Ecobuild Event Features AIA President

RK Stewart, current president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Centerville, Mass., and principal with the architectural firm Gensler, will serve as the keynote speaker at the Ecobuild America Fall and AEC Science & Technology (AEC-ST) Fall conferences.

Those events, which take place Dec. 10-13, 2007 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., will feature two keynote sessions.

The annual event is targeted to attract design and construction professionals and is held in cooperation with the Green Building Initiative; Green Mechanical Council; Specifications Consultants in Independent Practice; the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce; and buildingSMART Alliance of the National Institute of Building Sciences. Project software maker Bentley Systems Inc., Exton, Pa., is the corporate sponsor.

RK Stewart of the AIA will speak on Weds., Dec. 12, 2007 to help provide an overview of the contribution buildings make to carbon emissions, sustainable design trends within corporate America and client support for green design in the commercial and residential building sector.

Thursday’s keynote session will feature Patrick MacLeamy, the CEO of design firm HOK. That session will explore the contrast between the building and manufacturing industries, and what those in the building industry can learn from the manufacturing industry.

MacLeamy will describe buildingSMART, a strategy designed to emulate the best manufacturing practices for the building industry. MacLeamy believes this strategy must be followed aggressively to meet the energy-saving needs of a modern world.

Those seeking more information or wishing to register can go to www.ecobuildfall.com or www.aecstfall.com.