84th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA

This was the 84th edition globally and the 3rd edition in USA. It showcased the latest innovations and challenges in the construction industry pertaining to building envelopes and the latest technological solutions.

Speakers and Panelists
Design Specialist, Turner Construction Company
Sara Karim is currently a Design Specialist at the Turner Engineering Group, Turner where she collaborates on projects to solve architectural and exterior wall challenges. With experience in both design and construction, her contributions include reviewing building envelope performance and...
Associate | NY Building Enclosure Specialist, Adamson Associates
Yan Chu is an Associate at AAI Architect’s New York Office. She provides technical leadership and establishes the office’s standards on enclosure system design, detailing, and specifications. In addition to her role as façade lead in the office, contributing to...
Director of Sustainability, Ennead
Stefan Knust AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, CPHC is the Director of Sustainability at Ennead Architects. He brings over 25 years of experience as a project architect and sustainability expert to the design and construction of complex institutional projects that...
Head of Product Delivery, Nabr
Neil Thelen is an architect and Head of Product Delivery at Nabr, where he is working on a scalable housing system that is generous to citizens, communities, and our planet. In 17 years of professional practice Neil has contributed to...
Managing Director, Edward Peck Design
Edward is an advocate for high-performance architecture, an educator of informed collaboration and a pioneer of innovative materials. With more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction industry, Edward has become a leader in innovative and performance...
Business Development Manager - North America, Priedemann Façade Experts
Stefan has more than 8 years’ experience in consulting project teams throughout all building design phases on sustainable and energy efficient glass façade solutions. He is in charge of the US Business Development activities at Priedemann façade experts, a consultancy...
Director - Product Design and Development, New Hudson Façades
Andrew is the Director of Product Development and Design for New Hudson Facades. Andrew’s 15-year career in the façade industry has covered a broad range of projects and areas of expertise. He began his career developing parametric 3D models in...
Assistant Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives, NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability
As Assistant Deputy Director of Strategic Initiatives at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability, Elizabeth Kelly manages policies and programs to lower greenhouse gas emissions and help New York City achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Key initiatives include...
Associate Principal, Adjaye Associates
Russell Crader is Associate Principal and co-heads the New York studio overseeing projects in North & South America and the Caribbean. Since joining the studio in 2007, he has played an instrumental role in many of the firm’s most significant...
Principal, KPF
The youngest woman in KPF’s history to be named Principal, Lauren is invaluable to projects of all types, coordinating with multiple stakeholders and consultants, overseeing projects through all phases. Lauren has served as designer and manager for some of KPF’s...
Global Segment Manager - Architecture, AkzoNobel
Bob Dirks is leading the Global Segment for Architectural Powder Coatings at AkzoNobel. AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings is dedicated to take its customers to the possible and beyond, with a passion and commitment to true sustainability, meaningful partnerships, and ceaseless innovation...
Principal, 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....
Founding Principal, REX
Founding principal of REX, Joshua is currently working on The Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center in New York, Brown University’s Performing Arts Center in Providence, the Necklace Residence on Long Island, and towers in Elizabeth Quay,...
Architectural Design Manager, Guardian Glass
Danielle Tyson is the Architectural Design Manager covering the New York City area for Guardian Glass. In her current position she works directly with design professionals to assist with project review and provide guidance on glass and glazing selections for...
Façade Manager, Cosentino North America
Brendan Mercier began with Cosentino in 2015 as an architect & design sales manager, selling multiple applications, including facades. In 2017 he took on additional responsibility as the façade application specialist in the Northeast region and in 2019 became the...
