It's Time!

It is finally here.  GlassBuild Connect kicks off this week and for the next month we’ll be focused on the best that our industry has to offer.  Obviously this year is like no other and GlassBuild being an online experience is like nothing else out there.  I am honored to work on the team there to bring you a truly genuine and caring event.

I had like 500 more words on this but then I read Andrew Haring’s blog and he said it so much better than me (which is ALWAYS THE CASE) so please CLICK and read- he’s got it down perfect here.

Thank you for supporting this effort!  Learn more and sign up at GlassBuild.com

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  On a somewhat non glass level… I am very excited about Rowe Fenestration’s Lindsey Rowe Parker on the pre-release of her new book “Wiggles, Stomps and Squeezes: Calm My Jitters Down.”  This will be a must for anyone who has or knows a child with sensory differences and having worked a little with Lindsey I know this will be a difference maker in many lives.  It is available for pre-order now, so please check it out and support this amazing work by a truly fabulous person.

 

--  Speaking of books, I “was” excited when I stumbled upon this book when it was mentioned on line.  The book is “Designing a World-Class Architecture Firm: The People, Stories, and Strategies Behind HOK” – so I immediately went to buy it… and then I saw the prices.  Even the electronic version is pricey- $61.  I mean I love to read and would love an inside story of a major architectural firm but $61?  That’s wild.  I don’t think I have paid that much for a book since college.  So it’s a pass for me right now.

 

--  I have written about specialty glass guru Kevin Roth on here a few times in the past- love the work he and his folks have done.  Well now his company is now going through a very cool re-brand, going from being known as Vistamatic to now as Privacy Glass Solutions.  This is all thanks to focusing on more than just the original Vistamatic brand since they have Blinds Between Glass, Switchable, and Deco products.   So it’s a good and smart move that covers the entire base vs. just one. Exciting things coming for these guys for sure!

 

--  So the next hot thing is the “15-minute city”  Interesting approach here and how this could be a part of future planning.

 

--  This is fascinating to me- air filters that are being advertised as something that kiils off COVID-19.  They are going into the Houston Convention Center.  I am thrown some because I am all over the anti-microbial space and pretty much everyone is saying the technology for the COVID-19 version of Coronavirus is not there yet- but this story says different. 

 

--  Last this week… very sad news with the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman.  I truly enjoyed his work both in portraying the real life and comic book heroes.  He was that incredibly rare public figure in that I don’t think there’s any one out there who could say they did not like him.  At 43 too young to leave our world for sure. Here’s a nice piece on Boseman’s impact and legacy.

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

--  An “Alligator-like” Turtle?  No thanks- I like my turtles cute and slow.

 

--  Interesting- United Airline’s food supplier selling direct to the public now with less flights going.  I wondered that- so may places not coming close to using what they normally did pre-virus

 

--  Twins… but born 2 days apart- amazing!

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

This one is in Boston with glass from AGC.  The design is awesome, props to Elkus Manfredi for that.  Unique and really stunning.  Installation by the team at Ferguson Neudorf.  No doubt this is another one to point to for noting great usage of glass!

Trends Up, Down, and All Around

The latest Architectural Billings Index results were released this past week and they came in pretty much like I expected… Still not great and not what we had been used to, but they were better than what they were and what they could be.  So here’s the skinny.  The main index stayed exactly the same as last month- 40.  (I had predicted a slight drop to 38) So that is “good” in the big picture of things.  The inquiries into new projects were virtually flat too from last month 49.3 to 49.1.  The problem point was in the new contracts signed department where the drop from 44 to 41.7 was a rough pill to swallow.  Remember 50 is break even so we are not there yet and in one of the categories backsliding some.  I had a feeling it would be off a bit this month given the way the markets were reacting so none of this was a surprise.  Now we just keep working away and continue to be smart and focused in our efforts.  With the calendar now turning to fall which traditionally showed boosted forecasts that could be a plus coming our way, but it is the year 2020 so nothing normal or planned can be counted on!  Next ABI comes out September 23^rd.

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  Thoughts and prayers to all my friends on the Gulf coast with a double billing of hurricanes coming your way.  What an unreal time and approach.  Hope these things peter out before they get to you and stay well and safe!

 

--  There are some folks who have disagreed with me on my assertions that the office setting is going to come back in a solid form and I believe glass will play a massive role.  Well at least for the offices coming back; I have a great ally in… Amazon.  This news on Amazon expanding office space is excellent.  Thank you to all of my friends out there who shared this with me too!  Please to all if you see a good story that could affect our industry, shoot it to me….

 

--  I caught the first episode of the new podcast from John Wheaton- “Creating Structure.”  A few weeks ago I noted he was launching a pod and the first effort was excellent.  Great guest in Dan Adams, CEO of Advanced Industrial Marketing and the subject matter that included deep dives into strategy, training, communication, and 30 years worth of Harvard Business Reviews was great.  Congrats John and look forward to more of this content in the future!

