produced by the Libby-Owens-Ford Glass Company under the trade name Thermopane. These units were further developed over many years, and such technology is now used in approximately 66% of all windows in the United States. These units have reduced the energy use in buildings where installed and estimates as high as $150 billion have been calculated for the value of those savings.
https://engineerfix.com/when-did-double-pane-windows-become-standard/
