Intended to provide those in the Architecture and Interior Design professions with material and brand options, the AIA Conference on Architecture is a materials playground. With over 600 booths, manufacturers range from door handles and skylights to landscape design and building-envelope specialists. Over the course of three days, the expo also highlights local architecture, business development possibilities, design education including CEUs, and tons of booth-specific swag.
This year the conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was themed ‘Blueprint for a Better Future.’
Unique Booths
Design Collaborations
Specializing in collaborative, handmade design via cast glass and landscape artistry, this husband and wife team is based in Tucson, Arizona. Design Collaborations was founded in 1990 and utilizes the “lost wax method.”
Their booth was eye-catching with oversized glass beads in various colors hanging to represent a large necklace. Learn more about their process here.
“We craft forms ranging in shape from jewel-like elements to large sculptural pieces. Our work, which is featured in settings ranging from private gardens to urban spaces, blends industrial gear and traditional bead forms. By combing the creative talents of our team, we meld fragility and solidity, transparency and opacity, and visual and tactile beauty.”
Design Collaborations
Behr
One brand we’ve all heard of and likely purchased from, Behr brought their ‘A-game’ (pun intended). The booth showcased their interior paint options, which they turned into a creative activity, luring in attendees to paint a bear.
Behr
Sto Corp
“Building with Conscience” means taking product design and implementation to the next level. Sto believes in innovation, ease of use, low energy consumption, and aesthetically pleasing results.
Their booth demanded a lot of attention because of their collaboration with Ray Swinn, an abstract portrait artist creating live paintings of show attendees. See more of her work via her Instagram page
Sto Corp
Ambius Design
Green design has a direct meaning with this company specializing in interior and exterior landscape design. Ambius living walls caught our attention because our new front lobby would be the perfect place to accommodate such a piece. The verdict is still out on our plans for our front lobby, but Ambius has given us a lot to think about!
Ambius Design
New Mexico Design Community in LV
In addition to meeting designers and companies from across the country, we got to meet up with some past and present Albuquerque designers. Our Marketing Specialist attended the University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning‘s Alumni event. It is incredible to see the success of these professionals, all around one table.