 

--  Glass Magazine review time… Trendwatch was the cover story and a good portion of the issue was dedicated to what’s hot and next.  That alone is a must read for anyone in our world.  I also enjoyed the “Ramping Back Up” article from Larry Johnson of Quanex and my guy Tim Finley had his excellent blog post published in this issue- that made my day.  Great piece if you haven’t read it yet.  Once again front to back a fabulous issue from the best in the industry.

 

--  Ad of the month… a tough choice again especially since this issue is popular with advertisers because of the “trend” content and leading into GlassBuild season.  So marketers brought their best!  But only one winner this time and I am going with Kuraray and their “When Seconds Count…” piece.  The design almost had a 3D flavor to it and image absolutely caught my eye.  Sharp and impressive ad for sure.  Kudos to the team there on this months best!

 

--  I missed this little blurb when first posted on GlassMagazine.com and it was a job where an old car dealership was redone as luxury apartments.  Nice work!  I think we are going to see a lot more work like this in the future and we need to as well.  Way too many old structures sitting empty out there…

 

--  Last this week… did you think you’d get through an entire blog without me reminding you to register for GlassBuild Connect?  Event kicks off 9/1 and runs all of September and is the only industry event you need to attend that month.  Next week I’ll dive deeper into the schedule but I will say it now, the amount of excellent content that the NGA team has put together and the efforts from the over 300 exhibitors will really blow you away.  So register now… GlassBuild.com

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

--  Well I covered this from the start… may as well finish… the celebrity college admission scandal finally looks over and the jail sentences are out… and celebs win again.

 

--  Above I mentioned the double hurricanes, now there was also a fire tornado?  Seriously I am done with 2020.

 

--  Tough times call for these sorts of moves…

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

From the always excellent LinkedIn feed of Andre Kenstowicz of Vitro Architectural Glass.  This is the new home of Goldfinch Brothers Glass and Glazing.  Looking great!  Proof in we practice what we preach!  Glass made by Viitro, fabricated by NWI, designed by Dykeman Architects, and of course installed by Goldfinch.  Congrats on the new building!

 

Happy Trails

Leading off with another big retirement in our industry. Les Young of Binswanger Glass retired at the end of last week. For me there are not too many men out there as good as Les. Just an awesome human being. I had the honor of working twice with Les, once as a direct employee and once as a consultant and each time my experience was so much better because of my friendship with Les. Les ran the Human Resources for Binswanger, which could be a very tough job on occasion, but he always kept a positive approach to everything. Les also was a sponge for knowledge wanting more detail and info and ways to better improve everything we did. I am thrilled that Les is now headed to the next phase of his life where he can hopefully sit back and relax and enjoy Ole Miss football (Hotty Toddy!) and his incredible family. This industry will not be the same without Les involved that is for sure. Enjoy your retirement my friend!!

 

Elsewhere… 

--  The next release of the Architectural Billings Index will be released this week and this one will be more interesting than normal. As you may remember last month was a “good” report (relative to the time we are in) and had some momentum. But since then there has been more of a lull out there and also some virus related issues that have hampered some planning. So where will the index land? I am obviously hoping for up, but my call here is it drops to 38 with new project inquiries also dipping a little too. I hope I am wrong for sure… but we will see Wednesday when it is released and I’ll of course recap it here next post. 

--  Two milestones to celebrate for Guardian Glass this week… first the Guardian Glass Carleton plant celebrated its 50th anniversary this week. Because it’s not far from my home I have been lucky enough to visit that location many times and it’s an awesome place. Also this week it is the 25th anniversary of the launch of the SunGuard product line. I remember when it came out and I think that was around the time I got to get to know the great Chris Dolan. So for me not only an important product for our world but also a tremendous industry connection was made for me. 

--  Congrats to everyone on the team there for both milestones!! Cool news for the guys at Tomakk Glass in Louisiana. They launched earlier this year and recently the Governor of Louisiana honored them for their work and impact in the state. I love when our industry gets positive recognition and I surely enjoy when someone as powerful as a Governor takes notice. Congrats to the folks at Tomakk (the leader there Clay Hargett is an excellent guy) and best to you all going forward! 

--  I loved the blog from David Vermeulen of Technical Glass Products last week. If you missed it, check it out as he jumps into one of the biggest questions we all have every day in this industry… how to get an architect to specify you. As we all know our industry would probably sell our own mothers for the basic love of an architect so it was very insightful of David to walk everyone through the process. Good stuff and great read! 

--  World Architecture News has a bunch of contests running right now and one is the best corporate office designs of 2020. Pretty neat designs and I am sure folks in our world had something to do with it. Here’s the top 6. Note this link you may have to register for but site is free. 

