A systems approach to high-performance building focused on the four control layers.
Our Vision
Velum Building Strategies is a building performance advisory practice focused on delivering building science driven, climate-resilient solutions to our clients. We integrate building science expertise with real estate investment experience to help our clients evaluate how the physical performance of a building affects its financial performance over time, while enabling a healthy living environment for its occupants.
Based in Houston, Velum helps homeowners, architects, builders, developers, institutional operators, and custom home clients nationally; bringing institutional real estate discipline to the building science conversation and building science to the investment decision.
Our Approach
Velum, taking its name from the Latin word meaning membrane or covering, is a direct reference to the building envelope and enclosure, the boundary between interior and exterior that defines how a building performs. Taking a systems approach to building design, Velum places the building enclosure at the center of every engagement, with a core focus on the four fundamental control layers that govern how a building performs: Air, Water, Thermal, and Vapor.
Getting the control layers right and designing the mechanical systems that work with them rather than against them is what produces buildings that are durable, comfortable, and financially predicable over time.
Building science principles. Pragmatic solutions.
Matthew Ngo
Founder and Principal, CPHC
Matthew is the founder and Principal Building Performance Consultant at Velum Building Strategies and is a PHIUS Certified Passive Building Consultant, ACCA Certified HVAC Design Professional, and holds building science accreditations from Building Performance Institute (BPI).
Unlike most in the building science industry, he also brings over a decade real estate investment experience having served as an owner, operator, investor, and portfolio manager at some of the largest institutional real estate investment platforms in the country where he’s been involved in the capitalization of over $1 Bn of single-family and multifamily construction, redevelopment, and acquisition projects. This extensive knowledge and experience in real estate investment, financial underwriting, and economic analysis allows for a comprehensive perspective in crafting custom solutions for his clients.
Throughout his career, he’s seen first-hand how incorrect building science, design shortcuts, mismatched material choices, and misguided investment decisions can lead to building performance inefficiencies, moisture and durability failures, and unhealthy living conditions. That experience inspired the formation of Velum Building Strategies to properly align building science principles with construction precision and appropriate financial strategies to ensure that every project achieves its desired outcomes.
