More than 70 young—that is, under age 40—architects, engineers, and construction professionals descended on Chicago in early October with one thought in mind: to learn how to “create with clarity.”
That was the theme of Building Design+Construction’s Second Annual “Under40 Leadership Summit,” held October 3-5 in partnership with AIA Chicago. The program brought together past honorees in BD+C’s “40 Under 40” program with under-40 AEC professionals nominated by their respective firms for networking and interactive leadership development.
The two-and-a-half-day program got started Wednesday afternoon, October 3, with a two-hour tour of Chicago’s architectural heritage along the Chicago River. A docent from the Chicago Architecture Foundation provided an articulate commentary on more than 50 architectural treasures, including works by Harry Weese, Bertrand Goldberg, SOM, and Perkins+Will.
Later that evening, the U40 attendees assembled at the Hotel Monaco, where Autodesk Fellow Tom Wujec, the Summit’s principal facilitator, led them in “The Great Chicago Marshmallow Challenge.” Teams of three or four were given 20 sticks of spaghetti, a yard of tape, a yard of string, and a marshmallow. They had 18 minutes to erect the tallest structure they could, with the stipulation that the marshmallow had to be on top.
Several structures collapsed. Participants were surprised by how much the marshmallow weighed. The winning structure measured 29½ inches in height—about average, according to Wujec, but well short of the record (more than 50 inches). No marshmallows were eaten during the competition (it happens, Wujec says).
Thursday, October 4, was devoted entirely to Wujec’s “Create with Clarity” mobile workshop. Wujec started the group off with what seemed to be a simple exercise: without using words, visualize—through drawing—how to make toast.
Where they came from
The following organizations were represented at the U40 Leadership Summit:
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, Argonne National Laboratory, Arquitectonica, BSA LifeStructures, Contract Management Inc. Dewberry, DLR Group, Enclos – Advanced Technology Studio, G3 Construction Group, Gensler, Harley Ellis Devereaux, HDR Architecture, Heery International, Hill International, HKS Architects, HMC Architects, Hoar Program Management, HOK, Johnson Controls, KJWW Engineering Consultants, KLMK Group, Legat Architects, Montalba Architects, Mortenson, Niles Bolton Associates, Norcon Inc., O’Brien Construction, Pepper Construction, Perkins+Will, Playground Ideas, Reichgott Engineering, Rogers Krajnak Architects, roomTEN Design, Ryan Companies US, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, SmithGroupJJR, Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Swinerton Builders, Syska Hennessy Group, Tarlton Corporation, Tilton Kelly + Bell, TLC Engineering for Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UrbanWorks, Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, VOA Associates, Walker Parking Consultants, Walter P Moore & Associates, and Wight & Co.
Teams of six to eight then each took on a specific question related to their professional or personal lives. Among the topics: How do we grow our firm? How do we use technology more wisely? How do we balance the demands of work with the needs of our personal lives and families?
The teams then went out into the city—to the North Michigan Avenue “Magnificent Mile,” to the Lake Michigan lakefront, to Millennium Park. Their mission: to find inspiration that would help them present a visual representation of their question—and even a solution.
Upon their return, the teams engaged in extensive development of the oversize posters for their visual presentations, a couple of which also took the form of a skit. Final presentations were made in rapid order,
Wujec then led the entire group in a discussion of the meaning of the visualizations and how to apply the process and concepts learned in their daily work and personal lives.
To the Friendly Confines
Friday, October 5, opened with an early morning bus ride to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, where the group was greeted by Tom Ricketts, the team chairman, Steven J. Jacobsen, SCDP, President of Jacobsen Development Advisors, and Carl Rice, Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Cubs.
Jacobsen, who has been retained by the Cubs to create the business plan and high-level concepts for the renovation of the nearly century-old sports facility, and Rice, who has worked for the Cubs since his high school days, provided an in-depth discussion of the history and evolution of the ballpark, from its days as Weeghman Park (1914) to the installation of lights (1988) and up to current plans for improvements to the electrical and structural systems.
They then led U40 participants on an hour-long tour of the park, from the bowels of the locker room to the heights of the upper deck.
The U40 Leadership Summit ended with a hot dog lunch at the Cubby Bear, a Wrigleyville sports and entertainment landmark.
Participants earned up to 11.0 AIA/CES Discovery learning units for attending all sessions.
Sponsors for the U40 Summit: Andersen Windows and Doors, the Vinyl Institute, SAGE Electrochromics, Georgia-Pacific, the American Institute of Steel Construction, and Sprint. +
Related Stories
| Dec 29, 2011
Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools
California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.
| Dec 29, 2011
GreenWizard offers cloud-based LEED credit management, assessment
The company recently began offering companies the ability to run assessments for design credits, in addition to traditional product-specific LEED credits.
| Dec 27, 2011
Clayco awarded expansion of Washington University Data Center in St. Louis
Once completed, the new building addition will double the size of the data center which houses sophisticated computer networks that store massive amounts of genomic data used to identify the genetic origins of cancer and other diseases.
| Dec 27, 2011
Ground broken for adaptive reuse project
Located on the Garden State Parkway, the master-planned project initially includes the conversion of a 114-year-old, 365,000-square-foot, six-story warehouse building into 361 loft-style apartments, and the creation of a three-level parking facility.
| Dec 27, 2011
Nova completes $60M Clearwater Conference Center
Comprising an entire city block, the 450,000 sq. ft. facility features over 400 meeting rooms, six theaters, a full-service health spa, complete with an indoor running track, and a commercial kitchen that can efficiently accommodate over 1,000 diners
| Dec 27, 2011
BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit update
The two-day Under 40 Leadership Summit continued with a Leadership Style interactive presentation; Great Solutions presentations from Under 40 attendees; the Owner’s Perspective panel discussion; and the Blue Ocean Strategy presentation.
| Dec 27, 2011
Suffolk Construction celebrates raising of Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum cupola
Topping off ceremony held on 238th Anniversary of Boston Tea Party.
| Dec 27, 2011
State of the data center 2011
Advances in technology, an increased reliance on the Internet and social media as well as an increased focus on energy management initiatives have had a significant impact on the data center world.
| Dec 27, 2011
USGBC’s Center for Green Schools releases Best of Green Schools 2011
Recipient schools and regions from across the nation - from K-12 to higher education - were recognized for a variety of sustainable, cost-cutting measures, including energy conservation, record numbers of LEED certified buildings and collaborative platforms and policies to green U.S. school infrastructure.
| Dec 21, 2011
DOE report details finance options for PV systems in schools
The report examines the two primary types of ownership models used to obtain PV installations for school administrators to use in selecting the best option for deploying solar technologies in their districts.
