Lyle Axelarris
Engineer, Building Enclosure Specialist, LEED AP BD+C, O+M
Design Alaska Inc.
BIO
Lyle Axelarris is a structural engineer, specializing in Building Science and Sustainable Design. He is a leader in energy-smart structural design and has developed techniques to reduce thermal bridging within commercial building envelope assemblies, from slabs and piles to walls and roofs, to achieve R-90 roofs and R-60 walls for arctic and sub-arctic projects. Lyle performs hygrothermal modeling and works with Architects and Owners to establish performance criteria, material selection, and barrier continuity strategies. He develops cost effective and constructible building envelope designs, and performs construction inspections and forensic investigations. His expertise in cold-climate building envelope design is driven by his passion to preserve material durability and indoor air quality for healthy, sustainable buildings.
Lyle is the instructor of the Building Envelopes course at the Boston Architectural College, where his sustainable design studies focused on building science, passive systems design and building operations.
Lyle was Alaska’s first LEED AP with the Operations + Maintenance specialty. He serves as project administrator for LEED-NC projects, having completed several LEED Silver and Gold projects. He was the Fairbanks Vice-chair of Cascadia Green Building Council and was a member of the LEEDv4 Regionalization Task Force.
Lyle holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a B.S. in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan. Before becoming an engineer, Lyle was a journeyman carpenter working on commercial and residential projects in Fairbanks, Alaska. His experience with the construction process has given him a unique insight into the role that proper detailing and construction technique has on building performance in the subarctic. In 1995, Lyle worked on one of the first Cob homes at the famous Cob Cottage in Coquille, Oregon.
