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WELCOME TO FACADES+ HOUSTON!
The Architect’s Newspaper is celebrating 13 Years of Facades+ Conferences. We are thrilled to welcome both new attendees and longtime facades fanatics to today’s dynamic event. We bring fresh and relevant programming to each city, and have an exceptional group of projects, people, and expertise for you to learn about today.
Facades+ Houston brings together top professionals from the worlds of design, engineering, fabrication, and construction to consider how high-performance envelopes are evolving and transforming our built environment, and are responding to changing codes, climates, technologies, and client needs.
I’d like to thank our amazing conference Co-Chairs, Michelle Old and Gary Machicek from Kirksey Archtecture who have brought together today’s program of design leaders. We invite you to connect with the presenters and your peers during networking breaks in the Methods+Materials Gallery and after the event.
Please get to know our sponsors exhibiting in the Methods+Materials Gallery today and learn how they will help you shape the future of facade design and technology.
Has Facades+ struck a chord with you? Have a look at our upcoming events held in 14 cities across the U.S. & Canada. Visit our website to learn more about our other events and additional opportunities to earn your CEU's.
We are eager to hear from you about how we might improve the Facades+ experience. Talk to us. And please spread the word—help us to continue to grow the Facades+ dialogue and community.
All the best,
Diana Darling CEO & Creative Director, AN Media Group
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
DIANA DARLING CEO / Creative Director, AN Media Group
MARTY WOOD VP of Events, AN Media Group
DIONNE DARLING VP of Brand Partnerships, AN Media Group
IZZY ROSADO Program Assistant, AN Media Group
Enticing Exteriors
The Entice HP+ Glass Entrance System introduces engineering advancements that surpass industry standards in aesthetics and performance to deliver a grand entrance that can’t be ignored.
• 760 lb rated continuous geared hinge
• Ultra-narrow 1-5/8" door stiles
• Max recommended door height and width: 10’ x 4’
• Thermally broken with U-factor as low as 0.37
• Tested to 1,000,000 cycles
• Full perimeter seal around doors
AGENDA
(TIMES IN CT)
8:00 AM CHECK-IN & BREAKFAST | Methods + Materials Gallery
9:30 AM WELCOME: Dionne Darling | The Architect’s Newspaper
PROGRAM REMARKS:
9:40 AM
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
Gary Machicek | Kirksey Architecture
SPOTLIGHT Innovative Urban Revival: Adaptive Reuse & Facade Enhancement for Placemaking
Presenters:
9:45 AM
10:15 AM
Mark Motonaga | RIOS
Matt Ragan | Rebees
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
SPOTLIGHT Facades as Story-Tellers: Creating Narratives Through Building Skin Design Presenters:
Gary Machicek | Kirksey Architecture
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
Wes Good | Kirksey Architecture
11:00 AM METHODS + MATERIALS BREAK
ROUNDTABLE Advanced Fabrication: Cutting-Edge Materials for Building Envelope Excellence
Presenters:
11:30 AM
12:00 PM
Michelle Murray | SAFTI FIRST®
Marc Angelillo | Gate Precast
Gary Machicek | Kirksey Architecture
SPOTLIGHT Redefining Urban Elegance with an Innovative Cutting Edge Facade: The Allen Presenters:
Ivan Devora | HOK
Bob Carnegie | HOK
Gary Machicek | Kirksey Architecture
12:40 PM NETWORKING LUNCH
1:40 PM TABLE TALKS: PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKING SESSION
ROUNDTABLE Enhancing Building Skins: Innovations for Better Performance and Design
Presenters:
2:25 PM
Hugh Lowry | Elemex
Erin Lindsay | C.R. Laurence
John Penta | GV Facades
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
AGENDA
3:10 PM METHODS +
ROUNDTABLE Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Facades: An Academic Perspective Presenters:
3:40 PM
4:15 PM
Ahmed K. Ali | Texas A&M University
Mili Kyropoulou | University of Houston
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
SPOTLIGHT 1550 on the Green: Blending Sustainability and Design in Houston’s Skyline Presenters:
Martin Voelkle | Bjarke Ingels Group
Ben Llanda | Skanska
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
CLOSING REMARKS
Dionne Darling | The Architect’s Newspaper
5:00 PM
Michelle Old | Kirksey Architecture
Gary Machicek | Kirksey Architecture
SPEAKERS
CO-CHAIRS
GARY MACHICEK
Partner & Managing Director of Design / Kirksey Architecture
Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked on awardwinning projects in Germany, Nepal, New York, and Texas. However, he has always prioritized giving back to his community and worked hard to give back to Houston through design, industry involvement, and mentorship. As the Managing Director of Design, Gary is involved in every aspect of design at Kirksey, and his leadership on the Design studio helps shape the tenets of our firm’s design approach. Gary cites his greatest accomplishment as educating and inspiring future architects. In addition to practicing architecture, Gary has been a professor at the University of Houston and a visiting juror at several other institutions.
