Agenda
Symposium
Thursday, November 20th
Times in PST
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
9:30 AM – 9:40 AM
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
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
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
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
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
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
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
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
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
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
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
5:00 PM – 5:05 PM
5:05 PM – 7:00 PM
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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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