 

--  Last this week… wouldn’t be a post from me right now without a plug for GlassBuild Connect. So a good friend of mine called this week and said “tell me more about GlassBuild- I see all the ads, but what is it and what’s in it for me?” It was a great question and because GlassBuild Connect is so vast and comprehensive it’s could be hard to explain. So here goes. This is a one-month event on GlassBuild.com. It will have more than 300 exhibitors showing their products on specific pages easily accessed by product search. It also will feature daily content including videos, demos, podcasts, panel sessions, blogs, and other features. That will cover trends, innovations, codes, forecasts, installation, and more. There is a ton here. Content will stay online all month. This is so much more than just a dropped in virtual show trying to pull a fast one. This is the GlassBuild tradition but online for a month and loaded up for all. Most important the exhibitors of GlassBuild Connect have been incredible with getting behind this effort so we as an industry should support them and their efforts. So please go register now… at GlassBuild.com. Oh and keep eyes open there’s more contests too… there’s been a couple of trips and other goodies given away with more to come! 

LINKS of the WEEK 

--  Tourism as whole is being crushed, but sure doesn’t help when your website goes haywire. 

 

--  Beer and gum stashed away for later… much later… like 30 years later? 

 

--  Easily the best drivers license picture ever! 

PROJECT of the WEEK 

So I am dying inside with parts of college football being cancelled… so when I saw a post from FGD Glass Solutions showing off work they had done at the College Football Hall of Fame I had to make it my project of the week! This is a part of the “Rivalry Row” there with cool custom glass panels. FGD does so much amazing work that this quick pic probably doesn’t do them justice… but I like the look and location and when we are all back in Atlanta in 2021 for GlassBuild I think I’ll go visit all of it in person! Nice work FGD team!

Blip on the Radar?

An interesting and unfavorable trend appeared this week in my normal communications around the industry.  For the first time since the virus started locking us down, I am getting reactions that business has slowed up for many.  During the last few months there were stretches where work was delayed or orders slowed but e-mails and inquiries kept up.  This week though I heard from more than a few people in different areas of our industry that the communication just dropped off.  It got slow.  And quiet.  Obviously I hope this is a flukey run but I think there is concern that possibly we’ve hit the valley that many analysts had expected to come later in the year.  There’s no doubt I think we’ve all had it in the back of our heads that a tough stretch is coming our way.  It bears watching and also is a call to make sure you are doing everything you can to stay ahead of it.  Diversify, communicate, evolve etc.  Take advantage of the lessons and info out there to keep you ahead of the potential mess.  Let’s hope though this a blip in my network and not more…

Elsewhere…

Lots of people news…

--  Happy Trails to my good friend George Petzen at Lin El.  George hangs them up next week.  Great guy and super presence at every conference and with really everyone he encountered.  The industry will miss George’s efforts and I personally will miss his takes on our industry and world.  Great guy and I am thrilled he is off to better times in retirement!  Enjoy!

--  Get well soon to my brother Steve.  He recently had back surgery and he’s going through the recovery process now.    Just a matter of time before he’s back to 100% for sure… and he’ll be back to beating me up just like he did when we were kids!

--  Congrats to my guy Dan Plotnick of Vitro on his latest position movement there.  Dan has added extra responsibilities to his role and will do great.  Dan is one of the brightest and more impressive young guys in our industry and I love getting to pick his brain on occasion.  Great move by Vitro and congrats Dan!

--  This week another Thirsty Thursday is up and it is a fabulous topic.  “Preventing Glazing Surprises in Appearance Properties” is on tap and it is something that everyone from Fabricators to Glaziers deal with constantly.  Get the lowdown on this one from Steve Thomas of Guardian Glass.  I believe I called Steve “human Google” in the past because the man is off the charts intelligent.  (I shared a stage with him once and was in awe of his brainpower)  Great subject and speaker so check out more details HERE.

--  Have you registered for GlassBuild Connect yet?  Registration opened up this past week and plans for this event are coming along nicely.  This is the only major online experience you need to attend in September.  It is the only one that brings the best exhibitors and education together for an entire month.  As more of the schedule gets released I will share the highlights but I can honestly say there is nothing like this happening in our world, so get registered now at GlassBuild.com. 

--  Last this week, you may have seen this maze on your social media feeds, but in case you missed it here it is.  This is a great way to put you mind in a different place for a few minutes or like 15 seconds like Sara Neiswanger of NGA zoomed through it.  Fun look at the wild path this year on the road to GlassBuild Connect! 

LINKS of the WEEK

--  A friend commented to me that these were the original “take-out”windows… now it looks like they are back? 

--  A wild boar steals the laptop of a nudist?  Sounds like 2020 to me.

--  Guess this is animal themed section of links… how about a Bear just walking in a house, beating up owner and then leaving?

