178th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA

178th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA, April 16, 2025, Revere Hotel, Boston

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.

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Speakers & Panelists
Jeffry Burchard
Managing Partner, Machado-Silvetti
Jeffry Burchard is an Architect. He is Managing Partner & Design Principal at Machado Silvetti, the Boston architecture and urban design practice with place-based projects across the United States and around the world. Recent accolades include Boston Society for Architecture...
Jeremy Smith
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...
Casey Pritchard
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...
Nick Nigro
Senior Project Manager, Leggat McCall Properties
Nick Nigro acts as the day-to-day project manager on complex design and construction projects for both clients and LMP’s principal portfolio. With 15 years of real estate experience, he has worked on academic, residential, infrastructure, and commercial projects. In recent...
Patrick Haydon
Owner, Haycon
The founding partner of Haycon Building LLC, Patrick Haydon is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of design, construction, and development experience. With a passion for streamlined sustainable building, Patrick’s broad-based knowledge provides clients with integrated solutions, ultimately...
Chenyu Pu
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...
Arndt Broecker
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...
Sae Kim​​​​
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...
Kate Bubriski
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,...
Rustom Cowasjee
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...
Shu Talun
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...
Jeff Geisinger
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...
Wesley Schwartz
Associate Principal, Payette
At the vanguard of the next generation of architects, Wesley Schwartz, is transforming practice through the integration of performance in design. His portfolio of award-winning projects is deeply connected to idea of place and defined by its relationship to natural...
Emma Cardini
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...
Montgomery Forman
Senior Principal, Island Exterior Fabricators
Monty Forman is a Senior Principal at Island Exterior Fabricators, where he oversees all new project engagements through the Design Assist, Design-Build or Integrated Project Delivery processes. His leadership responsibilities expand to providing strategic planning and new product development input...
John Hynes
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...
Victor Vizgaitis
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...
Jonathan Hill
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...
Eric Claeys
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....
Frans de Witte
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,...
Jeppe Hundevad
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...
Chris O’Hara
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....
Tansu Kumru
Vice Chairman, Turkish Glass
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...
Dean White
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...
Markus Schulte
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....
Alberto Franceschet
Principal, Socotec
As a Principal of the Boston office, Alberto Franceschet oversees SOCOTEC’s Massachusetts building envelope consulting projects from the design to the construction administration phases. With over 25 years of experience in the Façade industry, Alberto has developed a deep understanding...
Fred Clarke
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...
Richard Peake
Director of Exterior Enclosures, Suffolk Construction
Rich Peake has been with Suffolk for 10 years and is Suffolk’s Director of Exterior Enclosures. The Exterior Enclosures Group is responsible for estimating, contract awards, subcontractor procurement, design assist, technical review, source, and site inspections, and overall QAQC for...
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Conference Agenda
  • Introduce South Station’s history
  • Design challenges and structural limitations
  • Tower and podium massing
  • Enclosure solutions
  • Mock-ups, installation and final photography
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • Hybrid steel curtain walls, the long-waited disruption in the market?
  • Fire resistance, tower infernos belong to the past
  • Drastic reduction of CO2 emission
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • Reexamines architecture’s role in meeting human needs
  • Explores fear, legacy, and the pressure of modern systems
  • Calls for a return to purpose, place, and honest materials
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • The project emerged from a highly competitive public RFP, where the boldness of the design and its integration of sustainability, community connection, and economic viability set it apart
  • Sasaki introduced a 3D model from the start, written into the contract. This technology helped integrate complex geometries and design principles, ensuring feasibility and buildability early in the process
  • Smart Solutions: The selection of View Glass and decisions around triple vs. double glazing and shading control played a critical role in balancing sustainability, aesthetics, and performance. The curtain wall and water seal presented technical challenges, requiring innovative problem-solving and rigorous testing

Richard Peake

Moderator:
Panelists:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • Dynamic high performance unitized façade with integrated shading
  • Mullionless structural glass façade using large format glazing
  • Timber mullion façade and skylight
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • Design and security
  • Energy efficiency and comfort
  • Sustainability
Speakers:
  • 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
Speakers:
  • 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

Moderator:
Panelists:
Associate Partners
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Event Details

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