MICHELLE OLD
Partner & Design Director / Kirksey Architecture
Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.
SPEAKERS
AHMED K. ALI
Associate Professor of Architecture / Texas A&M University
Dr. Ahmed K. Ali is the Harold Adams endowed professor of architecture and the director of the award-wining Resource-Based Design Research Lab at Texas A&M University. Ali’s research and scholarship investigate the relationship between the architecture of waste, circular economy, and industrial symbiosis. He is well-known as “the Wasteman” for his patent designs and his incredible ability to transform industrial waste streams into valuable building products and systems. Ali’s work has been cited in numerous prestigious press including the Steven Holl Foundation’s critical research archive, William Zahner’s Steel Surfaces book by Wiley, General Motors Green, Living Architecture Monitor, and Texas Architect Magazine.
MARC ANGELILLO
Director of Architectural Systems / Gate Precast
Prior to joining GATE Precast, Marc served as an Outside Sales Engineer for nine years serving the industrial market, oil & gas, chemical, aggregates, cement manufacturing and power industries. His sales management experience is invaluable in his current role working with architects, contractors and owners in the early stages of design. Marc earned his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from the University at Albany in 2006.
BOB CARNEGIE
Principal & Senior Project Manager / HOK
Bob, a Senior Project Manager at HOK, has over 40 years of experience in project management across Texas and the U.S. Previously, he was the owner and President of a Houston-based real estate development firm. Specializing in high-rise and complex projects, he has worked on corporate, commercial, mixed-use, government, and hospitality developments. Many of his projects come from repeat clients, including developers, corporations, and government agencies. Bob excels in managing project delivery from site selection and feasibility to budgeting, design, construction administration, and occupancy, ensuring seamless execution from start to finish.
IVAN DEVORA
Senior Design Professional / HOK
As a Senior Design Professional and Associate at HOK, Ivan works closely with clients to develop successful solutions. His attention to detail provides him with the leverage to deliver projects that are on time and well crafted. Ivan provides his team with strong confidence in his abilities, while remaining flexible to changing project circumstances.
WES GOOD
President & Chief Executive Officer / Kirksey Architecture
Wes is responsible for facilitating the firm’s advancement and strategic direction. He began his career as a designer at Kirksey in 1990, after graduating from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture. In 2001, he was awarded the AIA Houston Ben Brewer Young Architect Award. Over his 30-year career at Kirksey, he has worked on every higher education project in the firm’s portfolio and is an expert in campus planning and student living facilities.
MILI KYROPOULOU
Assistant Professor / University of Houston
Mili Kyropoulou is an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design and founder of the BASE Lab. A RIBA Chartered Architect and LEED AP, she holds an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Design from the AA in London. With over 15 years of experience, she specializes in climate-based, human-centric design, using experiments and simulations to enhance building performance. Her international projects span the US, Europe, Africa, and beyond. She actively contributes to IBPSA and IES and publishes in conferences like PLEA, Facade Tectonics, eCAADe, and SimAUD.
ERIN LINDSAY
Director of Architectural Business Development / C.R. Laurence
Erin has spent the past twenty-two years representing manufacturers within the architectural community. Twelve of the most recent have been in Los Angeles with an emphasis in facade materials. Erin joined C.R. Laurence two years ago to build a team of dedicated architectural specialists who assist the design community with specifying systems and components related to glazing applications.
