Thursday, October 8

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October 8

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Speakers

7:15 - 8:00 AM | Breakfast

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM | Product Showcase Open

+ About the Product Showcase

This expanded space, with bigger booths, let's you explore more than 40 exhibiting companies and tabletop displays featuring building products, technologies, services, and solutions for the built environment.

+ Tech Hub Demonstrations

The Tech Hub is a dedicated space where attendees can explore exhibits from leading construction and specifications software companies. Discover innovative products, watch live demos, and engage with industry experts to find solutions that enhance you and your team’s daily workflow.

Tech Hub exhibitors:

8:00 - 8:20 AM | Welcome and Leadership Presentation

8:20 - 9:00 AM | Keynote: Workforce Development and the Built Environment: Perspectives from Public Service and Building Ownership

Workforce challenges continue to affect every aspect of the construction industry, from attracting skilled workers to delivering projects on time and within budget. Drawing on his experience in public service, economic development, and commercial real estate ownership, former U.S. Senator and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich will share his perspectives on the workforce issues facing the industry today.

As a hands-on building owner involved in project planning and execution, Mark is familiar with many of the same challenges construction professionals navigate every day—from evaluating products and substitutions to managing change orders and working with contractors. He will offer practical insights into the realities of building ownership and project delivery, while discussing broader workforce trends and the growing competition for talent across industries.

Attendees will gain perspective on how workforce shortages, shifting career choices, and evolving industry expectations are impacting the construction sector and the organizations responsible for designing, constructing, and operating the built environment.

Speaker: Mark Begich, Former U.S. Senator and Anchorage Mayor

9:00 - 9:15 AM | Break

9:15 - 10:15 AM | Breakout Sessions

+ A "Sneak Peek" at the 2027 Editions of AIA Documents A201 and B101

AIA will release its 2027 editions of its foundational contract documents next year, and the most popular of those being released are AIA Document A201, "General Conditions of the Contract for Construction," and AIA Document B101, "Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect." This session offers a preview of the planned changes that were incorporated into these documents in order to reflect the way projects are actually delivered. This "sneak peek" will prepare specifiers, design professionals, and contractors on what to expect when these documents are made publicly available to the AECO industry.

Learning Objectives:

Explain the contract document development process used to revise the A201 and B101.
Compare and contrast the major conceptual changes between the 2027 A201 and previous editions.
Compare and contrast the major conceptual changes between the 2027 B101 and previous editions.
Describe the basic reasoning behind the significant changes in the A201 and B101 documents.

Speakers:

Ron Geren, FCSI, Distinguished Member, CCS, CCCA, CDT, Owner, RLGA Technical Services

Manaj Dalaya, CSI, CCS, CCCA, FAIA, Principal & Co-President, KGD Architecture

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

+ Materiality of Masonry

The enduring popularity of masonry in all its forms is largely attributed to the intrinsic properties offered by the materials of brick, block, stone, terra cotta, tile, and terrazzo. But in this era of rapid innovations in construction materials and techniques, does masonry continue to provide value, and how have these materials and assemblies evolved? This seminar takes a close look at the historic architectural significance held by traditional masonry materials, but it also challenges participants to use these materials in innovative ways, showing examples of contemporary design to balance their classic applications. The program then builds on the materials themselves, showing common wall and floor assembly details and emphasizing the importance of designing for performance and constructability. Finally, it addresses the topic of sustainability and how masonry and tile’s composition of natural and healthy ingredients and their inherent durability translate to buildings that are healthy, long-lasting, and able to be repurposed generations after their initial construction.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the design properties and applications of masonry materials, including brick, stone, terra cotta, and contemporary systems.
Evaluate contemporary adaptations of traditional masonry details for both aesthetic impact and performance.
Analyze innovative tile and terrazzo applications in terms of visual quality and building performance.
Explain how masonry and tile materials contribute to healthy, durable, and adaptable buildings over time.

Speaker:

Scott Conwell, FCSI, CDT, FAIA, ALA, LEED AP, Licensed Architect and Director of Industry Development, International Masonry Institute

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Prompting with Purpose: Advancing Digital Project Delivery with AI — Without Replacing Professional Judgment

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly influencing digital transformation across the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Yet many struggle to move beyond experimentation toward practical, risk-aware implementation that strengthens — rather than replaces — professional expertise.

This session explores how structured AI prompting can enhance productivity, improve document clarity, and support better decision-making across the project lifecycle. The focus is not on automation for automation’s sake, but on strategically integrating AI into project delivery workflows while preserving professional judgment and contractual responsibility. Attendees will examine practical applications relevant to project managers, owner’s representatives, designers, and specifiers, including specification development support, RFI response drafting, submittal review preparation, meeting documentation, and change management analysis. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating AI-generated content for technical accuracy, contractual risk, and alignment with standards of care.

