Read blog posts from the 2008 Innovation Conference written by RECORD editors, as we recap this year’s presentations.

View highlights from the 2008 conference in our video library, including talks by Daniel Nocera, Antony Wood, and Christoph Ingenhoven.

Image courtesy Sebastian Howard

Hundreds of architects and other industry professionals attended RECORD’s 2008 Innovation Conference on October 7th and 8th. View images of conference presenters and attendees in our photo gallery.

Image courtesy Sebastian Howard

On October 7-8 for Architectural Record hosted the sixth annual Innovation Conference, which focused on net zero-energy buildings. The program featured a series of case studies and a roster of notable speakers, including professor Daniel Nocera of MIT on bio-inspired energy and architect Christoph Ingenhoven, who discussed several of his projects.

The Fantastic Catalyst
What will be the oil of the future? According to Dan Nocera, water plus light. That’s it. RECORD deputy editor, Charles Linn, FAIA, spoke with the MIT Professor (both are Innovation 2008 speakers) about his energy breakthrough for the July issue of GreenSource magazine.

Smith + Gill Tapped for Ultra-Green Abu Dhabi Project
Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture won a competition to design Masdar Headquarters, a 1.6-million-square-foot, zero-waste, zero-carbon facility that it predicts will generate not only enough power to run itself, but also surplus energy to help fuel buildings surrounding it. Robert Forest, AIA, and Gordon Gill, AIA, will discuss the project at Innovation 2008.

Project Portfolio: Lufthansa Aviation Center
Innovation speaker Christoph Ingenhoven worked with engineers Werner Sobek and Klaus Daniels to devise a crystalline, energy-efficient workplace for the Lufthansa Aviation Center in Frankfurt. RECORD covered the project in August 2007.

The New York Times Building
Renzo Piano Building Workshop and FXFOWLE presented a quietly luminous addition to the Manhattan skyline with The New York Times Building. Innovation 2008 speaker Glenn Hughes directed the design, pre-purchasing, construction, testing and commissioning of the building.

Image courtesy Ingenhoven Architekten

On Oct. 10 and 11, design innovators from around the world gathered in New York City for Architectural Record’s 2007 Innovation Conference. The fifth annual event offered an impressive line-up of presenters who discussed how new technologies and changing environmental conditions are transforming the fields of architecture and design. Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and William Mitchell delivered the keynote speeches. Read a message from Charles Linn, the RECORD deputy editor who chaired the event.

Gary van Deursen knows a thing or two about innovation. Before starting his own consulting business last year, he was the head of product design for General Electric, Black & Decker, and The Stanley Works.
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Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has gained recognition worldwide for his seamless integration of complex technological systems into striking, modernist structures.
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William Mitchell, director of MIT Design Laboratory, is investigating how buildings and cities can respond more intelligently to their inhabitants. Includes:

Chuck Hoberman's vast and varied project portfolio includes everything from toys and medical equipment, to deployable shelters and retractable domes.
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William Zahner's firm has fabricated stunning metal façades for high-profile projects by Frank Gehry, Morphosis, Herzog & de Meuron and other notable architects.
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Read our thorough coverage of educational sessions and keynote speeches. In blog posts authored by RECORD editors, learn what our presenters had to say about performative architecture, daylighting and digital fabrication, among other topics.

Visit the 2007 Innovation Conference photo gallery and see some of the 300 industry professionals from around the world who gathered in NYC for the event.

Photo: © Danielle Austen

On Oct. 10, editors of BusinessWeek and Architectural Record presented awards for their annual competition, “Good Design is Good Business.” The winning projects vary greatly in terms of scale, budget and program and include a Frank Gehry-designed office building in Manhattan and a Canadian’s firm’s conversion of a brick warehouse into a performing arts center in Toronto.

Photo: © Albert Vecerka