BEN LLANDA
Vice President – Development / Skanska
Ben Llana serves as Vice President of Development for Skanska USA
Commercial Development’s Houston region. Since joining Skanska in 2013, Ben has contributed to several of the company’s notable large-scale projects, including Bank of America tower and the development of 1550 on The Green. Prior to joining Skanska Ben oversaw the land development of ExxonMobil’s 4 million-square foot Corporate Campus in Spring, Texas.
gateprecast.com
SPEAKERS
HUGH LOWRY
Technical Sales & Engineering Manager / Elemex
Hugh Lowry is Technical Sales & Engineering Manager for Elemex. He has a passion for BIPV. After his undergraduate at Queen’s, Hugh worked in the solar industry, specifically ground-mount utility projects. Taking a year to pursue an M.Eng at Western University was followed by Hugh’s current role, where he has applied his solar knowledge to facades.
MARK MOTONAGA
Partner & Creative Director / RIOS
Mark Motonaga, a design leader at RIOS since 2009, brings expertise in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design to complex projects. His work focuses on placemaking and creating memorable experiences by uncovering a site's cultural essence. A speaker at events like the Fast Company Innovation Festival, he shares insights on what makes great spaces thrive. His trans-disciplinary approach seamlessly integrates architecture and landscape architecture, emphasizing their interconnected nature. Mark’s designs are bold and distinctive, revealing the deeper story of a place while shaping environments that resonate with people and culture.
MICHELLE MURRAY
Architectural Sales Representative / SAFTI FIRST ®
Michelle Murray has over 15 years of experience in the architectural glazing industry. As the Architectural Sales Representative at SAFTI FIRST ®, she brings her extensive knowledge and expertise of fire rated glazing systems and fenestration in general when working closely with architects, specifiers, glazing contractors and code officials. Michelle is a dynamic presenter and speaker who has been delivering our AIA-registered presentation to various architecture firms, AIA local chapters, CSI local chapters, and at other architectural and glazing industry events.
JOHN PENTA
VP of Facades Business Development / GV Facades
John Penta is VP of Facades Business Development at GV Facades, a leading industrial fabricator, and supplier of porcelain facade panels in the USA. John pulls together his porcelain facade technical expertise while facilitating all aspects of project assistance and installation management. He has provided invaluable knowledge for over 33 years to architects and developers by supporting their facade design intent, aesthetics, and facade functionally.
MATT RAGAN
Managing Director of Repositionings / Rebees
Matt Ragan is Rebees’ Managing Director of Repositionings. After earning History and Business degrees from the University of Kansas, Matt tried his hand at acting (where he found just enough success to still be talking about it) before finding his true calling in the world of hospitality and food and beverage. Matt would go on to run and develop multiple upscale restaurants in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas prior to joining Rebees in 2019. Outside of work, Matt enjoys brewing beer, researching current trends in the attempts to reconcile quantum physics and general relativity, and passionately arguing with friends and colleagues about matters large and small.
MARTIN VOELKLE
Partner / Bjarke Ingels Group
Martin Voelkle, a Partner at BIG, specializes in architecture, sustainable construction, and technology. He leads BIG’s collaboration with ICON Build on 3D-printed buildings, including NASA’s Project Olympus, the first lunar research base. Martin also oversees BIG’s transportation projects, such as Zurich International Airport Dock A and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Central. His diverse portfolio includes Shenzhen Energy Mansion, Qianhai Prisma Towers, and King’s Cross Google HQ. Passionate about urbanscale design, he contributes to Telosa, a visionary new city. Since joining BIG in 2010, Martin has helped establish its New York and London offices and is now based in New York.
Submit to the 11th Annual
BEST OF PRODUCTS AWARDS
The Best of Products Awards program’s quest is to elevate the well-designed products serving the architecture and design community. The awards bring a well-deserved celebration and recognition of the manufacturers, designers, engineers, and collaborations that are behind the trusted tools and systems that make up our built environment.
Submissions open through Friday, July 18, 2025 (midnight ET)
Enter at: archpaperawards.com/products25
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