Associate Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Rowan O. Georges, AIA is an Associate Director specializing in specifications writing at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Architectural Glass and Metal Certification Council (AGMCC). A believer in the benefits of collaborative...
Associate, COOKFOX Architects
Spencer Lapp, AIA is an Architect at COOKFOX Architects, a studio dedicated to integrated, environmentally responsive design. The studio was built on the principle that good design is sustainable and engages innovative responses to social, cultural, and ecological issues. Among...
Partner, BuroHappold
Julie Janiski is partner in Buro Happold’s Boston office where she leads integrated teams of engineers, designers, analysts, and subject-matter experts to deliver the highest performance projects. She aligns design, consulting and analysis to provide solutions that encompass all aspects...
Senior Director - Design and Construction, Tishman Speyer
Currently a Senior director in the Design and Construction group at Tishman Speyer, Kimberly Garcia manages the design and execution of several projects in pre-development through design and construction in Manhattan. As a licensed Architect in New York State, Ms....
Vice President | Director of ILAB, AECOM
Jason is the global lead Research Development + Innovation for Buildings + Places at AECOM and directs the Innovation Laboratory initiative – focused on developing prototype tools and workflows as deployable innovations. He focuses on leveraging the intersection of building...
Testing Manager, Building Envelope Testing
Facades and energy are my passion. I have an eclectic background spanning 30 years – from manufacturing Insulated Glass Units to testing building envelopes, I have worn many hats. I began my journey in the construction industry repairing windows and...
Principal | Director, New Construction Façades, SOCOTEC
With over 20 years of building envelope expertise, Mr. Popadynec’sbreadth of his experience spans consulting, design, testing, manufacturing, installation, special inspection and rehabilitation, with a focus primarily on new construction. Assisting clients from the conceptual stages of a project through...
Partner, KieranTimberlake
Billie Faircloth, FAIA, is a practicing architect, educator, and Partner at KieranTimberlake, where she leads transdisciplinary research, design, and problem-solving processes across fields including environmental management, chemical physics, materials science, and architecture. Her work fosters collaboration between trades, academies, and...
Executive Director, Howard L. Zimmerman
With more than 20 years of experience, Jon leads the HLZAE MEP/FP group as the Executive Director. He is an integral component of driving and acquiring new business through proposals while supporting his team of engineers and running the day-to-day...
Managing Partner, Surface Design Group
AJ LaBelle brings a varied and rich history portfolio to AJLP/SDG and understands the needs of our individual clients as well as the realities of project execution in today’s competitive and complex marketplace. His many years of experience has touched...
Marketing Manager, Kuraray America
Alberto is the Global MC leader in the Advanced Interlayer Solutions Division of Kuraray; he is located in New York City and is responsible of the Global Marketing Communications and Americas Downstream Marketing . Alberto, through the Trosifol® and Sentryglas®...
Principal, Studio Façade Consulting
Alberto Franceschet is the Principal of STUDIO Façade Consulting LLC. He is a graduate of the Università di Padova in Italy, whit a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Alberto is a recognized professional that has operated for over 20 Years...
Associate, OMA
Chris Yoon joined OMA in 2017 and is an Associate at in the New York office. She is currently serving as Associate-in-charge on the Greenpoint Landing D residential development in Brooklyn, on 730 Stanyan, a 100% affordable housing development in...
Director - Glass Collisions Program, American Bird Conservancy
Christine Sheppard earned her B.A. and Ph.D. at Cornell. Her first career was as Curator of Birds for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. In 2007, Dr. Sheppard joined the board of the Bird-safe Glass Foundation as science advisor. In...
Principal, MdeAS
Dan Shannon is an internationally recognized architect and serves as Managing Partner at MdeAS Architects in New York. With nearly four decades of experience, Dan provides creative and innovative solutions to complex architectural challenges. His commitment to the philosophies of...
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SWBV PRECAST
Guy Tremblay, Professional Engineer, graduated from Laval University in 2001, began his career in the precast concrete and building science industry over 20 years ago. His early years in the field has been dedicated to quality assurance management, project management,...
