The conference’s closing speaker, John Patkau, co-founder of Vancouver-based Patkau Architects, is also a 2024 Record House recipient. (Like Canales, he’s also a past Record House honoree, including in 2002 and 1996.) As featured in the September issue, the waterfront Arbour House in Victoria, British Columbia, is the first Canadian project to be selected for the Record House program in eight years. At the conference, he’ll discuss his firm’s research into the use of commonly available construction materials in conjunction with modest but unconventional construction methods in a talk titled “Material Operations.”

While not a 2024 Record House recipient, Níall McLaughlin’s Saltmarsh House was among the eight projects recognized in 2023 by RECORD’s editors. During this year’s Innovation Conference, McLaughlin will present an afternoon talk titled “Continuation” that details multiple projects by his London-based practice built in historically significant environments. Later in the day, he’ll join Canales and Patkau in a panel discussion moderated by RECORD editor in chief Josephine Minutillo. The talk will revolve around the conference’s theme of “Building Now,” focusing on the challenges and opportunities architects face today.

While they may not have Record Houses under their respective belts, two other featured speakers rounding out the Innovation Conference lineup—both based in the Pacific Northwest—have garnered accolades for their embrace of mass timber. Gene Sandoval, partner at ZGF, will discuss the new main terminal at Oregon’s Portland International Airport in a talk titled “Balanced Priorities.” Opened in August as one of the year’s mostly highly anticipated infrastructure projects, the terminal will appear in the forthcoming October issue of RECORD. Following that, Sandoval will be joined onstage by 2024 Women in Architecture Awards recipient Susan Jones, founder of Seattle-based atelierjones, whose Heartwood multifamily project was featured in RECORD earlier this year. Both will take part in a panel discussion moderated by RECORD deputy editor Joann Gonchar addressing “Mass Timber and a Low-Carbon Future.”

Lastly, New York–based artist Leo Villareal, acclaimed for his pioneering work with LED lighting and computer programming, will present a morning talk on “Activating Architecture with Code and Light.”

Following the conclusion of the 2024 Innovation Conference, the Women in Architecture Awards program will celebrate the varied accomplishments of this year’s five esteemed honorees: Angela Brooks, Mimi Hoang, Toni L. Griffin, Kate Simonen, and Jones. Much like several Innovation speakers, Brooks, co-principal and president of Los Angeles– and Fort Lauderdale–based Brooks + Scarpa, is a seasoned Record House-r. Her firm’s Steeplechase House in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is among 2024’s recognized projects. Brooks + Scarpa’s Solar Umbrella House in Venice, California, was also a 2005 Record House winner. Hoang, co-founding principal of Brooklyn-based nARCHITECTS, also has a Record House connection. The firm’s House Between Forest & Field in rural Dutchess County, New York, was a 2023 Record House—a notable feat as nARCHITECTs’ first-ever completed house.

Full registration and program details for the 2024 Innovation Conference and Women in Architecture Awards can be found here and here.

Innovation Conference attendees who also plan to attend the Women in Architecture Awards can receive a 20 percent discount on the latter event by entering the code WIA20INN on the WIA registration page after completing the registration process for Innovation.  A limited number of students enrolled in architecture programs can also secure free admission by emailing Alex Bachrach at bachracha@bnpmedia.com for more information.

We look forward to seeing you on October 1 in New York!