December 9

Finding A Path to Decarbonization with Aluminum Extrusions: A Panel Discussion

For well over a decade, architects and developers have focused on reducing the carbon footprint of their projects. Through a combination of highly energy-efficient building systems, site-generated energy, and creative design, net-zero buildings have become not only feasible but also practical.

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July 29

AEC Beyond Climate: Challenges and Commitments for 2030 and Beyond

Join this roundtable with AEC Leaders to discuss the challenges and commitments of the next decade and beyond as our standards are put to the test by a changing climate.

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June 10

The Future of the Office: Acoustics, Material Health, and Occupant Comfort

What are some of the key ways architects and designers can improve occupant comfort in a space? How do we make spaces inviting so that employees want to return to the office? And how do we address spaces where people spend prolonged periods of time, such as educational or healthcare spaces?

November 5

Growing Home: Innovations in Wood Design for Multi-family Buildings

Engineered wood products like mass timber have been transforming the A&D industry. What’s next for the material? Increasingly U.S. architects and developers are exploring timber designs to address the nationwide housing shortage. This roundtable will show how designing with wood can create growth opportunities for owners and promote healthy and sustainable housing options for occupants. Drawing on a series of timber case studies, panelists will share lessons learned from working on multistory, multifamily projects including affordable housing and even college dormitories.

July 9

Women in BIM

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been a major game changer in connecting the construction and architectural industry. The continued advancement in design, visualization, and construction coordination has flourished to help BIM specialists within firms of a multitude of sizes “model first and model best”. Even so, more can be done to not only attract, but also retain, female talent in a sector that is rapidly advancing. Cultivating supportive environments that share knowledge, skills, and best practices increase diversity and stand to benefit the entire industry. With fewer firms hiring directly out of school, this panel will interrogate how schools can better prepare, firms can better train, and the field can raise coordination standards for the individuals entering the network of BIM. Three specialists will showcase their projects and highlight opportunities for mentorship to develop attraction to senior BIM roles as a viable career path, while also forecasting the future of this critical digital modeling tool shaping our built environment.

June 4

Ghost Town: Converting Vacant Commercial Buildings into Housing

Throughout the pandemic, chatter about turning the waves of vacant office buildings into desperately needed housing has been circulating nonstop. With vaccination rates on the rise and employees trickling back into offices across the country, was this chatter a feasible reality or simply an echo that will be soon forgotten? It’s important to note this is not the first time New York has dealt with large swaths of vacancies or “ghost towns”. Converting offices or hotels into housing often means overcoming light and air requirements, costly upgrades, stubborn lease spans, and site-specific challenges. Lessons from precedent, like artist lofts, abandoned steel wool factories, or even vacant detention centers will show how these transformations are more than possible and even look toward a more dense future that isn’t hindered by covid-related vacancy rates. Our speakers will touch on how renovations respond to existing building codes as well as posit opportunities for creating more equitable and affordable units to meet the city’s changing needs. Selected projects such as Turtle Bay Towers and 166 Montague, 443 Greenwich and 20 Broad Street, followed by Home Street Residences and 1350 Broadway will be presented by Carmi Bee, John Cetra, and Victor Body Lawson respectively to incite the panel discussion.

May 13

Screen Time: Student Work Gets the Immersive Treatment

This one hour moderated panel is hosted by the Architect’s Newspaper in partnership with Eventscape. Gareth Brennan, the Founder & President of Eventscape, will give short opening remarks before turning the stage over to the speakers.

The pandemic, disruptive though it’s been, has also revealed opportunities for experimentation. Case in point: for the second time, New York City’s architecture schools have adapted their end-of-year exhibitions for a digital format, trading in-person displays for immersive online environments. The most imaginative solutions pair a firm grasp of spatial and exhibition design with cutting-edge technologies, resulting in truly unique experiences. During this hour-long panel, we will hear from school heads about their efforts to cross the digital divide and what teachable moments the projects had to offer students.

These student showcases are fixtures of New York’s design calendar and help anchor events such as NYCxDesign. Owing to COVID-related restraints, NYCxDesign has also made adjustments to its lineup, moving its in-person programming to later in the year and adding a weeklong virtual event launching in mid-May. Eventscape, the presenting sponsor for “Architecture” Design Day is well known in the New York A&D community as a trusted Design, Engineering, & Fabrication Partner for prestigious projects in New York and worldwide. Eventscape’s recently opened Long Island City facility will provide a local office to deepen their ties with both recent grads and established architects.

March 26

Texas Infrastructure: Failing Big, Building Better

Last month, amid a rare but not unprecedented winter storm, Texas’s energy infrastructure was put to the test and came back with failing marks. The ensuing emergency led to service breakdowns and left millions in the cold without power or water. We will consider the weak points in the state’s unregulated electric grid while also exploring what role architecture had in the crisis. As the weather becomes more unpredictable and architecture’s integration with urban planning more critical, what is the architect’s role in the resilient infrastructure of the future?

March 5

Decarbonizing the Built Environment: Calculating the Carbon Impact

The AEC industry is a major contributor to annual carbon emissions, so any positive changes to the status quo in the way of materials and methods stand to have a big impact. But how do we quantify that impact? What tools can be used to track and seize on efficiencies at every stage of the building process, from sourcing to completion? And if we adopt a life-cycle perspective of buildings, how can wood be introduced as a big player? Industry leaders will discuss these questions and will propose strategies that aim at decarbonizing the built environment.

February 19

Achieving Higher Performance Facades

It’s easy to say we want high performance facades for our commercial, hospitality and institutional projects … but often a challenge to bring this to fruition balancing the considerations of energy efficiency, occupant well-being, budget et al. This panel – all key players in achieving facade solutions – will discuss facade trends and the role that each of their specialties – glass, aluminum, thermal management, design, installation – will play.