178th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA

This will be the 178th edition globally and the 1st edition in Boston which will showcase sustainable innovations and challenges in the construction industry pertaining to the building envelope and will also display latest technological solutions.

Speakers & Panelists
Partner/Director of Global Business Development, EXO Surfaces
Jeremy Smith is a partner and the Director of Global Business Development at exo, specializing in ventilated rainscreen systems and architectural façade solutions. With three decades of experience in architecture, engineering, and project management, he has overseen high-profile projects, managed...
Sales Manager, Boston Valley Terra Cotta
Casey Pritchard is a Sales Manager at Boston Valley Terra Cotta, where she plays a key role in bringing visionary architectural designs to life through the beauty and versatility of terra cotta. With a deep understanding of facade materials and...
Senior Project Manager, Leggat McCall Properties
As a Senior Project Manager, Nick’s responsibilities include acting as the day-to-day project manager on complex design and construction projects for both clients and LMP’s principal portfolio. With 12+ years of real estate experience, he has worked on academic, residential,...
Owner, Haycon
Senior Associate | Facade Designer, Heintges
Chenyu Pu, RA, LEED AP BD+C is a Senior Associate at Heintges Consulting Architects & Engineers. Since joining Heintges in 2015, he has worked with world-renowned architects across a wide range of project typologies including commercial, academic, residential, healthcare, and...
Head of Sales North America, Forster Profile Systems
Arndt Broecker is a seasoned international business leader with 30 years of experience in the fenestration industry. He has successfully expanded the reach of fenestration products across Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East. Currently, Arndt serves as the...
Principal, CBT
Sae Kim is an architect and designer with deep insights into spatial experiences and innovative concepts. With a particularly keen understanding of creative processes, Sae has been deeply involved in complex, award-winning projects, ranging from large urban master plans to...
Principal | Director of Building Performance, Arrowstreet
Kate Bubriski is the Director of Building Performance at Arrowstreet. For over twenty years, she has completed numerous high-performing buildings, including 1 million square feet of passive buildings, working with clients to ensure building performance simultaneously creates social, health, environmental,...
Managing Director, Tishman Speyer
Rustom Cowasjee is currently responsible for the design and construction of the Washington, D.C., and Boston portfolios. Since joining Tishman Speyer in 1999, he has been responsible for the design and construction of the company’s projects in Northern Virginia, District...
Associate Principal, Senior Façade Consultant, RDH
Shu Talun is an Associate Principal and Senior Façade Consultant with RDH’s Boston team. With a background in architecture and manufacturing, Shu brings 15 years of experience in façade systems design and development. Her expertise spans enclosure consulting, unitized system...
Director of Sustainable Design, Utile
Jeff Geisinger is Director of Sustainable Design at Utile, where he leads the firm’s building performance and decarbonization initiatives. He works with project teams to create energy efficient buildings and healthy, resilient spaces through energy modeling and design guidance. He...
Associate Principal, Payette
Unit Manager and Principal, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates
Emma Cardini is a Principal and Unit Manager at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. She has more than twenty-two years of experience in the repair and restoration of historic building enclosures. Emma will discuss her experience with historic enclosures, especially...
Senior Principal, Island Exterior Fabricators
Vice President, Boston Global Investors
John Hynes joined the BGI team in 2014. Prior to his role as Vice President of BGI and Project Executive of the 10 World Trade development, John oversaw numerous Seaport Square projects, totaling over $150M of development in 3-years. He...
Chair of Architecture & Interior Design, Sasaki
A senior principal and architect at Sasaki, Victor leads Sasaki’s commercial architecture and interiors practice, bringing together a spectrum of disciplines, from architecture and interiors, to landscape and urban design. This breadth of professional experience has led to a deep...
VP | Boston – Building Envelope Team Lead, Thornton Tomasetti
Jonathan Hill has nearly 20 years of experience in the design, investigation and construction contract administration of building enclosure and façade systems for commercial, healthcare, educational and residential buildings. He has overseen major projects in the USA, New Zealand, and...
Founding Partner, Fassada Steel
Eric Claeys holds a degree as Civil Engineer in Construction from KU Leuven, Belgium, a degree in Industrial Engineering in Public Works from KU Leuven, Belgium, and graduated with a Master in Business Administration from the Vlerick Business School, Belgium....
Partner, MVRDV
Frans de Witte, Partner, Architect, and Director Studio Americas at MVRDV joined the practice in 1996, and is currently leading projects in the Netherlands, the USA, Canada and South America. Frans has executed many successful MVRDV projects, such as Silodam,...
