by kevin, on October 27th, 2009
Two weeks from today, I’ll be heading to Phoenix AZ for the 2009 Greenbuild Expo. Building on two previous posts, here’s some of what we’re looking to accomplish, and what we’ve started lining up:
Interviews & Conversations: So far we have meetings set up with Fireclay Tile, Aged Woods, Coverings, ETC, Kirei, and IceStone. Let’s us know if you have any questions you would like us to ask.
Every company we’ve reached out to for potential interviews has responded favorably. Here’s a continuation of our list of companies we plan to spend time with: Richlite, Smith & Fong (makers of Plyboo), Terra Green Ceramics, Tiger Mountain Innovations, Waste Management, Wausau Tile, Agriboard Industries, Bonded Logic, CBC America, Clearline Environmental Products, and many more to be listed in following posts. Our plan is to interview each and post them here. More to come.
Conference Sessions: Last week I listed the sessions that Aleida will be attending. Here’s a list of those I’m looking forward to: Thinking Big: Green Buildings on Every Street; LEED for Retail Practical Strategies; iGreen: How the Web Empowers Designers to Build Sustainably; Master Speaker – Peter Gleick; When the Rubber Meets the Road: Triumphs and Challenges of Actually Applying Leed for Retail to Restaurants; GreenFormat in Practice; Changing How the Army Builds: How does Net Zero Energy Family Housing Stand up?; Delivering Green to Hotel Guests: Incorporating LEED into Hospitality Brand Standards & Operations; The Design of Resource Use in Place(s). Next week we’ll break this list and last week’s list down with more info on specific sessions.
Book Preview: I’m still working on the Al Gore camp to get an advance copy of his book, so there’s still nothing to report yet. But since the book launches next week, I’m thinking our chances are looking bleak.
LA to Phoenix Road Trip: In addition to stops along our route between LA and Phoenix, we’re hoping to visit some excellent examples of sustainable architecture in the Phoenix metro area. I’ve always been a big fan of William Bruder, Eddie Jones, and Wendell Burnette. All three are local architects whose design sensibilities aren’t necessarily strictly sustainable, but are definitely connected to a tradition of desert design that is well connected to that specific environment. The work of all three expresses their deep understanding of materials demonstrated through elemental purity. We’ll be looking for a few new projects to check out.
Let us know if you’ll be there, we would love to meet anyone interested in getting together. And tell us about any exhibitors or speakers you think we should check out.
Don’t forget about Frank Lloyd Wright out there in Phoenix. The land he bought for Taliesin West in north Scottsdale and declared nothing else would be built on it still stands true I believe.
So true Jenny. Thanks for reminding me. I’ve been to all of the FLW sites in the area, but my partner has not. So we may need to find a little time for a few. I also forgot Cosanti – a wonderful little complex of organic buildings. I’ve been there many times before, but I love visiting to see new bells or ceramic work. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.
I hope you will get a chance to stop by the Mariah Power booth to see a fully operational Windspire vertical wind turbine. We will be at booth #1365.
Hi Amy,
Absolutely. We’ll stop by. Good luck with your preparations for the expo and see you in a few weeks.
I will be in Phoenix for the conference representing the A|E firm I work at. I am personally looking forward to the half day workshop that I signed up for called “Operational Approach to Sustainability: How to actually implement a sustainability program in your organization.”. There is also a meet and greet on Thursday with the current and candidate officers of USGBC. Hopefully I can find that one and get in the door.
Do you know of any after hours events going on? I went to GB2007 and got into some. One was at SOM on Michigan avenue, and the other was at one of the sponsor hotels. I met more people at those events that at the rest of the conference.
See you at the conference!
Hi Keith,
Thanks for the comment. I’ve never done one of the half day sessions, but have heard good things. That one in particular sounds very interesting. I hope it works well for you. You’re right, the after hours events are a great place to meet like minded people with fascinating backgrounds. I haven’t planned any this year other than an exhibitor sponsored reception Tuesday night. I usually wait till the event and figure those out on the spot. If I hear of any that sound good, I’ll post something here and tweet about it. Take care, travel safe, and see you there.
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