AIA Show Off to Good Start, Exhibitors Report

The AIA show in Boston is off to a hot start, according to comments from exhibitors. Following last year's fiasco in San Antonio, everyone is happy to see straight aisles and a show floor where it is easy for attendees to find exhibitors.
Given current economic conditions, exhibitors were a little nervous about how well attended the show would be. It is widely acknowledged that there is a problem getting the architects from the educational program onto the trade show floor. Given that, the state of the economy and the residential building market were worries that might account for a drop in attendance.

It's still too early to tell, of course, but the exhibitors in the front of the very long hall where the show is being held reported good attendance while those further back were still waiting for attendees to make their way around the show floor.

The rotating banner shown here is powered by photovoltaic panels in Oldcastle’s booth.

Paul Daniels, vice president of sales for Los Angeles-based C.R. Laurence, was one of those reporting good traffic right from the beginning of the show. He said there was a lot of interest in the company's stacking partition system and its ladder pull lock for glass entrances. Daniels said he had seen a substantial number of architects at the booth who do high-end residential work. "That must be the part of the market which is doing better," he said.

Green is a big focus of the show, of course, following the fashion of the day. BIM is the up-and-coming favorite, with this new technique getting the most "buzz" on the floor.

Kawneer was giving demonstrations of its new BIM program in its booth and having successful interest in that as well as its Continuing Education courses, which are part of the Expo Education program. A Kawneer spokesperson explained that its intent was not to explain what BIM is to the architects ("That's what the AIA educational program does.") but what specifically Kawneer has to offer for BIM.

The architectural glass and metal industry is well represented at the show, as always.

Most striking is the new Oldcastle Glass booth, which is a real stunner. It tastefully showcases the many architectural uses of its products. There are glass stairs and glass railings. Point supported glass walls and photovoltaic panels whose power is being used to run a rotating electric information strip like the famous one that flashes the news in Times Square.

Also exhibiting at the AIA Show for the first time was Guardian Industries. They had a large-sized stand that displayed a number of their newer glasses and, through a specially built booth device, architects were able to see the actual glass performance. Guardian will also debut a new website next week.

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