President | Lindner Facades, Lindner Group
Jeppe Hundevad is the President of Lindner Facades. He has been at Lindner since November 2014 and has over 30 years of experience working in the field in various positions. He has worked in the UK, France and Germany at...
Founding Principal, Studio NYL
Chris O’Hara is a Founding Principal of Studio NYL. Trained as a Structural Engineer, Chris has a passion for Architecture. This passion has fostered the collaborative approach that is a cornerstone of Studio NYL’s collaborative approach to structures and enclosures....
Vice Chairman, TurkishGlass
Tansu Kumru has extensive experience in the glass industry and has been working for Şişecam, one of the world’s leading glass manufacturers with production operations in 14 countries across four continents. She is currently responsible for public relations and coordination...
Regional Façade Sales Manager, Cosentino
Dean has a 30-year history in the building materials and construction industry ranging from quality management to senior sales management focused on the building envelope. His approach is solution based and consultative. Dean provides practical knowledge to help with design...
Principal | NY Facade Group Leader, Arup
Markus Schulte is a Principal with over 28 years of experience in Arup’s New York Office and leads their Façade Engineering and Building Physics group. Markus pioneers the design and construction of sophisticated buildings in NYC and around the world....
Principal, Socotec
Co-Founder | Partner Emeritus, Pelli Clarke & Partners
Fred Clarke co-founded the firm in New Haven with Cesar Pelli in 1977 while Cesar was Dean of the Architecture School at Yale University. As Senior Design Principal, Fred has directed all the projects in the New Haven and Asian...
Director of Exterior Enclosures, Suffolk
Conference Agenda
  • Introduce South Station’s history
  • Design challenges and structural limitations
  • Tower and podium massing
  • Enclosure solutions
  • Mock-ups, installation and final photography
  • Inspection by drone
  • Complexities of staging 430 feet above grade
  • Design-build repair effort to mitigate water infiltration at various enclosure assemblies: roofing, window sealants, metal panel joints
  • Hybrid steel curtain walls, the long-waited disruption in the market?
  • Fire resistance, tower infernos belong to the past
  • Drastic reduction of CO2 emission
  • Low carbon construction (Green Building)
  • Hybrid wood aluminum façade systems
  • Integration of recycling in design of ECO_N
  • Façade system as part of interior design
  • Hospital façade systems are crucial for creating healing environments, enhancing patient well-being, and ensuring energy efficiency. They must balance aesthetics, durability, safety, and sustainability while reducing maintenance
  • This presentation will explore key considerations including optimizing natural light, thermal comfort, noise reduction, and resilience and security, all contributing to a functional, welcoming, and eco-friendly healthcare space
  • Ultracompact Stone, a sustainable carbon neutral façade material
  • Attachment methods for ventilated rainscreen and curtainwall integration
  • Design considerations related to performance, budget, and design intent
  • Addressing global issues in the built environment and realizing the potential of terra cotta solutions
  • Materiality and performance benefits of terra cotta façades in modern architecture
  • Terra cotta façade innovations that address global challenges and enhance building performance
  • Creating a common façade selection and materiality within the Enterprise Research Campus masterplan
  • How design narratives and design principles reference and reinterpret Boston’s architecture
  • How delivering façade character can deliver for users
  • A look back on how BIM pushed innovation for building envelope design
  • How modern day design tools introduce a new level of innovation
  • Ways to promote organic innovation using your current project team
  • Minimalist exterior is clad with a continuous vertical array of scalloped aluminum sunshades that wrap the building’s performance driven façade, gently tapering apertures in response to changes in the research program and climatic orientation
  • Explore how urban life science developments can enhance and strengthen the public realm
  • Discover how performing arts, public space, and life sciences can seamlessly come together within a single super-hybrid building
  • Gain insights into the design process behind a dynamic façade that balances aesthetics, performance, sustainability, efficiency, and character
  • Project management approach with a powerful and extensive ecosystem
  • Adding value to the human life with unique projects
  • Contributing to the future of our planet with sustainable products and technologies
  • Understand passive certification within the context of the Massachusetts Energy Code
  • Compare the diverse perspectives on passive house from an architect, facade consultant, developer and builder
  • Lessons learned from past experiences and how professionals are preparing for the future of passive building

Jeff Geisinger

Event Details
  • 178th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA, April 16, 2025
  • Start Date
    April 16, 2025 8:00 am
  • End Date
    April 16, 2025 5:00 pm
  • Status
    Upcoming
  • Location
  • Category
  • Sponsors