Building Innovation 2021 features Code Council resiliency, hazard mitigation experts

The National Institute of Building Sciences’ (NIBS) ninth annual conference and expo — Building Innovation 2021 — will be held virtually from Sept. 27–29, 2021, on NIBS’ Virtual Platform. This year’s event will bring together building and fire safety experts from across the industry to explore strategies aimed at creating and sustaining high-performance, resilient buildings and communities. For the sixth year in a row, the International Code Council will hold a lead sponsorship role in the Building Innovation conference and there are a wide range of opportunities for Code Council members to gain valuable insights from attending this collaborative online conference.

The Building Innovation 2021 conference program will present 27 sessions and 42 speakers over three information-packed days focusing on technology, resilience, the workplace and the challenges that COVID-19 brings to the built environment.

Resilience

NIBS and the American Institute of Architects define resiliency as the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events. Between the pandemic and a growing number of catastrophic natural disasters, the built environment is at the forefront. Disasters are expensive, but most destruction can be prevented with cost-effective mitigation and advanced planning. New and existing practices must be developed or changed through research, advocacy, and education. A special focus will be placed on ensuring the resilience of the nation’s building stock, covering topics in the built environment relating to resilience due to climate change, natural hazard risks, and sustainability efforts. View sessions

Technology

New and advanced technologies are rapidly being developed and deployed across the building industry, with major potential shifts in how the industry conducts day-to-day business. In addition to research and development into new technologies, the industry must be prepared for how these technologies will be adopted and utilized. NIBS is working to prepare the industry for new opportunities, as well as promote advanced, efficient, and safe structures. Building Innovation 2021 will showcase these advanced technologies and practices and highlight how the industry can best prepare for their adoption and deployment. View sessions

Workplace

The building industry faces many workforce challenges, from skills gaps to labor shortages. Today’s building workforce requires unprecedented technological, social, cultural, political, and economic savvy — all at a time when fewer individuals are entering the trades industry. Through various projects and its councils and committees, NIBS is working to address head-on these challenges. Activities in this space include showcasing career opportunities in the building industry; supporting better credentials and reducing uncertainty in the credentialing space; and, supporting continuing education and retraining opportunities for trades workers. Building Innovation 2021 will highlight this critical challenge for the industry, as well as opportunities for advancing the building workforce to meet 21st century needs. View sessions

The Code Council’s Ryan Colker, vice president of innovation and executive director of the Alliance for National & Community Resilience, and Judy Zakreski, vice president of global services, will be involved with panels on Sept. 29, 2021. Colker will present at the Offsite Construction: Addressing Common Community and Building Industry Challenges session, which will address how the industry is adapting to better capture the benefits of off-site and how the industry can best leverage these tools — standards to support building code compliance, approval and evaluation processes, model contracts. and design guidance — to help address multiple industry and community challenges.

Zakreski will moderate the Climate Adaptation, Mitigation, and the Role of Building Codes panel, which also includes Code Council member and chair of the new International Energy Conservation Code Residential Energy Code Consensus Committee JC Hudgison, CBO. The panel discussion will examine how building codes support climate adaptation/hazard mitigation and climate mitigation and how they are evolving as policy goals and risks change. Panelists will share how international code development and research organizations are coming together to share ideas on addressing future climate risk and how energy codes are evolving to help communities and industry leaders achieve widespread zero energy buildings and significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Code Council is a long-standing proud partner and participant of the NIBS Building Innovation conference,” said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. “With educational sessions led by the built environment’s top experts and an abundance of networking opportunities, the Building Innovation conference is an event for industry professionals to collaborate and tackle important issues involving the workplace, technology and resilience.”

The National Institute of Building Sciences serves as a convener of the U.S. building industry, bringing together thought leaders, implementers and influencers. Throughout the decades, the institute and the Code Council have collaborated on numerous projects to improve the safety and resilience of U.S. communities. A Sustaining Organization Member of the institute, Code Council representatives are involved in a range of institute councils and committees. In addition, several Code Council members participate on NIBS’ Board of Directors.

Code Council CEO Dominic Sims serves on the NIBS’ board along with former board director James “Jim” Ryan, CBO. Current Code Council Board Vice President Cindy L. Davis, CBO, deputy director of the Building and Fire Regulation Division at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, served as the treasurer of the NIBS’ board. In addition, Sara Yerkes, senior vice president of Government Relations at the International Code Council, is the chair for NIBS’ Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council’s Board of Direction, which provides a forum for disaster professionals to exchange valuable information on emerging trends in building technology and federal policy, and to address building systems and software applications that play a critical role in disaster resilience and sustainability.