BUILD 2013

Each January, the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) produces the annual BUILD Construction Conference. The comprehensive event includes a construction products show, educational seminars, and an economic forecast dinner presentation about the state of the local economy, specifically the prospects for the construction sector in the coming year. As it has for the past few years, BUILD will take place on the last Thursday of January at the Hilton Hotel & Conference Center in downtown Eugene. 

The Willamette Valley Chapter has dubbed this year’s edition of the conference as “Lucky 13,” and is focusing upon the theme of “Turning Challenges into Opportunities in 2013.” In addition to CSI, the other participating professional societies are the American Institute of Architects, National Association of Women in Construction, Associated General Contractors, Cascadia Green Building Council, and American Society of Landscape Architects. 

The free products show and educational seminars offer fantastic, convenient opportunities to learn about the latest developments in construction industry technology, practices, and knowledge. Each seminar qualifies for one AIA learning unit (or other industry continuing education credit), so those of you who currently are short of your requisite yearly total should definitely plan on attending. No pre-registration is necessary for either the product show or the educational seminars: just show up and you’re in! 

There will be a total of six different seminars this year, two occurring concurrently in each of three sessions. The seminar schedule is as follows:

Session 1 (1:30 – 2:30 PM)  Upward Acting Sections Door Systems (Joplin/Seeger Room) Overhead Door Corporation  Architectural Millwork Quality Issues (Sousa Room) Woodwork Institute
Session 2 (2:45 – 3:45 PM)  The Science of Projection Screens (Joplin/Seeger Room) Da-Lite Screen Company
Seismic Renovation of Existing Buildings (Sousa Room) MRR + DCI Engineers Session 3 (4:00 – 5:00 PM) Linoleum 101 (Joplin/Seeger Room) Forbo Flooring Tax Update – What’s new for 2013 and beyond (Sousa Room) Jones & Roth CPAs and Business Advisors

Following the last session of seminars, BUILD’s social hour will be perfect opportunity to connect with your colleagues in the building industry—the architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, bankers, owners, insurers, code officials, attorneys, and accountants that BUILD our community! 

The “Projects in the Pipeline” dinner is always a highlight of the annual BUILD conference, and this year’s edition should be no exception. It will be comprised of presentations from speakers representing some of the major public and private sector entities that together have been responsible for much of the local construction activity in recent years. The distinguished 2013 panel of speakers is as follows: 

• David Suchart – Director of Management Services, Lane County
• Denny Braud – Urban Renewal Manager, City of Eugene
• John Tamulonis – Community Development Manager, City of Springfield
• Darin Dehle – Director of Facilities Services, University of Oregon
• Dave Hauser – President, Eugene Chamber of Commerce
• Jack Roberts – Executive Director, Lane Metro Partnership
• Jonathan Lauch, Facilities Manager & Shelly Berman, Superintendent – Eugene School District 4J

You can either be a “cup half-full” or “cup half-empty” kind of person. I’m a “half-full” type myself, and I am confident we’ll hear from the panel that the design & construction industry in the Eugene-Springfield metro area has much to look forward to in 2013 and beyond. For architects like me, the goal should be to seize upon the opportunities inherent in this potential and facilitate the kinds of future developments that will further enhance livability, sustainability, and the attractiveness of our community for years to come.

RSVP by noon, Friday January 25, 2013 to Alorie Mayer at AlorieMayer@msn.com to assure your place at the “Projects in the Pipeline” dinner. There will only be a limited number of spaces available on program day. 

I hope you’ll join me and many others by attending BUILD 2013 on January 31. It’s sure to be a great event (it always is) and will only be more so with your participation. See you there! 

What:          BUILD 2013 Conference presented by CSI Willamette Valley Chapter 

When:        Thursday, January 31, 2013 

Where:       Hilton Hotel & Conference Center, Eugene, OR 

Cost:           Educational Seminars:              Free
                    Economic Forecast Dinner:       $30 ($10 students)