Echelon Masonry at A’19

AIA '19 was a huge success, with over 1,000 architects, stopping by the booth and Learning Lounge — thanks to everyone who took the time to meet with the Echelon Masonry team!

For those who couldn't join us in Las Vegas, here's a little of what you missed and what we learned.

Education Remains a Top Priority

We provided nearly 400 CE credit hours at our Learning Lounge, covering mission-critical topics like masonry energy performance and fire safety, as well as introducing the show to our extensive line of porcelain paver and veneer products.

While these courses are available year-round AIA continues to prove to be a hub for learning. The house was packed for every session, so if you didn't get a chance to attend one of our courses, make sure t schedule a Lunch & Learn to get the insights you missed.

Energy Performance is More Crucial Than Ever

Codes are continuing to tighten — especially in energy-conscious California — making performance a centerpiece of many of our discussions. In addition to highlighting the comparative performance of our patented, industry-leading InsulTech Insulated Masonry System, we also spent a ton of time talking about how even standard masonry can contribute to a high-performance building.

One overlooked concept we spent time discussing was continuous insulation and how even theoretically monolithic materials like precast can have significant thermal bridging issues — a fact we brought to life with FLIR photography of several competitive systems. InsulTech continued to prove its dominance both in energy performance and its ability to slash installation and maintenance costs, making it a major draw at the booth.

Masonry is More Than a Material — It's a Solution

For the first time, we brought our sister brand, Belgard Commercial, into the booth to highlight how masonry can make an impact across the entire job site.

Using the LEA architect-designed Phoenix Fire Station 59 as a case study, we showed how permeable pavers solved site planning and water management challenges, as well as how insulated unit masonry was used to protect and enhance the main structure. Our Belgard Site Solutions team was also on hand to talk about big-picture materials planning and, alongside our masonry sales consultants, open eyes to all of the advantages of masonry from enhanced durability and resiliency to durability to moisture protection, energy performance and beyond.

Technology is Opening New Opportunities for Masonry

We brought several key technology partners with us to AIA '19, including our BIM Object modeling partner BIMsmith and a new partner, MasonryiQ, to demonstrate their Revit plugin that enables masonry modeling.

For too long, masonry has been viewed as being stuck in the past. As a material, it has especially suffered from the ability to be easily and effectively modeled due to the complexity of masonry construction — a challenge that we're helping architects overcome with these enhanced BIM and modeling tools. MasonryiQ, in particular, is a revolution in the architect's ability to easily experiment with and model masonry within the industry-leading design system, Revit.

With this newfound capability, we expect architects to show renewed interest in working within the high-performance, durable and aesthetically unique world of masonry. Echelon is working on ways to bring this tool to the masses, so get in touch to learn more.

There's No Match for Getting Hands-On

This year, we brought over 100 product samples to the show, from new products being developed by our R&D team to highlights from our extensive line of structural and veneer masonry products. We believe there's no better way to understand the quality and unique aesthetic of masonry than getting large-format samples in the hands of the specifiers, and heard the same from our visiting architects.

From highlighting materials used on major local installations to getting hands-on with the full InsulTech system to seeing our West Coast color palettes up close and personal, AIA '19 was all about experiencing Echelon Masonry first hand. 

If we missed you this year, we'll be back for AIA 2020 in Los Angeles! In the meantime, you can always engage with our local masonry teams at regional AIA events throughout the year, or by scheduling a Lunch and Learn.