Over two days, Thursday July 24 and Friday July 25, thought leaders from architecture, design and engineering will come together in the heart of downtown for the 2014 Façades+ Chicago Conference to share their insights on the exteriors that shape our first impressions of buildings. The 2014 Chicago conference was organized by The Architect’s Newspaper and Enclos, with YKK-AP serving as the 2014 Conference chair. Luke Smith of Enclos and Edward Peck of Thornton Tomasetti are serving as co-chairs for the Chicago conference, the eighth in the series.
Since 2012, the Façades+ Conference has established itself as the premier conference on high performance building enclosures. Making its launch in New York City, the Façades+ conference has since added Chicago to its lineup. In October 2014 Façades+ will add Dallas to its roster; Los Angeles will join the list of Façades+ sites in 2015.
Resilience and the Built Environment
Each Façades+ conference session focuses on a single theme. For the 2014 Chicago session, Façades+ has chosen Resilience. The theme is intended to address the reality of global warming and climate change through presentations and discussions on how the built environment can do its part to mitigate this potentially catastrophic phenomenon. The focus on resilience reflects an acknowledgement of the significant role buildings play in producing carbon emissions that have an adverse impact on the climate and environment, as well as how the façades industry can help to mitigate the damage.
On Thursday, July 24, the conference will focus on keynotes and networking. The opening keynote speaker, James Timberlake, founding partner with Kieran Timberlake, will speak on the topic “Reclaiming US Leadership in Design Performance.” The afternoon keynote speaker, Francisco Gonzalez Pulido, president of JAHN, will address the topic of “Lightness.” Other highlights scheduled for the first day of the conference include a Q and A session between the opening keynote speaker and Peck, a presentation on Transformative Works by Juan Moreno of JGMA, and remarks by Smith, Peck, Rajel Dias of YKK-AP and Diana Darling of The Architect’s Newspaper.
The second day is organized in a series of Dialog and Tech workshops, running in simultaneous tracks. Participants who choose the Dialog track of workshops may choose between Evolution of Breathable Building Façades or ReVisioning of Existing Façades in the morning and Supple Skins: Emerging Practices in Façade Adaptation and Resilience or Off the Grid: Embedded Power Generation/Net Positive. Participants who select the Tech workshop track may choose one of four all-day sessions: Enhanced Parametric Design with Dynamo for Vasari, Advanced Façade Panelization and Optimization Techniques, Collaborative Design & Analysis with Grasshopper and Environmental Analysis and Façade Optimization Strategies.
Registration and Venue
The first day of the conference will take place at 230 S. Columbus in the Art Institute of Chicago. A reception will be held at the end of the first day in the Stock Exchange Room of the museum. The second day of the conference will be held in the Sharp Building of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at 37 S. Wabash Avenue.
Check-in both days will take place at 8:30 a.m. with the main program for each day commencing promptly at 9:00 a.m. and continuing through 5:00 p.m. both days. A reception is also scheduled for July 24 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Participants can earn 8 AIA LU/HSW credits for each day of the symposium; participants who attend both days can earn 16 AIA LU/HSW credits.
Fees for speakers, sponsors professionals and faculty are $400 for the first day, $350 for the second day and $700 for both days. Fees for students with a valid student ID are $60 for the first day, $100 for the second day and $160 for both days. Partial refunds are available for students who cancel on or before Tuesday July 22 and for other attendees who cancel on or before Wednesday July 23. Further information about the conference is available on the Façades+ website.