217th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA

This will be the 217th edition globally and the 1st edition in Phoenix 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
James Hatch
President & Chief Strategy Officer, Kovach
James Hatch is President | Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Kovach, where he helps lead the company’s long-term strategic direction, innovation initiatives, and client-focused growth across the building envelope industry. With more than 15 years of experience in architectural cladding...
Xandon Keating
Deputy Economic Development Director, City of Phoenix
Steve Valev
Associate Principal, Multistudio
An Arizona resident for more than 30 years, Steve Valev has worked across the desert landscape with a deep interest in urban design and the social, cultural, and political forces that shape place. As an Associate Principal and Senior Project...
John Dimmel
Vice President, Multistudio
John Dimmel is a Vice President and Senior Design Architect at Multistudio with 30 years of experience and more than 25 years specifically contributing to the firm’s most complex and ambitious design projects. Known for his thoughtful approach, John weaves...
Nicholas Hofstede
Managing Director, Johnston Marklee
Nicholas Hofstede, AIA is Managing Director of Johnston Marklee, based in Los Angeles. He leads the development of cultural, commercial, and residential projects with a focus on architecture for the arts. In over 19 years at JML Nicholas has led...
Brian Davie
Senior Building Enclosure Consultant, Walker Consultants
Brian is a seasoned architect and consultant with 30 years of expertise in building enclosure consulting, commissioning, sustainability, and energy performance. His portfolio spans a broad range of project types, including K–12 and higher education facilities, healthcare environments, commercial office...
Jay Silverberg
Design Principal, Principal, Gensler
Jay Silverberg serves as the Design Principal of Gensler’s Phoenix office, where he advances an experience-based design approach centered on sustainability, innovation, and meaningful placemaking. With extensive experience across mixed-use environments, entertainment districts, higher education, museums, cultural institutions, and office...
Martha dePlazaola Abbott
Co-Managing Director Principal, Gensler
Martha dePlazaola Abbott is a Principal and the Co-Managing Director of Gensler’s Phoenix office. With over 30 years of experience, Martha’s comprehensive portfolio includes a myriad of “Work-Life” projects encompassing mixed use, multi-family, hospitality, retail and office, from both the...
Tobiasz Staszak
Area Manager - North America, Reynaers Aluminium
Tobiasz Staszak is Area Manager North America at Reynaers Aluminum focused on developing a successful growing market. Having a background in the building industry for 14 years, gaining experience in technology, sales, and value proposition development. For the last 5...
Bob Zhang
Sales Director - North America, North Glass
Bob joined Northglass in 2012. For the first two years He worked on the technical side, then moved to project management and worked on the Apple Park project. In 2015, He came to the US and started the Northglass US...
Chris O’Hara
Senior Principal - Structural and Facade Design, Studio NYL, a Lerch Bates Company
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....
Alex Korter
Principal, CO Architects
Alex Korter is a principal at CO Architects and leads the firm’s Building Facades Group. With over 25 years of international experience, he specializes in strategic planning, design, technical coordination, and leadership of academic, healthcare, commercial and civic projects. With...
Conference Agenda
  • Level setting for contextual facade design
  • A thermal veil in the desert
  • The data center turned inside out
  • Prioritizing human comfort through urban intervention
Speakers:
  • Expanded air barrier design and documentation requirements
  • Air leakage compliance – testing the whole building, dwelling and sleeping units
  • Building thermal envelope design and construction verification criteria
Speakers:
  • Sustainability strategy
  • The importance of operational carbon and embodied carbon: Need to go hand in hand to decarbonise
  • What really makes a building sustainable
Speakers:
  • Ray is an art and design-forward apartment endeavor that incorporates distinctive artists, architects, communal spaces, and commercial tenants as a contextual, local response
  • A rigorous approach to a tall residential building ties together the combination of a stout podium under a slender tower through careful proportions and detailing of a grid system
  • The strong color palette and horizontal bias of the grid create a singular identity within the skyline of this desert landscape
Speakers:
  • Central Station will be the central transit bus and light rail terminal in the heart of downtown Phoenix, with over one million transit patrons visiting a year
  • The project was designed not as an object, but simply as an extension of the city, where people can seamlessly meander in and out without barriers
  • The prefabricated building façade is designed specifically for the local desert climate with proper orientation, a self-shading building façade, deep overhangs to protect transit patrons on the ground level, and places to escape the harshness of the desert sun
Speakers:
Event Details
  • 217th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA, May 14, 2026
  • Start Date
    May 14, 2026 8:00 am
  • End Date
    May 14, 2026 5:00 pm
  • Status
    Upcoming
  • Location
  • Venue
  • Category
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