HappeningsWhat's New At Coverings?
New speakers, networking events and workshops highlight growing trends, including green building practices.The 2004 Coverings event will offer a variety of speakers, conferences and sessions tailored specifically to appeal to the interests of its broad range of exhibitors and attendees. Each community—architects/ designers, installers, distributors, dealers and fabricators—can attend free seminars that will help raise awareness of trends and uses for ceramic tile and natural stone and, ultimately, increase their business opportunities in the United States. The event, now in its 17th year, will be held from March 23 to 26 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The topic of sustainable design and building concerns will be highlighted this year at a special Tuesday seminar conducted by William McDonough, FAIA. His presentation is entitled "Redesigning Real Estate: Building for Sustainable Prosperity." One of the primary proponents and shapers of what he and his partners call "The Next Industrial Revolution," McDonough is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the nation's highest environmental honor. He is a firm believer in minimizing human impact on the environment by modeling design on the elegance and efficiency of natural systems. In addition, green design will be explored in the session entitled, "The Sustainable Value Proposition: Green Building—LEED Requirements." Targeted to builders/remodelers, architects, designers and distributors, Paul Bertram of PRB Design will walk through "sustainable" value propositions as they relate to green and LEED industry initiatives. The open opportunity for manufacturers to assist in pre-design specification development and alternative assembly design/performance solutions will be discussed, as will project specification requirements as they relate to product delivery methods such as design/build and construction management, etc. Additional conference highlights include:* Keynote speaker Steve Forbes will kick off the show on Tuesday, March 23. President and CEO of Forbes, Inc., and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, Forbes is an influential pro-growth advocate and a writer and speaker on domestic and foreign policy issues. An economic prognosticator, Forbes has won the prestigious Crystal Owl award four times as the financial journalist whose economic forecasts for the coming year have proven to be the most accurate.* On Wednesday, the spotlight will shine on Michael Payne as he discusses "Designing for the Sexes." Host of the HGTV show of the same name and founder of Michael Payne Design, he has offered high-end design services to national and international clients since 1980.* Color specialist Leatrice Eiseman returns to Coverings to discuss "Color Trends: How Will They Change?" Eiseman, the principal of the Eiseman Center for Color Training and Education and the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, is the author of four books on color and is widely quoted in fashion, interior design and graphics publications. * Jon Trivers, president of Marketing Wit and Wisdom, makes an encore appearance at Coverings to ask the question, "When Will Ceramic Tile Outsell Carpet?" Before becoming a leading retail consultant, Trivers was president of Abbey Carpets. * On Friday, Michael Fortino, founder and president of The Fortino Group, will discuss "Markets, Machines and Milestones of the New Millennium." Fortino has built a reputation as one of the most renowned strategists on dealing with change in the corporate environment. He recently hosted the PBS television special, "The Leadership Series," during which he interviewed such respected leadership gurus as Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell and Lady Margaret Thatcher among others. Sponsoring organizations are ASCER (Spain's Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association), Assopiastrelle (Association of Italian Ceramic Tile and Refractories Manufacturers), CTDA (Ceramic Tile Distributors Association), NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) and TCA (Tile Council of America). Co-sponsors include: the Marble Institute of America, American Institute of Architects (Orlando Chapter), the Associazione Italiana Marmomacchine, The American Society of Interior Designers (Florida North, Florida South and Florida West Coast chapters), the Construction Specifications Institute (Greater Orlando Chapter), International Interior Design Association (Florida Chapter), the Terrazzo Tile and Marble Association of Canada, the Tile Contractors' Association of America, and the Tile Heritage Foundation. For more information on attending or exhibiting at Coverings, call (703) 683-8500 or visit www.coverings.com.
New speakers, networking events and workshops highlight growing trends, including green building practices.The 2004 Coverings event will offer a variety of speakers, conferences and sessions tailored specifically to appeal to the interests of its broad range of exhibitors and attendees. Each community—architects/ designers, installers, distributors, dealers and fabricators—can attend free seminars that will help raise awareness of trends and uses for ceramic tile and natural stone and, ultimately, increase their business opportunities in the United States. The event, now in its 17th year, will be held from March 23 to 26 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The topic of sustainable design and building concerns will be highlighted this year at a special Tuesday seminar conducted by William McDonough, FAIA. His presentation is entitled "Redesigning Real Estate: Building for Sustainable Prosperity." One of the primary proponents and shapers of what he and his partners call "The Next Industrial Revolution," McDonough is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the nation's highest environmental honor. He is a firm believer in minimizing human impact on the environment by modeling design on the elegance and efficiency of natural systems. In addition, green design will be explored in the session entitled, "The Sustainable Value Proposition: Green Building—LEED Requirements." Targeted to builders/remodelers, architects, designers and distributors, Paul Bertram of PRB Design will walk through "sustainable" value propositions as they relate to green and LEED industry initiatives. The open opportunity for manufacturers to assist in pre-design specification development and alternative assembly design/performance solutions will be discussed, as will project specification requirements as they relate to product delivery methods such as design/build and construction management, etc. Additional conference highlights include:* Keynote speaker Steve Forbes will kick off the show on Tuesday, March 23. President and CEO of Forbes, Inc., and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, Forbes is an influential pro-growth advocate and a writer and speaker on domestic and foreign policy issues. An economic prognosticator, Forbes has won the prestigious Crystal Owl award four times as the financial journalist whose economic forecasts for the coming year have proven to be the most accurate.* On Wednesday, the spotlight will shine on Michael Payne as he discusses "Designing for the Sexes." Host of the HGTV show of the same name and founder of Michael Payne Design, he has offered high-end design services to national and international clients since 1980.* Color specialist Leatrice Eiseman returns to Coverings to discuss "Color Trends: How Will They Change?" Eiseman, the principal of the Eiseman Center for Color Training and Education and the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, is the author of four books on color and is widely quoted in fashion, interior design and graphics publications. * Jon Trivers, president of Marketing Wit and Wisdom, makes an encore appearance at Coverings to ask the question, "When Will Ceramic Tile Outsell Carpet?" Before becoming a leading retail consultant, Trivers was president of Abbey Carpets. * On Friday, Michael Fortino, founder and president of The Fortino Group, will discuss "Markets, Machines and Milestones of the New Millennium." Fortino has built a reputation as one of the most renowned strategists on dealing with change in the corporate environment. He recently hosted the PBS television special, "The Leadership Series," during which he interviewed such respected leadership gurus as Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell and Lady Margaret Thatcher among others. Sponsoring organizations are ASCER (Spain's Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association), Assopiastrelle (Association of Italian Ceramic Tile and Refractories Manufacturers), CTDA (Ceramic Tile Distributors Association), NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) and TCA (Tile Council of America). Co-sponsors include: the Marble Institute of America, American Institute of Architects (Orlando Chapter), the Associazione Italiana Marmomacchine, The American Society of Interior Designers (Florida North, Florida South and Florida West Coast chapters), the Construction Specifications Institute (Greater Orlando Chapter), International Interior Design Association (Florida Chapter), the Terrazzo Tile and Marble Association of Canada, the Tile Contractors' Association of America, and the Tile Heritage Foundation. For more information on attending or exhibiting at Coverings, call (703) 683-8500 or visit www.coverings.com.
