The interaction of wind with a building results in complex local air motions that significantly affect building occupants, pedestrians and the building itself. Transport of heat, mass and momentum by airflow near the building may perturb the performance of heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and cause a reduction in quality of the internal environment. Unsteady concentrations of linear and angular momentum (jet and vortex motion) near street level result in discomfort and sometimes unsafe conditions for pedestrians. Wind pressures on building surfaces may damage curtain-wall elements and roof coverings and cause malfunction of mechanical systems, such as elevators in tall buildings, through excessive static deflection or oscillatory motion.

Efforts by engineers, architects and meteorologists to develop an understanding of flow around buildings and the physical effects of these flows have become very intense during the last decade. Most of the research work and applications during this period have been reported in the proceedings of national and international conferences. Significant scientific progress, trends in applications and needs for further research are summarized in two review papers by Cermak. In 1970 the Wind Engineering Research Council (WERC) was formed at a conference held at the California Institute of Technology to stimulate research and coordination of knowledge related to the description of wind and wind effects on buildings, structures and urban areas. Through support of the National Science Foundation, the Council functions to accomplish this by organizing conferences, forming study panels, and publishing a quarterly newsletter.