PROJECT of the WEEK

 Another company that I had not previously known is one I ran into on my feeds this week.  This fabulous work is from Jamie Johnson of Performance Glass.  This is the First Bank Raleigh and it’s in process and the glass is looking spectacular.  Hopefully Jamie will share pictures when it’s done.  The feed mentioned fabricated glass from Tristar, (which looks perfect) framing from Kawneer off a design from Gensler.  Some powerhouses all involved there- Nice!  Congrats on the great work Jamie- glad I saw it!

Clearing Off The Desk- August Edition

My gosh it’s August! Despite the extremely unusual nature of this year (work from home, locked in) time seems to be flying right on by. So, I figure it’s time for another quick hit version of the blog.  Here goes…

--  Façade Tectonics kicks off this week and this excellent letter from the legendary Mic Patterson (yes, he is a hero of mine) brings his insight of doing the right thing during very challenging times.

--  FTI’s month of tremendous content leading into GlassBuildConnect for a month is flat out awesome for the industry.  So much learning at so many different levels.  2 events back to back that are difference-makers.

--  The big social news out was that John Wheaton is starting a podcast.  That will be an absolute must listen!  Once it drops I’ll make sure to share here.

--  Sharing this fantastic Chris Phillips blog from last week.  Great take on relationships now vs. the past.   Things change, we have to keep rolling with those punches! 

--  Revit and other technology was a part of a panel I had moderated at a previous BEC.  So this story on sluggish development and frustrated architects really caught my eye. I wonder how it is affecting the power users in our industry?

Last this week… .comments on the NGA Glass Conference.  I thought it was very strong and well done.  Some key quick takeaways from me:

--  Vaughn Schauss from Kuraray was sharp and his piece on security glazing and laminating continued to drive home the point that laminated glass is a massive product area.

--  Mike Burk delivered again, as always, this time nailing the sentiment of automation and it’s importance. For when he was saying that I could imagine my friends Michael Spellman and Manny Borda at IGE Technologies nodding their heads feverishly.  (They are always on me about that subject) Automation is so crucial to our industry going forward.

--  As I have mentioned here many times, the Bird Friendly piece is big and Marc Deschamps of Walker was absolutely on fire with his presentation on it.  In 15 minutes he covered the subject matter perfectly.  Nick Resetar, one of the NGA Advocacy “heroes” also covered it in depth nicely on Thursday. The interest and growth here are no flukes.  This is a major application area. 

--  The “Architects Questions Answered” panel was so good.  For some it may have been very elementary but I really liked the very clear explanations and approaches the panel provided.  Hopefully that session is utilized at future events like GlassBuild and AIA/Architect conferences.  

--  Props to the great Dr. Tom Culp who during one of his sessions clearly laid out how glass and glazing is a big part of occupant comfort with a push to the high performance side of things.  

--  Connor Lokar of ITR.  The economic forecast… Plain and simple if you missed it, you missed incredible forecast insight… it wasn’t all great news but I also found more positive than others.  Glass Magazine covered it HERE.  By the way… If you did not attend this session it was announced that Connor WILL be presenting during GlassBuild Connect!  So THAT is an ABSOLUTE must view then.  

Off topic comments on the people at or involved in the event:

--  If AJ Piscitelli of FeneTech wanted to moonlight as a radio talk show host he could- not only is the guy insanely intelligent but he’s also got a great set of pipes!  Awesome presenter.

--  I wish I had just a tiny bit of Brad Thurman’s (from GGI) brains and skill set.  His style and approach are always so incredibly impressive and I always leave any interaction with him (either in the rare in person or a presentation like this) feeling smarter.

--  It was very exciting that so many architects attended.  Given that day 3 of the conference also coincided with another big online architectural conference, it was nice to see the attendance hold up.

--  As I noted last week the sponsors really were impressive.  What a group.  Thank you again if you were one of them. Your support of the industry is appreciated! 

--  Kudos to the team at the National Glass Association who worked so hard behind the scenes to make this fly.  From the presentations to the Grub Hub cards, they were hustling to make sure everything was right and the experience valuable.  This was not easy and they nailed it.  

--  Now on to GlassBuildConnect!

LINKS of the WEEK

--  CAN SHORTAGE?  In Michigan there’s a problem with trying to get the empty cans returned so if any manufacturer wants to come to my garage, I can solve this shortage! 

--  It’s a dog story and I am for it.  This reaction would be similar to one of my dogs if they got rescued.

--  Every week a new and different world record broken.  Soccer touches on a treadmill? 

  

PROJECT of the WEEK

I have known the folks at Chicago Heights Glass for many years and always have been a fan.  Saw this nice work in action on the feed of Steve Toth there.  This is One Chicago Square and it features the patented Talon Wall by Entekk.  Great work in action by Steve, Kurt LeVan and everyone involved with this one! Can’t wait to see it when it’s done!