Friday 12 September
WELCOME TO FACADES+ CHICAGO!
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+ Chicago 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, and are responding to changing codes, climates, technologies, and client needs.
I’d like to thank our amazing conference co-chairs, Matt Dumich, Coty Sandberg, & Jason Smith and their team at SmithGroup who have brought together today’s program of national design leaders. We invite you to connect with the presenters and your peers during networking breaks in the Methods+Materials Gallery and throughout 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 15 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
AGENDA
(TIMES IN CDT)
8:00 AM CHECK-IN & BREAKFAST | Methods + Materials Gallery
9:30 AM WELCOME: Diana Darling | The Architect’s Newspaper
9:35 AM PARTNER WELCOME: Cory Fry | Mitrex
9:40 AM PROGRAM WELCOME: Matt Dumich | SmithGroup
SPOTLIGHT Origin Stories: Circumstances & Experiences that Shape Our Projects
9:45 AM
Presenters:
Coty Sandberg | SmithGroup
Jason Smith | SmithGroup
PANEL Fabulous Facades: Getting the Most from your Envelope Material Partnerships
Presenters:
10:30 AM
Drew Ford | CUPACLAD
Chris Gall | Oldcastle Building Envelope
Coty Sandberg | SmithGroup
11:00 AM METHODS + MATERIALS BREAK
SPOTLIGHT Populus: A Facade Informed by Nature
Presenters:
11:30 AM
Kristina Eldrenkamp | Studio Gang
Chris O’Hara | Studio NYL
Jason Smith | SmithGroup
ROUNDTABLE Advances in Envelope Materials and Technology
12:15 PM
Presenters: Andreas Hafner | seele, Inc
Michael Russo | Longboard Architectural Products
Jason Smith | SmithGroup
12:45 PM NETWORKING LUNCH
1:45 PM AFTERNOON REMARKS: Diana Darling | The Architect’s Newspaper
SPOTLIGHT Civic Facades: Stories from the Damen Green Line Station Presenters:
1:50 PM
Carl D’Silva | Perkins&Will
David Rader | Perkins&Will
Coty Sandberg | SmithGroup
2:30 PM
AGENDA
ROUNDTABLE Envelope Excellence: Materials, Capabilities, and Advanced Engineering
Presenters:
Rachel Traurig | Kingspan
Aaron Alterman | STI Specified Technologies
Jason Smith | SmithGroup
3:00 PM METHODS + MATERIALS BREAK
ROUNDTABLE Material Trends in Design & Construction: Transforming the Facade Supply Chain
Presenters:
3:30 PM
Juanita Garcia | Pepper Construction
Bill Zahner | Zahner
Lauren Van Reken | Harmon
Matt Dumich | SmithGroup
PANEL Scaling Up: 400 North Lakeshore Drive
Presenters:
4:15 PM
Lucas Tryggestad | Skidmore Owings & Merrill
Ann Thompson | Related Midwest
Coty Sandberg | SmithGroup
CLOSING REMARKS
5:00 PM
Diana Darling | The Architect’s Newspaper
Matt Dumich | SmithGroup
5:05 PM HAPPY HOUR
NETWORK: archpaper CODE: facadesplus
SPEAKERS
CO-CHAIRS
MATT DUMICH
Senior Principal / SmithGroup
Matt Dumich, FAIA provides leadership for SmithGroup’s mixeduse and workplace practices in Chicago. Matt is an expert in the planning, design and delivery of large-scale commercial buildings, interiors and mixed-use developments worldwide. Long committed to mentorship and service, he is a past President of AIA Chicago, co-founder of the Bridge Mentor program, served on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Central Area Committee, and as Chair of the ULI Chicago Green Flight Product Council.