Associate Partner, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Since joining Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 2004, Kate Bojsza has served in design and management roles on many of the firm’s most significant projects. Driven by a passion for design excellence, she is adept at leading large teams...
Associate Partner, Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Kurt Glauber is an associate partner at Robert A.M. Stern Architects and is the technical lead for many of the firm’s most complex academic and institutional projects. His work includes two new residential colleges at Yale University and a LEED...
Founding Principal, SHoP Architects
Gregg Pasquarelli is a founding principal of SHoP. He established and has been at the center of a collaborative and innovative practice in creating new models for design, master planning and real estate development to define the context of cities...
Associate Principal, Thornton Tomasetti
Silverio Patrizi joined Thornton Tomasetti in 2011 and is experienced in the structural analysis and design of different façade systems. He manages design consultation, detail development, specifications, shop drawings review and site inspections. Silverio has performed extensive research on the...
Partner, Morphosis
Ung-Joo Scott Lee is a Partner at Morphosis Architects and heads the firm’s New York City offices. Raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Scott began his tenure at Morphosis in 1996 and has contributed to many of the firms most significant...
Business Manager - LUMIFLON® Resins, AGC Chemical
Winn Darden is Business Manager for LUMIFLON® Fluoropolymer Resins for North America. He has been involved in sales and marketing for coatings and coating raw materials for more than 30 years. Mr. Darden has given presentations at numerous conferences and...
Managing Partner, Hofmann Façades Group
Philipp Hofmann is the Managing Partner at HOFMANN FAÇADES GROUP. He has over 20 years of experience in the façades and construction industry, gaining knowledge and experience both domestically and abroad in the design, manufacturing, unitization and installation of primarily...
Founder & Creative Director, BINAA I Building Innovation Arts Architecture (Presented by TurkishGlass)
Burak Pekoğlu studied architecture in USA and had worked in Denmark, Turkey and USA. Burak is a graduate of Harvard University, Graduate School of Design (GSD) with a MArch degree (2011). He received a BS degree, Cum Laude, in Architecture...
General Manager, Priedemann
Steve Muchowski is General Manager at Priedemann Fassadenberatung & Priedemann Facade-Lab and has an engineering background with 25 years of experience in the facade construction industry. In 2005 Steve joined Priedemann Facade Experts as a consultant working on projects in...
Technical Section Manager – Americas Insulating Glass, H.B. Fuller
Dr. Brian White is the Technical Manager for the Americas Glass team at H.B. Fuller Company, where he manages R&D and technical service. Brian has been with H.B. Fuller since 2010, starting as a scientist developing insulating glass sealants and...
Principal & Managing Director, Walter P Moore
Erik Verboon is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Walter P Moore New York office. Trained in both architecture and engineering, Erik brings a deep global experience with a focus on the design of complex and high performance building...
Director, Eckersley O'Callaghan
Lisa Rammig leads the teams in Eckersley O’Callaghan’s California offices. She has played a significant role in its expansion, establishing a West Coast presence, and leading many of the group’s most challenging projects, while she remains involved in academia and...
Principal, TECHNE
Sameer Kumar is a Principal of Techne. With over 20 years of experience as an architect and a façade specialist, Sameer has distinguished himself as an emergent leader at the nexus of architectural design, engineering, fabrication, and material and process...
Principal, SOM
Christoph Timm leads SOM’s Enclosure Group, a practice embedded among the design and engineering studios in the firm’s New York office that focuses on the design of building enclosures and facades. With more than two decades of experience in the...
Principal - Façades & Special Structures, Hatfield Group
Manan Raval, PE is widely recognized as a leader in facade design and specialty glass systems. He has led facade engineering for complex buildings worldwide, including high-profile arts institutions, residential developments, and mixed-use hubs. His areas of specialization include developing...
Managing Partner, Hatfield Group
Erleen Hatfield, PE, AIA, is the Managing Partner of the Hatfield Group, a multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm based in New York. She has over 25 years of experience in the design of complex structures worldwide. She frequently writes and presents...
