Gauged Porcelain Tile: Birth of a Product Category
Presented by:
Scott Conwell, FCSI, FAIA, LEED AP
Director of Industry Development, International Masonry Institute
Shana Kim, CSI, CDT
Principal, Director of Technical Services, Antunovich Associates
Gauged porcelain tile (GPT) panels are beginning to redefine the ceramic tile industry. Known for their large facial dimensions (up to 6 feet by 12 feet) and their thin profile (as thin as 3.5 mm), GPT panels are ideal for contemporary designs that require minimal grout joints, as well as retrofits over existing finishes where its thin profile precludes the need for expensive demolition. With seemingly endless design opportunities, it is important to also consider the material’s limitations.
This program will take the audience through the process of developing two new ANSI standards that define the product characteristics and installation requirements. The standards were published for the first time in 2017 after nearly two years in development and have now found their way into the specifications of top architects across the United States, including Chicago’s own Antunovich Associates.
CSI Chicago members Scott Conwell of International Masonry Institute and Shana Kim of Antunovich Associates will share their experiences with GPT. Scott served on the ANSI committee that wrote the installation standard and is currently on the TCNA and ANSI task group drafting a new standard for exterior use of GPT. Shana Kim of Antunovich Associates brings recent project experience working with her firm’s interior designers to evaluate the product for commercial applications, as well as specifying GPT on numerous recent projects, including both interior and exterior applications.
Learning Objectives:
- Explore the process of developing the brand new ANSI standards for Gauged Porcelain Tiles (GPT) and GPT panels (ANSI A137.3) and the interior installation of these materials by the thin-bed method bonded with modified dry-set cement mortar or improved modified dry-set cement mortar (ANSI A108.19).
- Explain GPT’s manufacturing technologies, physical properties, typical applications, and how to specify this material.
- Identify installation requirements including substrate requirements, mortar application, coverage, and embedment, and how these requirements differ from those for the installation of traditional large format tile.
- Analyze case studies of projects using GPT in innovative applications as specified by a local architecture firm.
Continuing Education: 1.0 AIA CES LU|HSW
Cost For Program Held Via Zoom:
CSI Chicago Members: FREE
CSI Member - Non-Chicago Chapter: $20*
Non-Member Professionals: $40*
(3 or more years of experience in construction)
Non-Member Emerging Professionals: $20*
(Fewer than 3 years of experience in construction)
Non-Member Student: $10*
(Full-time student enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program)
*Save 50% on your registration fee when you register by September 8, 2020.
Space is limited to first 100 registered attendees. Registration is refundable up to 5 days before the event.
About Our Presenters:
Scott Conwell, FCSI, FAIA, LEED AP
Director of Industry Development, International Masonry Institute
In his 25 years as an architect with International Masonry Institute, Scott Conwell has dedicated his career to advancing good design using tile, stone, and masonry materials. He sits on the Tile/Marble/Terrazzo labor-management craft committee of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers. He is a delegate to the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation committee, and also sits on the ANSI A108 Committee for Ceramic Tile. In addition to over 1,000 seminars presented to architects, designers, contractors, and students in the U.S., Scott has lectured on tile and stone at conferences in Verona, Italy and Castellón, Spain. He is a registered architect and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the Construction Specifications Institute. Scott lives in Naperville, Illinois with his wife and three teenage children.
Shana Kim, CSI, CDT
Principal, Director of Technical Services, Antunovich Associates
Shana Kim is a Principal and the Director of Technical Services at Antunovich Associates. She has extensive experience writing and managing the production of construction specifications for both architectural design and full service, multi-discipline architecture, interiors, engineering, and construction firms. Shana has acted as lead specifier writing architectural specifications and coordinating project manuals for various types of construction projects including large mixed-use commercial developments, adaptive re-use and historic restoration projects, retail, speculative office buildings, higher education facilities, corporate campuses, and multi-family developments across the nation. In 2019, Shana also participated in the City of Chicago’s Code Modernization effort, focusing on exterior enclosures and materials. Shana lives in Niles, Illinois with her husband, 6 year old son, and the boys’ massive Star Wars and sci-fi toy collection.