BL always has a great time attending the ICSC Centerbuild Conference, but last month’s conference was particularly special, with two of our own employee owners leading roundtable discussions. Directors of Project Development, Barbara Joslin and William Fries, both stepped up to facilitate interesting discussions about topics highly relevant to the industry. Here’s what they had to say about the experience:
What was the format of the roundtable discussions? How exactly did they work at Centerbuild?
Joslin: What makes Centerbuild unique is its focus on networking, so the roundtables were designed to be interactive and collaborative, just like the rest of the conference. Roundtable sessions happen in a huge ballroom with 40-50 different tables dedicated to a variety of topics and there were three sessions total, so there was a really incredible mix of conversations happening. Each roundtable has between 8-10 people, along with the topic facilitator, who helps guide the discussions. Conference attendees are given the names of all the possible discussions ahead of time, but they can’t pre-sign up for a table, so it’s first come, first served.
Can you tell me a little about your roundtable topics? How did the discussions go?
Fries: My session was on Photovoltaics (PV) and Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging for commercial, retail, and industrial projects. There was a great mix of developers, contractors, and designers at my table, as well as different levels of experience with implementing PV and EV. That meant we had a lot of different perspectives going into the conversation, which was great.
Some of the best discussions came out of our different backgrounds – one of the developers was new to PV and EV, so we were able to talk through the different grants and initiatives available, what the overall process is to get PV/EV projects started, etc. On the design side, we also discussed some of the ways we’ve implemented solar and EV charging on existing developments, such as utilizing open parking lots as a place to add EV charging as well as solar panel canopies. Additionally, the developers and contractors were able to share some of the overall cost savings they’d experienced by using photovoltaics and EV charging on projects.
Joslin: My session was “Beyond Human Capabilities”, and it was all about using AI technology as a tool for architecture and engineering projects. We also had a good mix of participants from both the design side as well as the construction side of projects. We were all able to share some of the AI tools we’ve used, as well as some of the new technology on the horizon.
It was great learning how other firms are using AI, and a lot of new ideas came up in our discussion. One general contractor has been using AI to pre-review contracts with subconsultants to save time. The AI is able to compare documents, so he can focus his discussions with subconsultants on the parts of contracts that are new or unusual. We also talked about how AI could be used to expedite things like code research. As for future uses of AI, one participant actually has a firm writing and creating AI for mechanical drawings that would be able to automatically find the most cost-efficient system. That could be an incredible time-saver once implemented.
What was the experience like overall? Did you have a favorite part?
Joslin: It was amazing! You leave these discussions feeling energized and having made so many new connections. Being able to meet and network with so many different people is a unique opportunity, and it’s definitely my favorite part.
Fries: This experience was awesome, and Centerbuild is overall one of the best conferences I’ve attended! My favorite part was getting to hear all the different perspectives on the same topic, that we maybe don’t think about as designers. It was really interesting getting to learn about things from other sides of the industry.