Participants will leave with actionable prompt frameworks, implementation strategies, and guardrails that support digital transformation while reinforcing the critical role of experienced construction professionals.

Learning Objectives:

Describe how AI tools support digital transformation in construction project delivery without displacing professional judgment.
Assess AI-generated content for contractual implications, technical accuracy, and alignment with professional standards of care.
Apply a repeatable implementation framework that integrates AI into project documentation and communication processes responsibly and effectively."

Speaker

Mark Ogg, CSI, CCCA, CDT, MCM, PMP, Sr. Project Manager, JLL

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

+ The Changing Economics of Specifications: AI, Data Silos, and Sustainability

The commercial construction industry is entering a pivotal moment where AI, product data, and sustainability pressures have the potential to change how products are evaluated, specified, and adopted. This session will examine why product and performance data remain fragmented across the industry, what new AI-supported efforts are emerging to break down these silos, and how sustainability benchmarking is driving alternative systems of product selection. Attendees will gain a practical framework for identifying which AI and construction technologies are safe bets from those with high failure rates.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how to identify the root causes of why most AI initiatives will fail to deliver any measurable value to the firm that invests in them.
Explain why product and performance data continue to remain siloed, and which new AI tools hold the most promise in finally breaking through.
Understand how sustainability benchmarking is driving alternative methods of product selection.
Using the Gartner Hype Cycle, the presentation will equip attendees with a clear, defensible way to explain technology investment risks and opportunities to firm leadership and other stakeholders.

Speakers

Matt Johnson, Director of Manufacturer Solutions, RIB

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

10:15 - 10:30 AM | Break

10:30 - 11:30 AM | Breakout Sessions

+ Specifying for the Worst Day: Architecture and Engineering for Emergency Operations

Elevate your expertise with this course on assembly testing, providing critical insights into achieving building integrity and performance.

Emergency management facilities must perform flawlessly under extreme, unpredictable conditions—often for extended periods of time. Standard code requirements are not always sufficient for peak operational effectiveness, resilience, and long-term value. This session examines strategies for moving beyond code compliance to align design intent, specifications, and owner priorities to create facilities capable of performing on their worst day.

Using the design of a nearly 50,000sf Level IV Essential Facility in Arizona as a case study, this presentation will demonstrate how decisions related to finishes, systems, and redundancies can either support – or unintentionally hinder – emergency operations.

This talk focuses on the intersection of specifications, operations, and engineering in mission-critical environments. Attendees will gain insight into how emergency response workflows inform design and systems planning, risk tolerance and funding realities shape specification strategies, and how specifications can close the gap of operational needs left by code minimums.

Learning Objectives:

Translate emergency operations into architectural and systems decisions.
Identify where code minimums fall short for public safety buildings.
Apply specification strategies for durability, maintenance, and lifecycle value in public safety buildings.
Evaluate strategies for aligning specifications with owner risk tolerance, funding constraints, and long-term performance goals.

Speaker:

Adrienne Lewis, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Principal/Public Safety Leader, Dekker Design, LLC

John Montano, PE, Principal Electrical Engineer, Bridgers & Paxton

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ From Static Documents to Living Intelligence: How AI Will Transform Construction Specifications

Construction specifications have long served as the contractual and technical backbone of the built environment—precise, structured, and deliberately static. Artificial Intelligence is now changing that premise. This session explores how AI is reshaping the creation, coordination, validation, and lifecycle management of construction specifications, transforming them from static text documents into living, data‑driven systems that continuously learn from design intent, project performance, and real‑world outcomes.

Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how AI impacts specification authorship, risk allocation, compliance, sustainability, and integration with BIM, digital twins, and procurement platforms. The session will also address governance, liability, and professional responsibility—clarifying what changes, what remains human‑led, and how specifiers can lead this transformation rather than react to it.

Learning Objectives:

Understand how AI is being applied today to automate, augment, and validate construction specifications.
Identify where human judgment remains essential and where AI delivers the most value
Evaluate how AI changes risk, liability, and professional responsibility in specifications.
Connect specifications to BIM, product data, and performance feedback using AI.
Prepare their organizations and practices for AI‑enabled specification workflows.