COTY SANDBERG
Senior Design Principal / SmithGroup
Coty Sandberg, AIA is a senior design leader at SmithGroup’s Chicago office who excels at creating thoughtful and innovative design solutions that positively impact the human experience. Her design philosophy prioritizes wellbeing, inclusivity, and timelessness, aiming to enhance the social, emotional, and physical wellbeing of individuals. With her diverse array of expertise spanning the health, higher education, community recreation, and science & technology markets, Sandberg is committed to engaging with all voices through an inclusive design process, addressing the right challenges and ensuring design solutions resonate personally and stand the test of time. Sandberg has led multiple award-winning projects including two net-zero energy facilities. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, followed by a Master of Architecture from Savannah College of Art & Design.
JASON SMITH
Senior Principal / SmithGroup
Jason Smith, AIA is an intensively collaborative leader who believes in solving complex challenges through a process that is rooted in reflecting his clients’ values, clearly defining the design problem, and enabling effective decision-making. Smith’s inclusive approach and passion for building consensus through design benefits his clients through his role as a lead designer for a wide range of impactful projects spanning the health, higher education, workplace and science & technology markets. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Chicago Computation Group. Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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SPEAKERS
AARON ALTERMAN
Consultant Support Specialist – US & Canada / STI Specified Technologies
Aaron joined STI in 2015 as a Territory Manager in the Gulf South. In 2018, he was promoted to the Curtain and Facades Specialist role, working with glaziers, fabricators, curtain wall consultants and perimeter fire containments contractors in the Midwest, Gulf Coast, Texas and Central Canada. In 2024, Aaron became the Curtain Wall and Facades Consultant Support Specialist for North America, working with curtain wall consultants, architects, engineers and code officials.
CARL D’SILVA
Principal / Perkins&Will
Carl D’Silva is a Principal Architect at Perkins&Will in Chicago, and a licensed architect in Illinois. Carl has honed his knowledge of technically-advanced facade and enclosure systems through design and construction efforts on complex projects around the world, including Sony Center in Berlin, Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, O’Hare Airport terminal renovations in Chicago, the Doha Convention Center in Qatar, and most recently the new Damen Green Line CTA station in Chicago. Carl graduated from Virginia Tech in 1994 and was elevated to Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 2014.
KRISTINA ELDRENKAMP
Project Leader / Studio Gang
Architect Kristina Eldrenkamp is a Project Leader in Studio Gang’s Chicago office. She served as the Project Leader for Populus, a new hotel in downtown Denver that opened in 2024, and is currently working on an experiential walkway in Denver. She earned her Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she received the AIA Henry Adams Medal and the Marjorie Pierce ’22 / Dean William Emerson Fellowship Award.
DREW FORD
Regional Sales Manager / CUPACLAD
Drew is an experienced sales professional currently serving as the CUPACLAD USA Regional Sales Manager at CUPA PIZARRAS since October 2020. Previously, Ford worked as an Area Sales Manager at Boral North America from November 2015 to July 2020, representing Cultured Stone® and Eldorado Stone, achieving significant sales growth and exceeding sales goals multiple times. Notable accomplishments during this tenure include surpassing sales budgets for various products and creating key account plans to enhance market strategies.
CORY FRY
Sales Director / Mitrex
Cory Fry is the Sales Director at Mitrex, a leading manufacturer of BuildingIntegrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). With a background in sustainable construction, Cory and his team work closely with developers, architects, and contractors to integrate solar technology into building façades. Passionate about innovation and decarbonization, he helps clients unlock the aesthetic and energy-generating potential of solar cladding systems, contributing to a more sustainable built environment.
CHRIS GALL
Business Development Manager / Oldcastle Building Envelope
Chris Gall is the Business Development Manager at Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope (OBE), North America’s leading vertically integrated manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of architectural hardware, glass and glazing systems. He is a technical product professional dedicated to working directly with architects from ideation to completion of projects using traditional and design / assist project delivery. Chris has over 35 years of experience in the design, testing and product development for exterior facades.
JUANITA GARCIA
Project Executive, High Performance & Sustainable Construction / Pepper Construction
Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in mechanical design, Juanita joined Pepper’s High Performance team based on a shared commitment to improve people’s quality of life through the built world. Her work has been informed by her study of psychology, human rights and massage therapy, which allows her to incorporate a well-rounded health and wellness perspective into the built environment. Juanita’s contributions to the Chicago sustainability community include serving on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Green Alliance.
