CLOSE AD ×

Preview the upcoming Facades+ AM conference in San Francisco

December 7

Preview the upcoming Facades+ AM conference in San Francisco

On December 7th, Facades+ AM will return to San Francisco. It’s the last event of this year’s Facades+ AM conferences, which have visited Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Kansas City, and Dallas. The morning-long program will be delivered in a unique three-session format that condenses a typical two-day event into a quick-take forum tailor-made for the Bay Area. The conference will pair regional and national leaders in building envelope design with local design professionals and industry leaders who will deliver presentations and participate in Q&A discussions.

John Kuchen, associate director at SOM and chair of the San Francisco conference, said the format brings together a wide range of groups who share a common interest in advancing the role of the building skin. “Now with increased technological capacity, we can tune the facade with its related building systems. High-performance design involves MEP systems, lighting systems, overall vision area versus opaque area, automation capabilities, thermal response, and more. I am interested to see the discussions that result from bringing together professionals from a variety of backgrounds all involved in one way or another the production of a building envelope.”

Kuchen says the flow of the conference was carefully thought out. The Redefining Residential Architecture session highlights issues that the building envelope plays in housing by bringing together leaders in design and development of housing in the Bay Area. This conversation will lead into a set of presentations concerning high-performance design and energy consumption. Titled High-Performance Design + the Building Envelope, this session will introduce insights from leading facade engineers and building science specialists. Kuchen says “high-performance” is not a new issue in architecture: “For us, high-performance is something that has always been inherent in architecture. It’s becoming something that is becoming more relevant to clients and end users of the buildings because of the search for a more sustainable method of building.”  The conference will conclude with a panel of presentations focused on the next generation of facades.

Over the coming weeks leading up to the conference, The Architect’s Newspaper will be interviewing presenters—sharing their insights and previewing the issues that will be discussed. More details can be found at Facades+ AM.


CLOSE AD ×