Speaker:

Paul Doherty, CSI, CDT, AIA, IFMA Fellow, DFC Senior Fellow, CEO and Founder, The Digit Group, Inc. (TDG)

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

+ Graphic Standards; A Framework for Exceptional Construction Documents

Graphic standards are the foundation of clear, consistent, and professional architectural communication. By standardizing line weights, symbology, text styles, annotations, sheet organization, and presentation techniques, firms can improve document clarity, streamline workflows, reduce errors, and strengthen collaboration across project teams, consultants, and clients.

This session explores how graphic standards support quality control, reinforce firm identity, and serve as an essential teaching tool for developing staff. Participants will also examine how graphic standards integrate with BIM standards and templates to create reliable, coordinated, and code-compliant deliverables that improve project outcomes and protect occupant safety.

Learning Objectives:

Evaluate how graphic standards improve construction document clarity, reduce interpretation errors, and help minimize construction defects and safety risks.
Explain how firm-wide graphic standards streamline workflows, support quality control, and improve the accurate translation of design intent into safe, code-compliant buildings.
Distinguish between graphic standards and BIM standards, and describe how graphic standards support BIM templates, annotation systems, and sheet organization for coordinated deliverables.
Apply strategies for developing and maintaining a graphic standards manual that supports staff training, consistency, and ongoing quality assurance for life safety, accessibility, and structural documentation.

Speaker:

Joshua Guerra, Architectural Specifier, Sera Architects

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

+ Embodied Carbon Reduction In Steel-Framed Buildings With Spray Applied Fire-Resistive Materials

In a typical fire rated steel-frame building, Spray-Applied Fire-Resistive Material (SFRM) is applied to steel beams and columns to satisfy the building code-governed fire resistance requirements for the steel frame. In that typical scenario, the floor construction consists of beams supporting a metal deck onto which concrete is poured.

The concrete has two primary functions: (1) Achieve the structural requirements of the building. (2) Achieve the fire resistance rating of the floor. By applying SFRM on the underside of the deck, the concrete slab does not need to provide the fire resistance performance and must only meet structural requirements. Structural requirements can be met with a thinner concrete slab. A very carbon intensive product (concrete) is replaced by a gypsum-based product (SFRM) that has a negligible carbon impact in comparison.

Reducing the weight of the floor assembly has implications for the rest of the structure such as the shear walls, columns, beams, and foundation, contributing to a lighter overall structure, and the study aims to determine the impact of the concept on the overall structure. This study evaluates the impact of the new design paradigm on the global warming potential (GWP) of steel and concrete buildings by conducting a structural and life cycle analysis of a prototypical 15 story commercial steel building with seismic and non-seismic design. This design paradigm shift results in a GWP reduction for the building structure by up to 14%, and a reduction of the concrete slabs GWP by up to 31%.

Learning Objectives:

Describe common slab systems used in steel-framed buildings.
Explain the application of spray-applied fire-resistive materials (SFRMs) to the underside of metal deck and assess its impact on fire protection strategy and potential concrete thickness reduction.
Analyze whole-building life cycle assessment (LCA) results to compare embodied carbon savings at the product, system, and building levels.
Evaluate the construction cost and schedule implications of this strategy and compare its effectiveness with alternative embodied carbon reduction approaches.

Speaker:

Lucas Hamilton, Manager, Applied Building Science, Saint-Gobain, North America

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Specifying Coatings for Airports & Transportation Facilities

Aviation, Terminal and Aerospace facility projects need architectural as well as high-performing coating solutions for both exterior and interior applications. This ensures durability, aesthetics, and suitability for various climate conditions and traveler traffic. Recent advancements in coating technologies offer not only the desired aesthetics and durability that municipalities and owners seek, but also a range of formulations that can support sustainability goals. We will explore the characteristics of different paints, coatings and systems that can help support the modernization of and diverse environments in the aviation hub landscape.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the differences in coating technologies and what characteristics are desirable for high traffic spaces while meeting sustainability goals.
Learn why high-performance coatings are necessary for protecting structural steel substrates and how intumescent fireproofing can provide a significant impact on the design and longevity of a facility.
Learn considerations for selecting various resinous flooring systems for high traffic sports and entertainment spaces across the entire facility that can contribute toward green building certifications.
Learn how Factory Applied Metal Coatings can be specified on manufactured products to provide better control for color, aesthetics and longevity of coated metal materials.

Speaker:

Rick Suhanec, Sherwin Williams

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM | Lunch and Keynote Session

+The Cost of Culture: Conversations That Prevent Conflict

Drawings, specs, and schedules tell you what should happen on a project; breakroom stories explain why conflict keeps blowing it up. Miscommunication and bad information drive avoidable rework costs every year, turning conflicts among design, field, and subs into RFIs, delays, and margin erosion. Through The Undercover Candidate and The Undercover Employee projects, Nora shares anonymized "off-the-record" stories from workers and leaders that your surveys never capture, but your culture pays for daily.

