Innovation - New York Style

Just back from producing the Innovation conference for Architectural Record magazine, Engineering News-Record magazine and New York Construction News.

I'm not the biggest fan of using "hotel AV" for events, since you never know in what condition the equipment will be, nor if you'll have the same technicians from day to day (and if they even know how to use the outdated gear!), but was very pleased with the folks at the McGraw-Hill Companies Auditorium in Rockefeller Center.

The auditorium was filled to capacity with architects and engineers who came together to hear, see and touch the latest and greatest in materials for the construction industry. Neil Gershenfeld, MIT's Director of the Center for Bits and Atoms, was the keynote speaker on day one, and gave great insight into digital fabrication, and the future of "personal fabrication," where we may be able to "download" a bicycle from Schwinn and build it right in our own home. Very interesting, and a great way to kick off the conference.

Likewise, the closing session about the new Hearst Tower was also very interesting, and provided insight into how the latest technology is being used right now in the fields of architecture and engineering.