I thought I was dreaming when I saw a headline recently that
asbestos could now legally be used again in manufacturing. Amazingly it was not a fantasy, it is true
and I am pretty thrown by it. Obviously
for years the push to remove it and deal with it has been a major task and one
that has caused significant issues beyond the serious health risks that kicked
the whole ban into motion. So to see it
back was jarring. I was however relieved
to see at least a solid initial push back by the architectural community. It has begun on social media and I look for
it to keep growing. This is going to be
one to watch on the building side, because I just can’t see it having legs no
matter what the argument for bringing it back is. I guess we will see…
Elsewhere…
We are now 1 month away from GlassBuild America and the
anticipation for this years event is growing nicely. I am expecting very strong attendance and I
am loving the diverse range of exhibitors.
So much to see there for sure.
In addition the action demos are all “must see” types of events along
with the Express Learning. I seriously
recommend you looking at the GlassBuild America website and familiarize
yourself with everything that is happening because it’s a lot different than it
was in the past. Next week I’ll start
breaking down specific items to see to help you in your planning process…
The latest updated website on the market features one of the
best upgrades yet. Diamon–Fusion (DFI) launched a new site that is heavy on video right out of the gate (bold and
daring in our usually conservative industry) and it truly blew me away. Congrats to the entire team at DFI for a job
well done!
This week’s
interview: Alissa Schmidt, Technical Resources Manager, Viracon.
I was very excited that Alissa accepted my request for an
interview in this series as I wanted to get a feel for not only her career
journey but also to get her insight on the technical and project side. She certainly did not disappoint with her
answers. Alissa has easily one of the
most talented technical minds and approaches in our industry. Overall I continue to be amazed at the
incredible amount of personal talent that is amassed at Viracon, obviously
Alissa fits in there perfectly.
Your career started
in Marketing (I had a boss tell me no one needs marketing- so good for you for
getting out- LOL) and then you seemed to settle into the design and technical
side. What was it like to go from
promotion of product to having such a crucial hand in the way the product is
placed and performs?
I guess I’ve never really thought of my transition as
anything more than natural growth with the company growth in knowledge and
experience that lead to the role I’m currently in. I love promoting Viracon
regardless of whether I’m helping our marketing department with content
development, having a conversation directly with an architect or writing a
letter to a customer to explain something they need more details about. At the
same time, my move to the technical side has allowed me to gain a better
understanding of our product development process and how product
characteristics tie to performance in the field.
In case more detail is better, here’s a little background
about my path at Viracon:
Although I came to Viracon with an interior design degree
and experience as a kitchen designer, I also spent four years after college as
a marketing coordinator. When I read Viracon’s job posting for an architectural
design specialist, I saw they were looking for someone who had design OR
marketing experience. Since I had both, I was intrigued and wanted to learn
more about the company and position. I recall arriving for the architectural
design interview only to be notified that I was going to be interviewing for
the position I applied for as well as a marketing position. This was due to my
prior experience in marketing and potential reorganization that was going to
happen in the department. In the end, I was offered the design position and
started with Viracon in that role. The architectural design department was,
however, very integrated into the marketing department so my first several
years at Viracon included quite a bit of marketing support.
As Viracon grew, the design team grew and we restructured it
as a separate entity from our marketing department. Changes in leadership
around this same time lead to a design management opportunity. I had been with
Viracon 7 years, had learned a lot about helping architects design with glass
and was ready to take on the challenge of managing the architectural design
team. A short time after I moved into the management role, a retirement on the
technical side provided an opportunity for me to manage both the design and
technical teams. This is the role I’m currently enjoying today.
I also enjoy the challenge of finding ways to improve, both
personally and within the departments I manage. I discovered a communications
program specifically targeted at communicating technical information to a
non-technical audience. This is a great fit with my current position so I am
currently working on my master’s degree through this program and anticipate
graduating in 2019.
With your position,
and the awesome company you work for, I’d say you are positioned perfectly to
be on the cutting edge of the industry.
What are you seeing out there that excites you and conversely keeps you
up at night?
The electronic design tools architects have at their hands
today are incredible. These tools have facilitated increased complexity of
building shapes and forms. I wouldn’t say the complexity was previously
impossible but the speed and accuracy of today’s software have expanded its use
to a much broader audience.
While this explosion of complexity is super exciting for me
as a designer, it keeps our manufacturing and technical experts on their toes.
Complex building forms create glass shapes and sizes that were once reserved
for high-profile, high-budget projects. Today, it is common for mainstream
projects to include glass that poses a variety of fabrication challenges. The
twists and turns of the unique building forms also change the way a building
interacts with its surroundings. There might be 5 or 10 wind loads on a
building rather than one corner and one typical load of a basic, rectangular
building. This can require extensive glass strength analysis, deflection and
sightline calculations. In some cases, the complexity request finite element
analysis because the traditional strength analysis programs do not suffice.
What’s the most fun
you’ve had on a project in your career- was it something that you had a hand in
from the start or maybe a massive signature project that you helped make sure
everything clicked… or maybe something else that you can point to as memorable
to you…
I hate picking favorites so choosing a single project over
all others is nearly impossible. I’ve definitely had many fantastic experiences
while I’ve been with Viracon. When I first started, Seven World Trade Center
had been recently completed. I remember receiving a lot of calls from
architects who wanted to talk about the glass. Even though I hadn’t personally
worked on the project, these conversations were a quick introduction into how
much fun it can be to talk about glass that comes from a small town in
Minnesota and makes its way to a distinctive New York City building.
I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in the design
process for everything from our local arts center addition to the Dallas
Cowboys Stadium to One World Trade Center. My career here at Viracon has also
offered a lot of fantastic opportunities to see our glass in-person. One of the
most memorable is a trip where I was able to visit One World Trade Center under
construction, near the holidays. From the ground the glass looked great, from
the 56th floor, the view was beautiful but the best vantage point of the
building during that trip was from across the street where the construction
lights were turned into multi-colored lights for the holidays. This little
touch made me think about how a building really does interact with, and
influence, people.
LINKS of the WEEK
Escape the nursing home and first place you go? Heavy metal concert!
Whenever I think we as an industry communicate badly, I
remember there’s certain companies in the airline industry.
Amish version of Uber?
VIDEO of the WEEK
Skipping the video of the week… nothing great caught my fancy. We’ll see what we can find for next week!
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