Principal, Walter P Moore
Gustav Fagerström is Principal and co-founder with the Walter P Moore New York office, where as Digital Practice Leader he oversees design technology for Façade Engineering. Specializing in design computation he operates at the intersection of architecture, engineering and computer...
Building Design and Construction Specialist, Dow
A LEED® Accredited Professional, Stanley is a building design and construction specialist for Dow. He has over 25 years experience in the global building enclosure industry working in curtain wall and exterior cladding contracting, as well as providing construction industry...
Principal, Heintges
Daniel Vos joined Heintges in 2004 and has collaborated on many high-profile building facades in New York and around the world. His expertise in structural glass design and knowledge of building envelope energy performance contribute to the realization of innovative...
Commercial Manager, Kingspan Insulation North America
Andrew is the Commercial Manager for Kingspan Insulation North America, and specializes in high-performance insulation products. Originally from the UK, Andrew began his career in technical support and continued to grow into a consultative sales role, helping architects and developers...
Managing Director, NR Group
Attila Arian is a senior level executive with 30 years of progressively responsible experience in the German and American Construction and a known entity in the Façade industry. He has served as CEO of several German Design Build Contractors before...
Director, Atelier Ten
Nico Kienzl has over 20 years of experience in sustainability consulting with expertise on the application of advanced building analysis for façade optimization, daylight and shading analysis, and optimization of building systems. As Director of Atelier Ten’s New York office,...
Key Account Executive, Tremco
Steve Mort is a Key Account Executive for Tremco Inc. Tremco is a global solutions-based building envelope manufacturer, headquartered in Cleveland Ohio and is part of Tremco CPG, which carries other industry leading brands Dryvit, WillSeal, Nudura, PureAir and now...
Conference Agenda
  • Designing and constructing buildings for extreme events and higher demands on performance
  • Making design and technical excellence co-exist
  • Ideologies that lead the way in creating better building envelopes for a brighter future
  • Where should we be exploring and innovating to find sustainable, textural, responsive solutions?
  • How do we best connect to context, to plays of light and texture and scale?
  • What can we do to learn from the great materials of the past without nostalgia?
  • How do we apply cutting-edge techniques and technologies to repurpose and enliven what people have been building with for millennia?
  • Energy codes and incentive programs push improvements for thermal performance in opaque areas
  • Architects are refocusing efforts on the quality of opaque cladding as a key element of the architecture
  • How stone, terracotta and metal panel rainscreen façade systems are becoming the preferred solutions to meet these high-performance requirements
  • Evolution of a design process from slump forms to bending tempering furnaces
  • Capitalizing on local technologies and labor skillsets to maximize innovation
  • Pre-validating prescriptive specifications to create competitive procurement leverage
  • Where do we see this going in the industry? What is the industry doing?
  • How is SOM trying to decarbonize our buildings? Examples include analysis reuse vs new construction, strategies and tools
  • How can we accomplish step change? Do we need to shift away from steel and concrete, reconsider aluminum as the prime enclosure material besides glass?
  • What is happening in Europe may be happening in the US soon?
  • Carbon Impact: Façade materials & buildings
  • Carbon Navigator: Low carbon materials & façade systems
  • Case Studies: Carbon footprint reduced façade designs
  • Examining an existing building’s structure to understand constraints and challenges posed by an outmoded structural system
  • Creating unique design opportunities for a façade through the optimization of the constraints of an existing building’s structure
  • Exploring sustainable attributes of a façade across multiple disciplines, from maximizing the efficiency of building systems to reduction of waste during panel production
  • Most of a building’s GHG emissions are leaked through the building envelope, upgrading the façade is the most effective way to meet LL 97’s mandates
  • What's the best strategy for upgrading façades and where do you start? Who do you bring on board?
  • Optimizing connections between responsive façades and building systems

