Get Ready For Philadelphia AIA

This week many from the commercial side of our industry will be together in Philadelphia for the AIA show.  This show always fascinates me because it’s like a modified version of speed dating.  The architects only have limited time to hit the floor because of the education courses, so when they do start visiting exhibits the urgency to pull them in is strong because they are limited on time.  That setup makes it a challenging show for exhibitors and anyone else who is working it.  Regardless many go because of the potential overall networking- (suppliers, customers, consultants etc.) which is as big as getting lucky finding an architect legitimately interested in you or your product.  It will be interesting to see how busy it is.  With a good location population wise, and better dates than in the past, it could be a good one.  We’ll see.

Some other AIA related nuggets… 

The keynote speaker was supposed to be actor Kevin Spacey.  He then had to postpone and they grabbed actress Julie Louis Dreyfus to replace him.  And while I am a fan of their work, I’m still baffled on how either person makes sense as a keynote at an architectural conference.  That whole setup smacks of the desire to just bring in a fun big name instead of something actually meaningful to the industry.  Maybe GlassBuild can get Louis CK?   Or Chris Rock?  And yes I know BEC each year has a celebrity athlete as a speaker but it’s never the main keynote and for the most part their messages are inspirational, so there is value there.

The E-mail blast game with regards to AIA is the most prominent I have ever seen.  I have gotten more e-mails from exhibitors at the show, promoting their exhibit and products than ever before.  That is where the medium is truly effective- having a purpose to match to.   Now I will be curious on what the post show flow will look like.

Elsewhere…

--  By the way speaking of shows GlassBuild America registration is now open.  You can take care of that HERE.  Early bird rates end at the end of this month… you know you are going… and you know you have to be at the Glazing Executives Forum- so sign up now and save a few bucks.

--  Got depressing news this week that Spectrum Glass was closing it’s doors.  It will wrap up business in the next few months and they’ll be a pretty large hole in the specialty art glass side of the industry.  The push from the EPA with regards to air regulations is something that is a big factor for this industry segment and it obviously played a role here.  I met the team at Spectrum once years ago- tremendously nice people and I feel for them, their employees, and customers.

--  Excellent article here on why the need for retrofit is so crucial for the energy efficiency performance in North America.  I have always been on this train- that we are doing a solid job with new construction, but it’s the older buildings that need the push to upgrade.  This story helps push that point.

--  And last this week… a very well put together article on the fact our world is certainly changing.  It brings up a lot of the issues in one place such as China, Data Streaming, Artificial Intelligence, Logistics, OPEC, and Sustainability.  A lot of main issues all pulled together in one place for a serious thought piece.

LINKS of the WEEK

Great story on 22-year old Disney ticket…  I love that place and wonder if somewhere we still have an old ticket I can re-use…

More and more great journalism is found in non traditional places.  This is surely one of them- uncovering of a Chicago schools scandal…

I can never understand why people don’t think before they do things like “Subway Surf” Just sad.

VIDEO of the WEEK

Meghan Trainor had a tough go on the Tonight Show this week- finishes her set and loses her footing.  Yikes…