ANDREAS HAFNER
Managing Director / seele, Inc
Andreas Hafner is Managing Director of seele GmbH, responsible for strategic development, sales, and innovation. He joined seele in 1993 as a student trainee and advanced through roles in project and sales management as well as international leadership positions. In 2016, he became Managing Director of seele GmbH and, in 2018, President of seele, Inc. and seele canada. Andreas holds a degree in mechanical engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) from the Technical University of Munich and has led renowned facade projects across Europe and North America.
SPEAKERS
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.
DAVID RADER
Architectural Designer / Perkins&Will
David is an Architect with a passion for improving urban environments with experience in many project types – from masterplans to museums. His interests in higher education and urban design culminated in David’s graduate thesis completed at Rice University. Titled Public Infrastructure, this project proposed a partnership between two public entities- the Los Angeles Community College District and LA Metro- to develop a new campus typology which is integrated with transit and extends public space. This academic experimentation with typologies has guided his professional experience, where he has sought out projects with hybrid public programs.
MICHAEL RUSSO
National Sales Manager / Longboard Architectural Products
Michael Russo leads U.S. sales for Longboard Architectural Products, a premium provider of aluminum-based cladding and architectural systems. With over 15 years of experience in the facade industry, Michael brings deep expertise in specification-driven sales, brand development, and collaborative design-assist strategies. At Longboard, he works closely with architects, general contractors, and developers to deliver sustainable, modern solutions for high-performance building envelopes.
ANN THOMPSON
Executive Vice President / Related Midwest
A proven thought leader on architectural concept and implementation, Thompson is a frequent speaker at industry events, has participated in numerous award committee juries and has authored or participated in articles for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune, among others. Thompson champions design excellence among a variety of stakeholders and prioritizes shared success in the built environment.
RACHEL TRAURIG
Regional Sales Manager / Kingspan
Rachel Traurig is a Regional Sales Manager at Kingspan BENCHMARK, covering Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. She brings over a decade of experience in architectural building products within the commercial design and construction industry. Rachel specializes in architectural insulated metal panels for high-performance building systems and works closely with architects, contractors, and developers to bridge design intent, technical performance, and sustainability goals—delivering innovative, energy-efficient building envelopes. Go Green!
LUCAS TRYGGESTAD
Principal / Skidmore Owings & Merrill
Interested in the craft of architecture and the applications of digital design, Lucas Tryggestad specializes in designing and realizing technically complex building systems. A native of Illinois, Lucas draws upon his Midwestern roots, as well as a global portfolio spanning five continents, to apply his contextual knowledge to projects both locally and abroad. His project work includes 100 Mount Street, an office tower that is efficiently designed to minimize the carbon impact of construction, and AMIE 1.0, a research partnership between SOM and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory exploring energy efficiency and the applications of 3D printing.
LAUREN VAN REKEN
Senior Preconstruction Services Manager – Midwest Region / Harmon
Lauren Van Reken is a Senior Preconstruction Manager with Harmon, a leading curtain wall subcontractor in North America. In her role, she supports the company’s preconstruction activities throughout the sales life cycle, including consulting on product selection, system design, project schedules, budgeting, and client proposals. Lauren has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University and joined the Harmon team as an intern in 2015.
BILL ZAHNER
Former CEO / Zahner
Leo William Zahner III is the CEO of Zahner, an architectural metal company known for their contribution and execution of high-profile structures such as Sofi Stadium, Google Bay View Campus, and the de Young Museum. Bill is credited with transforming the company from a regional sheet-metal contractor into the acclaimed architectural metals and facades producer it is today. He also guided the company towards advanced manufacturing, technical innovation, as well as producing works by celebrated artists across the globe. Zahner has authored seven books on architectural metals, including the Architectural Metal Surfaces and Architectural Metals: A Guide to Selection, Specification, and Performance.
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