PIONEERING SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
Kawneer is driving positive change by providing environmental transparency in the form of EPDs and Declare labels. Our thoughtful product design and responsible manufacturing help to inspire distinctive buildings and make a sustainable difference around the world.
FIND OUT MORE AT KAWNEER.COM
WELCOME TO FACADES+ SAN DIEGO!
The Architect’s Newspaper is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of our publication, and the 11th year of Facades+. We are thrilled to welcome both new attendees and longtime supporters to the program’s dynamic dialogue. We bring fresh and relevant programming to each city, and have an exceptional group of projects for you to learn about today.
Facades+ San Diego brings together top professionals from the worlds of design, engineering, fabrication, and construction to consider how high-performance envelopes are evolving and transforming the built environment in the San Diego metro area, and are responding to changing codes, climates, technologies, and client expectations.
I’d like to thank our conference Co-Chairs, Claudia Escala, Alex Gutierrez, and Alex Kacur, who have brought together this amazing program of design leaders. We invite you to connect with presenters and your peers during networking breaks in the Methods+Materials Gallery.
Please get to know the industry-leading sponsors exhibiting in the Methods+Materials Gallery, 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 CEUs.
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 DirectorCONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
San Diego | May 12, 2023
6 AIA / HSW CEU's
8:00 AM CHECK-IN & BREAKFAST | Methods + Materials Gallery
9:30 AM WELCOME
Dionne Darling | The Architect’s Newspaper
Claudia Escala | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
9:40 AM PANEL | Pacific Gate: Multifamily Facade Design
Presenter:
James von Klemperer | KPF
Alex Gutierrez | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
10:15 AM PANEL | Torrey View: Dynamic Envelopes for Life Science
Presenters:
Philip Ra | Flad
Mauricio Ortega | Flad
Alex Rosenthal | Heintges
Sarah Williams | Breakthrough Properties
Alex Kacur | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
10:45 AM METHODS + MATERIALS BREAK
11:15 AM ROUNDTABLE | AEC Collaboration: How Architects can Effectively work with Manufacturers
Presenters:
Michael Zanotelli | STI Specified Technologies
Sneh Kumar | Kawneer
Marty Wood | The Architect's Newspaper
12:05 PM NETWORKING LUNCH
1:00 PM ROUNDTABLE | Facade Engineering Roundtable: The Path Ahead
Presenters:
Chris O’Hara | Studio NYL
Lisa Rammig | Eckersley O'Callaghan
Irene Martin | Arup
Alex Kacur | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
2:00 PM SPOTLIGHT | Courthouse Commons: High-Rise Envelope Design Strategies at West
Presenters:
Alex Gutierrez | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
Chris Betts | Vision Systems
Jeff Ogden | Vision Systems
2:30 PM METHODS + MATERIALS BREAK
3:00 PM ROUNDTABLE | Mass Timber Enclosures: A New Way to Build
Presenters:
Brooke Whitsell | Timberlab
Thomas Robinson | LEVER Architecture
Ethan Martin | DCI Engineers
Alex Gutierrez | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
4:00 PM SPOTLIGHT | IQHQ: High Performance Facades for Research Buildings
Presenters:
Kerstin Kraft | Gensler
Alex Falcón | Eckersley O'Callaghan
Alex Kacur | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
4:30 PM CLOSING REMARKS:
Alex Gutierrez | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
Alex Kacur | Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
WI-FI NETWORK: HardRockConf
PASSWORD: facadesplus
SPEAKERS
Co-Chairs:
CLAUDIA ESCALA - Co-President / Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
Claudia Escala earned a Master of Architecture degree at the University of California, San Diego. With 26 years of experience, Claudia is a leader in the firm’s crafting and execution of a diverse design portfolio.
ALEX GUTIERREZ - Design Director / Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
Alex Gutierrez graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, holds a Master of Architecture and has 15 years of experience in awardwinning design for projects in the workplace, mixed-use and academic sectors. His expertise in design technology affords him the ability to transpose his designs into both visual and technical illustrations.