Erik Verboon

  • New architecture for everchanging neighborhoods
  • Progressive techniques for optimal performance
  • Advanced programming for modern tenancy
  • Documenting design intent
  • EARL buy documentation
  • Design assist
  • Lump sum bidding practices (past and present)
  • Rainscreen design & it’s impact on energy and maintenance
  • The importance of sustainable manufacturing
  • Dekton by Cosentino: A carbon neutral product
  • The three methods of heat transfer and how insulation addresses each one
  • Types of rigid insulation board technologies and their “fitness for use” in different applications
  • Discuss strategies for designing thinner walls while maintaining or increasing thermal performance
  • Identifying the fire performance characteristics of different rigid insulation board technologies
  • Design experimentation: Complex to buildable
  • In search of: Material limitations, geometry optimization, streamlined process and methodology
  • Making architecture in the 21st century
  • Choosing materials that go beyond green, becoming part of the circular economy
  • Do low-carbon materials change how you design?
  • Are there short-term cost benefits?
  • Evaluating the best LCA apps

Sameer Kumar

  • Native ecosystems in the urban environment
  • Importance of environmentally responsive façades, and design that engages native ecosystems
  • Designing a habitable façade
  • Façade solutions for a geometrically complex residential development set to be the tallest tower in Newark, NJ
  • How the complex façade geometries were achieved through unique attachments back to the primary structure, giving the appearance that spaces slice through the curtain wall at steep angles
  • Exploration of the challenges and solutions for the design and procurement of curving glass elements
  • Laminated glass applications and requirements
  • Decision Tree: Making the selection of the correct interlayer
  • Solution Finder App: A new tool for mobile users
  • Life Cycle Assessment: What matters when
  • Durability and sustainability with powder coatings
  • Switching to powder
  • How to best comply with New York City LL 15 requiring that all new construction and major alterations use bird-safe glass to mitigate avian fatalities
  • What are the options in glass, either integrated within or in applied coatings, to protect birds? Are there different levels of effectiveness?
  • Are there adverse effects of this specialized glass in terms of human optics both interior and exterior?
  • How can bird-safe glass comply with needs for heat mitigation?

Christoph Timm

  • How were contemporary fabrication technologies and handcrafted techniques combined to achieve traditional building façade details?
  • Prefabricating complex repeated components, such as chimneys, passageway vaults, and window surrounds offsite
  • Devising a just-in-time delivery system using a nearby warehouse to receive, store, and ready building components according to location and sequence of installation
  • Testing custom curtain wall for E119 compliance
  • Glass composition and options
  • Seamless glass joint framing solutions
  • Glass quality: Things to look out for and the value of visual mock-up vs non-rated panels
  • Silicones: Closer to a carbon neutral façade
  • Structural Silicone Glazing: Simplified data-driven approach
  • Leveraging a broader technology platform for innovation
  • How financing and the available capital stack is the driving force behind the design of the building envelope
  • Demonstrating the limitations of laser scanning and how leveraging a digital process is paramount to panelized façades
  • Learn how manufacturers and collaboration between envelope and mechanical are driving design decisions
  • Advantages of a reactive thermoplastic spacer
  • Energy efficiency through superior gas retention
  • A flexible warm-edge system for boundless design opportunities
  • Creating new business models for all stakeholders by finding efficiencies and taking advantage of new technologies
  • Collaborating at the beginning of the project with the fabricator leads to a seamless flow through to construction
  • How integrating design and process can deliver the project on schedule, with a good profit margin and environmental benefits
  • Looking at new technologies and manufacturing methods such as off-site modular and robotics which don’t constrain creativity but facilitate it

Julie Janiski

  • Insight on a fully glazed, blind based exhaust cavity façade system with measured results and future research
  • Textile screen optimization to enhance quality views and energy efficiency
  • A “Solar air collector” generating renewable energy
  • Integration with bird friendly glass to mitigate bird collisions
  • Evolution of architectural precast
  • Different approaches to optimizing design geometries for precast façades
  • Importance of visual and performance mockups when designing with precast
  • Advantages of architectural precast concrete over other construction methods

Silverio Patrizi

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