Agenda

Symposium

Thursday, November 20th

Times in PST

8:30 AM – 9:30 AM

Check-in, Coffee, and Networking

9:30 AM – 9:40 AM

Dionne Darling

VP of Brand Partnerships

The Architect’s Newspaper

9:40 AM – 9:45 AM

Tim Meyers

Associate Principal

ZGF

Charlotte Jolly

Associate Principal

ZGF

9:45 AM – 10:00 AM

The City of Seattle is incentivizing green building on a new level by promoting and supporting designers meet the Living Building Challenge. Jess Harris of the Seattle Department of Planning and Development which runs the pilot will share details about the program, the challenges of navigating permitting, design strategies and pathways, and successfully completed projects in the Living Building Pilot.

Jess Harris

Green Building Program Manager

City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

ZGF and PAE will present the PAE Living Building—Portland’s first fully certified Living Building and the world’s largest commercial office designed to meet this standard. The session will highlight the project’s mass timber structure, advanced enclosure systems, and strategies for achieving net-positive energy and water performance, as well as the unique challenges involved in reaching this level of certification.

Moderated by: Charlotte Jolly

Justin Brooks

Principal

ZGF

Marc Brune

Senior Principal

PAE

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Break

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

Rebecca Hutchinson, Jesse Walton, and Joseph Mayo of Mahlum will share the design story of Alki Elementary School in Seattle. In response to Seattle Public Schools’ commitment to equity and sustainability, the project translates community priorities into a building that supports inclusion and environmental stewardship. The session will explore how these values informed the school’s low-carbon envelope strategies, high-performance systems, and inclusive design. Together, the presenters bring expertise in educational design, energy and carbon modeling, and innovative wood construction to demonstrate how thoughtful façade design can advance both climate action and community well-being.

Moderator: Tim Meyers

Rebecca Hutchinson

Associate Principal

Mahlum

Jesse Walton

Associate Principal

Mahlum

Joseph Mayo

Associate Principal

Mahlum

12:15 PM – 12:45 PM

This roundtable with leading building materials manufacturers will discuss the advanced materials that are newly available and just around the corner. Learn how architects can collaborate with manufacturers to build with the latest, most up-to-date technologies, code requirements, and products and hear what’s next for the industry.

Moderator: Charlotte Jolly

J-F Robert

President

RAICO North America

Michelle Murray

Architectural Sales Representative

SAFTI First

12:45 PM – 1:45 PM

Networking Lunch

1:45 PM – 2:30 PM

Weber Thompson will present Northlake Commons, Seattle’s first large office building made primarily of mass timber, designed to accommodate biotech and research labs. Its envelope integrates exposed cross-laminated timber, glulam columns, and operable high-performance glass fitted with low‑E coatings, offering both daylighting and thermal control. Featuring “Connectors” — large covered outdoor corridors — and pronounced window wall systems, the building links occupants directly with Lake Union views and outdoor air.

Moderator: Charlotte Jolly

Todd Mayne

Principal

Weber Thompson

Neil Warburton

Principal, Senior Building Science Specialist

RDH Building Science Inc.

Thomas Stearns

Operations Manager

SWINERTON

Harry Rodin III

Senior Project Manager

DCI ENGINEERS

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM

In this panel, attendees will explore cutting-edge building envelope products and services that are revolutionizing the AEC industry. These innovations enhance energy efficiency, durability, and sustainability, while pushing the boundaries of design and performance. Panelists will discuss how advancements in materials, fabrication, and digital tools are enabling AEC professionals to achieve design visions with greater precision, particularly when seeking to improve occupant comfort, reduce environmental impact, and ultimately shape the future of high-performance building envelopes.

Moderator: Tim Meyers

Brian White

Technical Manager – Americas Insulating Glass

H.B. Fuller

Red Ramsey

Business Development Manager – Texas

Longboard Architectural Products

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Break

3:30 PM – 4:15 PM

Ryan Bussard, Tad Neeser, and Gavin Smith from Perkins&Will will discuss the design process behind 707 Terry, a striking twin-tower residential project in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood. Its standout facade features large, sliding perforated screens that wrap the towers. When aligned, these screens recreate gallery-like artworks drawn from the nearby Frye Art Museum, turning the exterior into a dynamic public canvas.

Moderator: Justin Brooks

Ryan Bussard

Design Director

Perkins&Will

Tad Neeser

Architect

Perkins&Will

Gavin Smith

Project Manager

Perkins&Will

4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

How is sustainable design being transformed by today’s tools and metrics? This panel brings together perspectives from research, technology, engineering, and building ownership to examine how environmental impacts are evaluated and addressed throughout the building lifecycle. The conversation highlights the methods and innovations shaping current practice, while exploring the opportunities and challenges of applying them in real projects. Panelists will discuss how collaboration across disciplines is influencing design and construction, the acceleration of embodied carbon metrics as a key design-driver and how these evolving approaches are redefining the practice of sustainable design.

Moderator: Tim Meyers

Jack Rusk

CEO and Co-founder

C.Scale

Teresa Moroseos

Research Engineer

University of Washington

Irene Martin

Facade Team Leader

Arup

Kristen Dotson

Principal, Worldwide Sustainability, Sustainable Buildings

Amazon

Tim Meyers

Associate Principal

ZGF

5:00 PM – 5:05 PM

Dionne Darling

VP of Brand Partnerships

The Architect’s Newspaper

Tim Meyers

Associate Principal

ZGF

5:05 PM – 7:00 PM

Closing Reception

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Join us at Facades+ LA for peer-learning and networking opportunities to keep you at the forefront of your design practice.

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