#a19 #AIAcon19 "AIA Conference 2019: the day Interview with Benjamin Kasdan, AIA."

June 14, 2019

#a19 #AIAcon19 "AIA Conference 2019: the day Interview with Benjamin Kasdan, AIA."

Vegas Baby!!!

Benjamin Kasden, AIA of KTGY,
AIA California past president,
and husband and father

Podcast Interview w/ Benjamin Kasden, AIA

My kids and I with Simon Joseph of
fairplay.com & translux.com
the company that made this #AIALV possible

Shamila Zubairi, AIA and
Maggie, Associate AIA behind the scenes

So, I was planning on attending the AIA Conference in Las Vegas this year because

1.) I like going to the Conference.
2.)My kids had not been to Vegas and wanted to go.
3.) It is in the PST!!!

So, I started planning the trip several months ago and I wanted to drive over but I rented a car to drive over, because I don't want to put any more mileage on my already high mileage vehicles.

And

My high mileage vehicles are Volvo sportwagons and though I appreciate the brand, it isn't exactly a "road trip to Vegas car"

So I rented this one.

Anyone who has watched the Netflix design series, Abstract, knows this car, the Dodge Challenger is some of the genius of Ralph Gilles,

link to Netflix, "Abstract" with Ralph Gilles

and truly wants to see what the big deal is and I have to tell you that this is the second time I have rented one and my neighbor has one and this is the car to drive to Vegas so that when your friends see it, they say, "I thought you were going to drive here" and I say,
"i did"

I was invited to the Stoner Bunting Architectural Perspectives and I went this year because I actually changed my plans to come in a day earlier even though that meant adding a night at another hotel because the one we were staying at didn't have an extra night.

So I got there a little late but there they were in planer sight
They were right there, planer as can be,,,

Anyways, I did find them... the event was held at the UBC International Training Center on Carpenter's Union Way which is:

"Increasing the skills of United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) members and enabling them to do their very best work on the job is the Carpenters International Training Funds' (CITF) top priority. The CITF considers skill, safety, productivity, and attitude to be the keys to success for UBC members and business partners (men and women)."

Anyways, here are some shots of the tour of the UBC Millwright's International Builder's Conference and it was pretty interesting and as always there were some great people that were from Stoner Bunting, the Carpenter's Union and the different sponsors for the event,and I thank Stoner Bunting and Bob Borson for inviting me again as this was the third invite and you know how it is after someone invites you a third time and you don't go

You don't get invited again...

This was a gyp board router and saw and
it can make amazing cuts in gypsum board
and can make great little shadow boxes like these
(and I'm sure can also do amazing things on the job site too.

These were tests for moistureand how well you are at your flashing technique

There is the ginormous warehouse space
where the students can build scaffolding and
steel framing and just everything

This was scaffolding that was built and I was
talking to a couple product reps and they said
that the roof could be opened and i was like,
"ok... "
but the reason that it can be opened was that
it can then be built above the roof, pretty cool
huh???

So, these tradespeople are now trained in how
to use BIM, which i was kindof worried,,,
because I thought we were going to have to
take a CAD test!!

These are for the underwater tradespeople who have to
work in dive tanks, but these are way better conditions
than they usually have because the sight distance is only
a few feet!

There was a great reception afterwards with several stations and a seafood/sushi bar and as someone who doesn't eat beef or pork, I appreciated it. Of course a glass of wine after driving 331 miles to get there is also much appreciated and the swag doesn't hurt either... Thanks to Stoner Bunting and al of the sponsors:

UBC Millwright's
Tyco
Cornell
CertainTeed
INSTALL
and
all of my friends at Tarkett !

Of course while I was hard at work at my party, here were my boys... at the suggestion of their sister...

I had the most fortunate opportunity to work with the president of AIA California, Benjamin Kasdan, while I was on the committee for the AIA California Housing Forum, of which I was the Chair. I am truly grateful for his encouragement with the inaugural event, I am not sure if it will happen again, but I am hoping that it does because we are at a very important moment and a Climate Action Plan and Housing go hand in hand. If housing is not attainable where people work, it is not going to be good for the environment to have people commute an hour each day in their cars. Best Wishes and Safe Travels to Ben and his architect wife Marissa and his two boys!

"Jump"
"just go ahead and jump"
yes, Ben and I just having fun!

Benjamin Kasdan, AIA, is an Associate Principal and Design Leader at KTGY Architecture + Planning. He also serves as the 2019 President of AIA California. He is a frequent speaker and contributor of articles and blog posts about the value of design, mentorship, advocacy, sustainable architecture, student housing, mixed-use, and multifamily housing. He has held leadership positions with the American Institute of Architecture Students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, AIA Orange County, AIA California Council, and AIA National.