Lots of think pieces out there asking where the world will
be and what it will look like in 2040. I
guess a 20-year look forward is a thing?
Anyway I decided to do the same thing briefly with our industry in
mind. I think we are headed into an
incredible run because glass is about to grow dramatically on the interior of a
building while still being a dominant product on the exterior. On the interior the demand as I have noted a
ton lately, is natural light. Glass is
the product for this and we are just scratching the surface here. There are tremendous amounts of interesting
interior glass products that are going to become more common on the inside and
as more designers and architects learn about it, the more we will see utilized. On the exterior, I think thanks to some
excellent framing manufacturers we have a long runway ahead of great glass
usage. Glass is able to go bigger than
ever before and more and more focus towards high performance is a big step. So 2040?
I see serious levels of glass on the interior- a lot less drywall and
the end of fabric clad cubicles. On the
outside, all glass structures and incredible unitized systems will be leading
the way giving the designer and the occupant what they demand. (Check out my project of the week for a great
looking example) But that’s me… curious what your thoughts are so please feel
free to share…
Elsewhere…
-- A couple of years ago the process of bringing two
powerhouses of our industry began. It
was the merger of the Glass Association of North America and the National Glass
Association. This process took a ton of
people to work together and develop a smooth transition to maximize the
strengths of both organizations. There
were a lot of questions, concerns, worry etc.
I had an interesting view of the process as I was one of the rare people
who had done significant work at both organizations, my love for GlassBuild and
BEC being the driver there. I got to see
the care taken and sweat expended to get this over the finish line. Now we celebrate the 2nd
anniversary of the merge. The one
unified voice is alive and well and the best thing for me is seeing how the
strengths of each side have grown stronger inside this sole organization. Specifically the technical side – has been
absolutely amazing. I know that there is
a ton going on, but when I saw this post by Andrew Haring it really hit
home. The amount of unbelievable
technical support and content put out here is something to see and appreciate. So to all involved with this merge,
congratulations- the trend continues to move positive and your efforts to get
this done were a success. And right now
to all of the folks working on our behalf- both staff and volunteers… Thank you
for all you are doing to advance our industry- we need and value the resources
you continue to provide. Happy 2nd
anniversary and here’s to many many more!
-- And while we are on the topic of good things for the
industry… the news on NGA having an alliance with ASA is tremendous. This is an excellent arrangement that allows
NGA Member companies to have access to certain ASA benefits and resources. It will also bring ASA into some of the NGA
conferences, lending additional expertise and resources to attendees of those
events. Very exciting!
-- Last week was the Super Bowl and thus the super commercials…
some good ones and a few groaners. My
winner? MC Hammer “U Can’t Touch This”
for Cheetos barely beating out the remake of GroundHog Day for Jeep (featuring
Bill Murray). I went back and forth on
it, and in the end went with Hammer… obviously both of those commercials appeal
to my age group given the themes and stars.
On the flip side not sure why Turkish Airlines spends 5.6 million for an
ad and same with Heinz Ketchup. To me
that is a serious misuse of budget…
-- Last this week, wrapping up the Airport rankings with
covering the medium sized ones… Its
funny some on this list I truly would consider “large” but this is not my
poll. (And yes I really should do one
myself right?)
10- Houston Hobby- No major issue, but also not a ton of
experience here
9- San Jose- Same as Hobby experience wise
8- Oakland- Solid airport- would rather fly here vs. San
Fran.
7- Salt Lake City- Nope.
Scary cramped. Hard to get
around, awful layout.
6- San Diego- This needs to be higher just because how chill
it is and its also one of my favorite cities in the world.
5- Sacramento- Amazingly I have never flown in or out of
here.
4- Nashville- Will have an experience with it in March for
BEC- It’s a decent airport, not better than San Diego though.
3- Austin- I think this could be higher. Nice airport- GREAT GLASS doors and
walls. The weirdness of Austin is there
too.
2- Portland- My pal Lyle and I will argue on this- but still
too high. I just don’t see it
And at #1 Tampa- It’s decent. But #1?
No way. Austin and San Diego
should be ahead of it.
So this one has several misses- Dallas Love should be in top
10. Washington Dulles (not sure how its
“medium”) should be top 5. And
Raleigh-Durham is a great one as is Northern Kentucky, and Madison- though
those last 2 may be considered too small for these rankings.
Anyway there ya go… always fun to opine… and thanks to all
who have weighed in on this fun debate!
LINKS of the WEEK
Great piece on speaking Yiddish with a Harry Potter twist
When Direct Mail goes very very wrong!
Some legitimate hope for those of us who have peanut/treenut allergy folks in our lives.
PROJECT of the WEEK
So I was inspired by a LinkedIn post from United Architectural Metals featuring a bunch of their jobs in a video reel. One job jumped out and I had to go in search of. It’s in my old hometown of Pittsburgh, PA and it’s the Scott Hall job at Carnegie Mellon University. United Architectural was the metal supplier with a custom system that looks awesome. Glass from Viracon and Schott and great install from my friends at DM Products. This is a building that stops you in your tracks- creative and stunning and our industry absolutely delivered at every step. Congrats to all involved!
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