As the editor of The Construction Specifier, I attend CONSTRUCT & the CSI Annual Convention every year. It’s a busy few days, but it’s always nice catching up with writers, friends, and editorial advisors. There are also lots of opportunities to meet with building product experts on the show floor. Between the exhibit hall and the various seminar rooms, CONSTRUCT is a direct or indirect source for many of the features and articles finding their way into the pages of this magazine. Last month in Nashville was no exception.
The new Music City Center is a gorgeous facility; it is also an ideal place to have a conference thanks to its location—easy walking distance to the sounds on Broadway and the historic buildings of the downtown core. The host chapter’s dinner at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was an amazing experience, allowing attendees to not only take in live performances by up-and-comers, but also walk through the memorabilia of the all-time greats.
This year’s show had a particularly strong technical component, with sessions and seminars covering everything from below-grade foundations to rooftops to the building assemblies in between. Past authors who delivered continuing education classes included Paul Bertram (“Building Team Guide to Net-zero Energy”), Scott Tobias (“What Does ‘Grade One’ Really Mean? Door Hardware Quality and Performance Defined”), and David Dixon (“Facility Fall Protection Problems, Limitations, and Solutions”). This year’s The Construction Specifier Article of the Year award-winner, David Stutzman also had a presentation—“But That’s Not What I Meant! Specifying the Architect’s Intent.”
I got a chance to sit in on spirited discussions, like Clifford Marvin’s “Specifying Division 01 for Design-Build Projects,” as well as master-classes that were as entertaining as they were informative—Kirby Davis pulled together an all-star panel of experts for “The Good, Bad, and Ugly on Air Barriers.” Scott Lockyear took a highly technical look at “Specifying Wood Products,” while Ramesh Gulatee explored the practicalities of “Accessibility Through Universal Design.”
As always, the show’s curriculum touched on myriad topics for architects, specifiers, and other design/construction professionals. Judging by the occasionally standing-room-only capacity for some sessions, the subjects were well received. Were you in Nashville this year? Did you have any particular highlights, education-wise?
I was…and the highlight for me was officially meeting the Editor of Construction Canada & The Construction Specifier eh?!
I still owe you an e-mail as a follow-up to our discussion…I haven’t forgotten. I’ll try and get it to you before the end of the week.
My reflections are posted on my blog at http://www.pauldgerber.com – way too many to narrow down to just one!