Facades+ largest event of the year returns to New York City on April 13 and 14. Featuring a full first day of in-person presentations, and a second day of virtual workshops, Facades+ will celebrate its 10th anniversary in the city where the conference series started.
With Blake Middleton, partner at Handel Architects, serving as co-chair, the conference will feature four panels, two keynotes, and a full day of inspiring projects, conversation, and networking opportunities. Kohn Pedersen Fox principal, Jill Lerner, will deliver the Civic Perspective to start the morning, providing an overview of the AEC industry and its future in New York City. The first keynote will be given by Marlon Blackwell, Principal, Marlon Blackwell Architects, and will highlight his firm’s work with corrugated metal panels and their customization from standardized systems.
The first morning panel will dive into the complex geometries that are becoming prominent in the city’s architecture, moving beyond flat, mostly glass facades to buildings that twist and stack in the work of Adjaye Associates, Eckersley O’Callaghan, and Gilsanz Murray Steficek. With Marc McQuade from Adjaye Associates and Sara Gonzalez from Gilsanz Murray Steficek presenting their work on 130 William, the presentation will show the challenges of implementing precast construction at new heights in Lower Manhattan. Lisa Rammig from Eckersley O’Callaghan will round out the panel with a discussion on life cycle analysis, and designing for meeting long-term sustainability goals.
The panel will be followed by a spotlight from Stephen Dayton, a partner at Thomas Phifer and Partners, featuring the firm’s work on bringing a 70-year-old Mies van der Rohe project to life at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. The presentation will move from the unique story of realizing a truly unique project history to the design approach to constructing a Modernist building to meet contemporary performance standards.
Rounding out the morning will be a roundtable discussion on advances in facade materials with leading manufacturers. Representatives from ANGORA, North Glass, POHL, and Cladify will highlight the technological advances their firms have made, previewing what could be next for AEC professionals.
A keynote from Elaine Molinar, Partner & Managing Director – The Americas, Snøhetta, will focus on the potential for facades to tell stories. While some only see facades for their technical aspects—which have their importance—Molinar will argue for the importance of facades in holding the power to shape identity and public impressions.
The first panel of the afternoon will delve into adaptive reuse work on two former terminal buildings—St. John’s Terminal and the Battery Maritime Terminal. Mark Rusitzky and Marguerite Lefevre will present COOKFOX’s work on St. John’s Terminal, diving into the challenges of building in a flood zone and opening up the site to more public use. Andrew Brown from Marvel Architects will be joined by Pat Arnett from Silman in presenting the Battery Maritime Terminal, focusing on both the opportunities and challenges of the design process of an addition to a historic facade.
The final panel of the day will feature two of New York’s newest cultural institutions—the Amant Foundation and the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center—with presentations focusing on mass and materiality. Kevin Lamyuktseung from SO-IL will be joined in presenting the Amant Foundation by Erin Reagan and Sean O’Brien of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger. Looking at the intricacies of working with structural concrete that also features an expressive facade, their presentation will look at executing designs within the complexities of New York City’s construction industry. The last presentation of the day will feature the Perelman Center—presented by Joshua Prince-Ramus of REX and Vishwadeep Deo of Front—and include a focus on sourcing natural materials and meeting technical requirements working with stone.
On day two, participants will select from three workshop tracks: Envelope Detailing and Project Collaboration; High-Performance Enclosure Design: From Concept to Final Product; Maximizing Zoning Capacity and Project Delivery. Learn from national leaders on a variety of topics that will improve your professional practice.
Learn more about Facades+ New York City here, and get your tickets today!