In this story and data-driven session, leaders will see how everyday communication patterns either escalate conflict or build psychological safety, and how small shifts in conversations can reduce rework, retain talent, and protect project profitability.

Learning Objectives:

Recognize how everyday communication habits create or resolve conflict and translate directly into rework, delays, and turnover.
Use one element of Nora's E.C.H.O. framework to read conflict as culture feedback, then adjust leadership behavior both on-site and in the office.
Spot early warning signs in crews and project teams before they surface as safety incidents, change orders, or resignations, and respond with conversations that protect both people and project outcomes.

Keynote Speaker:

Nora Burns, Founder and Chief Curiosity Officer, The Leadership Experts

1:15 - 1:45 PM | Express Sessions 1

+ Sustainable Roofing Solutions: Unlocking the Power of Modern Asphalt Shingles

The primary goal of this presentation is to provide architects and designers with information to ensure they are designing buildings with smarter, more sustainable roofing systems. The session will unlock the secrets of asphalt shingles and show you how to elevate your specification with cutting-edge advancements.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the Differences Between an Oxidized and Polymer Modified Asphalt and How Polymer Modified Products Can Contribute to a Healthier Environment and Longer Lifecycle when Compared to Oxidized Products.
Identify How Specialized Granules can make a difference in performance and to the environment.

Speaker:

Linda McCandless, National Specification Manager, Malarkey Roofing Products

This session is approved for 0.5 AIA HSW LU.

+ The 5th C: Coordination in the Age of AI

Can you name the most common and costly issues affecting your spec workflow? This session highlights best practices for strengthening QA/QC by flagging the most common spec issues. Hear how a seasoned spec writer identifies these problems and how purpose-built AI can automate compliance checks to keep plans and specs aligned and compliant.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the five most common spec issues that lead to RFIs, rework, and project delays.
Implement a modernized QA/QC workflow to identify high-risk gaps between plans and specs.
Evaluate how AI tools can be utilized to cross-reference specifications against locally adopted regulations, and identify missing or empty sections, mismatched jurisdiction references, and more, in real time.

Speaker:

Nathalia Cardona, Head of Product, UpCodes

Sherry Harbaugh, FCSI, CCS, RA, Owner, TRC Inc.

This session is approved for 0.5 AIA LU.

+ Beyond First Cost: When Sustainability Meets Service Life

Sustainability discussions in the built environment often focus on upfront impacts while overlooking how maintenance, durability, weathering, and replacement cycles influence long-term material performance. This session explores how service life shapes the sustainability outcomes of building envelope and exterior material selections through real-world performance considerations and lifecycle thinking. Attendees will gain practical insight into balancing sustainability goals with resilience, longevity, and long-term performance during material evaluation and specification.

Learning Objectives:

Evaluate how maintenance requirements, weathering, service life, and replacement cycles influence the long-term sustainability performance of building envelope and exterior material systems.
Identify specification considerations that support durability, resilience, and long-term material performance while balancing sustainability goals across building envelope systems.

Speaker:

Kate Stewart, CDT, LEED Green Associate, Specifications & Data Analyst, Knotwood

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ 2027 Color + Design Trends

2027 is full of possibility—and the power of color is right at the center. This presentation offers a view of where design is headed. In it, we discuss themes brought to life through directional palettes, material choices, and interior applications across. This report blends inspiration with strategy—so you can create with more clarity, creativity, and confidence in the year ahead.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the dominant and emerging color palettes projected for 2027.
Learn how to effectively incorporate 2027 color trends into architectural and spatial design projects.

Speaker:

Lynsey Hankins, FCSI, CMG, NKBA, Industry IIDA National Color + Design Manger, Dealer – Pittsburgh Paints

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

1:50 - 2:20 PM | Express Sessions 2

+ TBA

Details coming soon.

2:20 - 2:30 PM | Break

2:30 - 5:00 PM | Visit the Product Showcase

+ About the Product Showcase

+ Tech Hub Demonstrations

Tech Hub exhibitors:

3:30 - 4:30 PM | College of Fellows Annual Meeting

5:30 - 7:30 PM | CSI Celebrates Awards Ceremony and Reception

+ Event Details

Raise a glass and toast the achievements of your fellow CSI members. This event will highlight the best and brightest of CSI at the chapter, region, and national level. The dress for CSI Celebrates is business casual to black tie - wear what makes you comfortable. Cocktail reception to follow.