ALEX KACUR - Associate Principal / Carrier Johnson + CULTURE
Alex Kacur graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Architecture. During his 28 year career, Alex has specialized in residential and hospitality projects from single family homes to 42 story towers. Alex has a keen understanding of design, documentation, and construction administration, including BIM parametric modeling and digital technology.
CHRIS BETTS VP Engineering/ Vision Systems
Chris Betts brings over 35 years of experience in design, drafting, and computer programming to Vision Systems’ engineering department. Chris lives with his wife in Lakeside, and has two grown children, a daughter in El Cajon and a son in Fort Collins, Colorado. He loves cycling, backpacking and paddle boarding. He enjoys living outdoors during his annual backcountry mountain biking or wilderness backpacking trip.
ALEX FALCÓN Building Engineer / Eckersley O'Callaghan
Alex is a facade engineer at Eckersley O’Callaghan, having joined in 2019 with a background in architecture and building technology. His expertise lies in solving complex design challenges through computational analysis combined with knowledge of emerging building technologies. Alex is a project engineer on the Downtown San Diego’s IQHQ R&D District, focused on coordinating consistent facade detailing and engineering across all 5 buildings of the campus.
JAMES VON KLEMPERER President and Design Principal / KPF
James von Klemperer, President & Design Principal at KPF, leads a staff of over 600 architects in nine global offices. Jamie has led the design of projects across many typologies and scales, from city plans, to mixed-use towers and academic buildings. His work focuses on promoting social connection through creating shared spaces. In addition to his work as a designer, Jamie has lectured at universities including Harvard, Columbia, Tsinghua, and Yale.
KERSTIN KRAFT Associate / Gensler
Kerstin Kraft is a licensed architect with 15 years of experience and an expertise in façade design and execution. She is a Project Architect on Downtown San Diego’s IQHQ Research and Development District, focused on delivering a unique but harmonious façade for all 5 buildings of the 1,700,000+ sq ft mixed-use campus.
SNEH KUMAR Product Management & Marketing / Kawneer
Sneh is the Product manager for Kawneer’s Curtain wall, Window-wall, Sun-control, Finishes and Arconic Architectural Products. With 20 years in this industry, Sneh has gained deep building envelop domain expertise and helped in commercialization of 40+ highperformance building façade products. Sneh is an actively engaged externally with industry organizations, architects, and customers.
ETHAN MARTIN Director of Sustainability and Mass Timber / DCI Engineers
Ethan Martin brings a wealth of engineering design experience to the team of developers, architects, and contractors. Driven to inform his team and professionals in the AEC industries, Ethan quickly becomes an asset to any multi-discipline project team looking for answers on proformas, construction types, constructability, supply chain, and product usage. He also co-founded the International Mass Timber Conference with Forest Business Network in Portland, now one of the leading mass timber conferences in the world.
IRENE MARTIN Facade Team Leader / Arup
Irene Pau Martin is an Associate at Arup with an Environmental and Mechanical Engineering background. She leads the Building Envelope Physics subdiscipline within the Americas Region and co-leads the Los Angeles Facades team. Having worked in London and Los Angeles, Irene has 16 years of experience on international projects ranging from historic buildings to new-build museums and office towers. Her passion for environmental considerations and occupant comfort has led her to advocate for thoughtful envelope designs that balance architectural delight with responsible resource consumption, particularly that of carbon and energy.
SPEAKERS
JEFF OGDEN Principal / Vision Systems
Jeff grew up in Pittsburgh and went to school at Penn State University, graduating with a degree in Architectural Engineering. Jeff joined Vision Systems in 2017 after spending 23 years working for a general contractor where he managed a wide variety of large-scale commercial projects. Jeff lives in south Orange County with his wife and their two daughters.
