Greenbuild 2014: What We’re Looking Forward to in New Orleans
- by: Jeanee Dudley
- in Uncategorized
The 21st Annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo kicks off this week in New Orleans and six of our team members are setting out from our office here in Portland, Maine to join the festivities. The action starts Oct. 22 with green building tours and an LEED workshop.
Our crew will be around the floor throughout the week, touching base with our Editor’s Choice 2014 companies and meeting new industry partners. With the objective of taking in new information to better represent the industry, we will also be sitting in on some of the educational sessions. With so much to see and do, we developed a schedule of events to cover our bases — checking out everything from new products to industry-leading green processes so we can continue to represent some of the country’s most ground-breaking contractors and manufacturers in print.
Here’s our game plan…
Wednesday. Oct. 22
9 am: Expo Floor Patrol
Ian and Ryan will be patrolling the expo floor connecting you with our Editor’s Choice 2014 businesses. Grab a flyer for directions to the best booths at Greenbuild!
2pm: Hot, Humid & Cool: Passive House in the Deep South (MR 265, C07)
Passive building has long been a benchmark for sustainable building. Since inception, this practice has focused on energy saving for home and business owners. While this trend continues to develop, changing technology frequently focuses on insulation and heating systems.
Presenters Katrin Klingenberg, executive director at the Passive House Institute U.S., and Corey Saft, associate professor at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will guide the conversation focusing on how to make passive building work in different climates. These seasoned professionals will outline the basics of passive house construction and discuss alternatives and consistencies between building passive housing in cold climates and hotter climates.
3pm: [email protected] (Stage East, XE15)
This sessions will breakdown AIA’s current sustainability priorities, activities, and key partnerships and provide and update on the latest findings and improvements to the AIA 2030 Commitment and other priority programs.
6pm: Greenbuild Opening Plenary: The Dollars and Sense of Climate Change (New Orleans Superdome)
Wednesday evening, our crew will head over to the New Orleans Superdome for an opening plenary with environmentalist, entrepreneur and writer, Paul Hawken. Hawken has dedicated his life to sustainability, starting up ecological businesses, educating students and business owners about environmental issues and consulting with public and private entities to build better relationships between operations and the environment.
Hawken is joined by Tom Steyer, president of NextGen Climate and Governor of Maryland Martin O’Malley. The conversation will revolve around climate change and its effects on people, businesses and the planet. This session will outline the impact of global climate change as well as how businesses can fight it while driving revenue.
Thursday, Oct. 23
9am: Expo Floor Patrol
Ian and Ryan will be back on the expo floor making more connections and asking you, “What will you do differently now that you’ve experienced Greenbuild?” Be sure to tweet your answers to @USBuildersReview or follow the conversation using #GreenBuzz.
9:30am: Data-Driven Design: Architecture in the Age of Information (E10, MR 356)
The Big Data revolution is changing every area of work and life—including buildings. This session will demonstrate how to mine Big Data to spur innovation and improve building performance.
10:30am: LEED v4 Certification: A New Experience (XE22, Stage East)
This update will describe the enhancements incorporated into the LEED v4 certification process including a new streamlined LEED Online interface, front end technical support, access to LEED reviewers and increased transparency.
11:45am: Autodesk Presents: Lifecyle assessment at the speed of design (EL48, Booth #945)
Conducting LCAs throughout a design process is essential to systematically lowering a project’s environmental impact. This session highlights Tally, an add-in for Revit that calculates the life cycle impact of building materials.
2pm: Geeking Out on Green Products (XW24, Stage West)
Geeking Out on Green Products will feature presenters Brent Ehrlich, products editor at BuildingGreen Inc., and Alex Wilson, president of the Resilient Design Institute. While much if the expo centers on cutting edge technology, these experts will hone in on new technologies and the options contractors, designers and manufacturers have for incorporating these products. The conversation will explore how products are designated as green as well as how many of the conference’s participants are working to resolve problems and inconsistencies in the industry.
4pm: Myths About LEED (CL09, MR342)
This session will dispel misconceptions and downright inaccuracies within the market. A line of six presenting industry professionals will hold a conversation with attendees to help build a better understanding of the LEED rating system, introduce the LEED User Group and its purposes and outline up and coming best practices for finding and presenting accurate information about LEED specifications.
8:30pm: Greenbuild’s Best After Party (Metropolitan Nightclub)
Who goes to New Orleans without the intent to get a little wild? Not us! This annual event has become one of the hottest tickets for the conference and you can expect our team to be there.
Friday, Oct. 24
On Friday, our team will be around the floor meeting with other attendees and interviewing some new faces for the upcoming issues of our magazine. If you’d like to shedule a time to meet up, email us or find us on social media — Facebook, Twitter,Google+, LinkedIn.
Every year, the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo promises cutting-edge developments for green building and the expo floor promises a veritable fountain of new technology, information and ideas. If you’re not sure what to see or how to prioritize your time, check out our 3 Tips for Navigating Greenbuild 2014. We can’t wait to see you there!