RWDI has featured on numerous television documentaries involving wind engineering and related services for the world's tallest skyscrapers and landmark structures.[3] The firm's facilities include five boundary-layer wind tunnels, an open channel water flume, MM5 computer models for simulating atmospheric weather conditions, and advanced computer modelling capabilities, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD).[3] The company created a software-as-a-service, web-based platform called Orbital Stack, a flow visualization model simulator that allows designers and engineers to rapidly iterate on their designs while seeing the microclimate impact on a 3D viewer.[4]
RWDI started with snow accumulation and drifting studies for Southern Ontario’s farming community.[3] Frank Theakston, a professor at the University of Guelph in the Ontario Agricultural College,[7] developed a technique to simulate ground-level winds and drifting snow using an open-channel water flume.[3][8] Bill Rowan, one of RWDI's founders, worked with Theakston and marketed the technique to local architectural firms. The Canadian government eventually included it in design standards.[9]
In 1974, Colin Williams joined to work on the water flume. Anton Davies led the building of the first wind tunnel in 1978,[10] and Peter Irwin joined in 1980 to further develop the firm's wind engineering capabilities.[11] In 1982, the firm became a branch of Morrison Hershfield.[9]
After projects including Toronto's SkyDome (1985)[12] and the Wind-gate in Buffalo (1984),[8] the founding members wanted to establish their own firm. Thus, Bill Rowan, Colin Williams, Anton Davies, and Peter Irwin formed Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin (RWDI).[9] Bill Rowan was its first President.[13]
Orbital Stack is a web-based software solution that simulates various climate conditions for engineering and architectural design. Launched in 2020, Orbital Stack uses both artificial intelligence (AI) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model wind comfort and safety, airflow patterns, outdoor thermal comfort and daylighting, and cladding pressure for buildings and urban spaces.[4][19]
ClimateFirst is climate-risk analysis software that models the impact of a changing climate on specific building systems to determine financial costs and provide practical guidance to mitigate risks.[20]
ParticleOne is a predictive software tool that monitors indoor air quality, including airborne diseases, and models specific viral risks (including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, rhinovirus, and RSV).[21][22]