CHRIS O’HARA Founding Principal / Studio NYL
O’Hara is facade director for the Skins Group, a division of Studio NYL, established to provide full service facade design specializing in thermal modeling, moisture/condensation analysis, and in-depth detailing. Although Studio NYL is recognized for its skins work with cutting-edge glass and glazing, their team also specializes in digitally fabricated metal skins, GFRC, reinforced polymers, stone, ultra high performance concrete, terra cotta, and traditional precast. O’Hara is currently working on multiple projects in the Boston area.
MAURICIO ORTEGA
Associate Principal / Flad
Mauricio has 32 years of extensive experience on a variety of building types, including science and technology, healthcare, workplace, and residential. As a project leader, he incorporates the latest technology and communication tools and is involved in all aspects of the design process. Mauricio holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design and Master of Urban Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design.
PHILIP RA
Associate Principal / Flad
With over 25 years of experience, Philip is a talented design leader capable of project execution from conceptual design through project completion. He leads the design studio in San Francisco on projects throughout California. He has taught and served on juries / lectured at UC Berkeley, USC, SciArc, Woodbury, Cal Poly, AAU, and CCA. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from University of Southern California and Master of Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design.
SPEAKERS
LISA RAMMIG Director / Eckersley O'Callaghan
Lisa leads Eckersley
O’Callaghan’s West Coast offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She joined EOC in 2013 to support the practice’s emerging facade engineering group in London and after playing a significant role in the group’s exceptional growth, Lisa has been responsible for the expansion of EOC’s West Coast presence. Lisa directs EOC’s R&D efforts, focusing on innovative glass designs and technology. She remains heavily involved in academia particularly with the Facade Research Group at TU Delft where she pursued her doctoral research and has built strong links between research and industry.
THOMAS ROBINSON Founding Principal / LEVER Architecture
Thomas Robinson is the Founder of LEVER Architecture, a design practice with offices in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California. His firm is widely recognized for material innovation and for pioneering work with Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT). His recent projects include 843 N Spring Street, slated to be one of the largest mass timber buildings in Los Angeles, and first-of-their-kind timber buildings for clients such as The Nature Conservancy and Adidas. Thomas’ work also includes more than $2M in research to develop and test wood building assemblies, and he has lectured on mass timber throughout the US, Europe, and South America. LEVER was recently recognized by Fast Company as one of the world’s most innovative companies; and in 2017, was named to Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard and to the Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices.
ALEX ROSENTHAL Associate / Heintges
Alex Rosenthal has collaborated with some of the world’s leading architecture firms in the design and technical development of building envelopes on projects internationally, ranging from flagship retail to high-rise residential, commercial, laboratory, and museum programs. Mr. Rosenthal holds degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Architecture and a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University's GSAPP where he received the Lucille Smysyer Lowenfish Memorial Prize.
SARAH WILLIAMS
Sr. Director, Design & Construction / Breakthrough Properties
As an accomplished construction and real estate development professional with 20 years of experience, Sarah Williams has established a reputation for planning and executing complex projects with precision and excellence. With expertise in both the planning and construction of complex life science and healthcare projects, Sarah is uniquely positioned to lead projects that require a deep understanding of both fields.
BROOKE WHITSELL
Timber Engineer / Timberlab
Brooke graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Civil Engineering. She started her career at ABHT as a Structural Design Engineer. She currently works at Timberlab as a Senior Project Engineer. Brooke has a knack for finding sustainable building solutions. She is an advocate for mass timber buildings, especially in projects where other building materials typically dominate the market. Throughout the entire project, Brooke works with the design team to ensure the mass timber scope is executed seamlessly.
MICHAEL ZANOTELLI
Facade & Curtain Wall SpecialistWestern US & Canada / STI Specified Technologies
Michael has over 20 years of real-world experience on many of largest, high profile projects throughout the Western United States. Through his knowledge and expertise, Michael developed a solid reputation working closely with inspectors, glazing contractors, and curtain wall consultants as a trusted resource on a wide range of curtain wall projects. Michael is committed to ensure your project stays on budget and gets done right the first time from conception to close out. Prior to his role as Façade and Curtain Wall Specialist for the Western US and Canada, Michael was the Western United States and Hawaii Regional Manager.