Friday, October 9

7:30 - 8:30 AM  |  Breakfast

8:00 - 8:30 AM  |  CSI Annual Business Meeting (Members Only)

8:30 - 9:15 AM  |  Dedicated Trade Show Floor Time

9:15 - 10:15 AM  |  Breakout Sessions

+ Firestop Special Inspections: What to Expect and How to Prepare

As third-party firestop inspections become more common—and are required by the International Building Code (IBC) for specific building types—construction professionals must understand what inspectors are looking for and how to prepare. This one-hour course explains the purpose and process of firestop special inspections, detailing how UL systems, tested assemblies, and ASTM field standards (E2174 and E2393) are used to verify compliance. Participants will learn how inspectors document findings, common issues that lead to deficiencies, and how proactive coordination and accurate submittals can prevent costly rework. The session also covers International Firestop Council (IFC) guidance for maintaining consistency and quality across inspection programs, helping attendees ensure that passive fire protection systems perform as designed.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the IBC and ASTM requirements that govern third-party firestop special inspections.

• Interpret UL system details to ensure field installations match tested and listed designs.

• Recognize the most frequent causes of inspection failures and how to prevent them through proper planning and documentation.

• Apply best practices from IFC and ASTM standards to streamline inspections and maintain code compliance.

Speaker:

John Zalepka, Director of Training & Industry Engagements, Specified Technologies Inc.

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Elevating Thermal Efficiency, Durability, and Sustainability through Optimized Continuous Insulation

The exterior wall is no longer a passive separator between inside and out rather a high-performance environmental moderator tasked with resisting fire, managing water and vapor, minimizing heat flow, and withstanding increasingly extreme climate exposure. Exterior continuous insulation plays a central role in this evolution, yet its integration introduces new risks when not approached holistically.

This session explores exterior insulation as part of a dynamic enclosure system rather than a prescriptive requirement. We will investigate how different insulation materials and detailing approaches affect fire propagation, moisture transport, thermal performance, and durability in rainscreen and masonry assemblies. The discussion will connect NFPA 285 compliance, drainage and drying strategies, thermal bridging control, and material sustainability into a unified performance framework.

By understanding how these forces interact, and sometimes conflict, attendees will be better equipped to design resilient wall systems that perform not only at occupancy, but across decades of service life. The goal is to help practitioners move beyond minimum compliance toward assemblies that are more resilient, more durable, more energy-efficient, and better aligned with long-term carbon and climate objectives.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the purpose, scope, and evaluation criteria of the NFPA 285 assembly test and articulate how it applies to common contemporary wall assemblies so as to best select the most efficacious materials enabling the viable NFPA285 compliant wall assemblies.

• Compare the water, air, thermal, and durability performance attributes of common exterior insulation types used in rainscreens, cmu masonry wall systems, precast, prefab. modular, and their various hybrid variations.

• Identify and evaluate enclosure risks, including thermal bridging, redundant drainage planes, drainage inefficiency, water absorption, and vapor transmission so as to connect them to the most desired wall assembly performance outcomes.

• Distinguish the manufacturing and sustainability attributes of major continuous insulation materials and apply that knowledge when making specification decisions to reduce overall project embodied and operational carbon impacts.

Speakers:

Lance Williams, Architectural  Manager, Atlas Roofing Corporation  

Tina Cannedy, Dir. of Business Development, Atlas Roofing Corporation 

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Specifying Electrified Hardware: Electric Strikes, Mag Locks, and Wireless Access Control

Electrified door hardware integrates mechanical security with electronic access control, requiring specification coordination across multiple divisions and trades. This session covers the specification of electric strikes, electromagnetic locks, electrified mortise locks, and wireless access control systems. Participants will learn fail-safe versus fail-secure operation, power supply requirements, code compliance for electrically locked egress doors, and coordination between Division 08 hardware and Division 28 electronic security. The course includes practical guidance on specifying electrified products including wired mechanical locks and wireless lock systems.

Learning Objectives:

• Specify electric strikes and electromagnetic locks with appropriate fail-safe/fail-secure operation based on code requirements and security objectives.

• Coordinate electrified hardware specifications across Division 08 (Door Hardware) and Division 28 (Electronic Security) including power requirements and wiring. 

• Apply IBC and NFPA 101 code requirements for electrically locked egress doors including delayed egress and sensor release. 

• Select and specify wireless access control locks and standalone electronic locks with appropriate credential types and battery backup provisions.

Speaker:

Erin Wilson, Learning Strategist Influencers - dormakaba

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Achieving Specifications Symphony on Large Projects via Collaborative Intelligence

On projects with dozens of contributors across disciplines, specifications become the hinge between intent and delivery, and small misalignments can cascade into risk. We position specs as the golden thread of connected delivery—linking design intent, construction documents, and construction workflows.

This session introduces a practical Coordination Playbook for large design firms and owners delivering complex programs—combining governance (roles, cadence, decision rights), change orchestration, and KPI visibility through Collaborative Intelligence. Attendees leave with a concise roadmap and ready-to-use strategies they can apply immediately on complex projects.

Learning Objectives: 

• Build a Coordination Playbook for large teams by presenting technology, defining shared outcomes and governance (roles, cadence, decision rights).

• Apply AI for Comprehensive Specification Quality Control & Risk Management.

• Apply change management and orchestration using decision logs, escalation paths, and risk-based prioritization

• Establish KPI visibility (e.g., coordination lag, review cycle time, defect trends, spec-linked RFIs) and the operating cadence to act on it.

  Create a phase-based roadmap spanning design, procurement & execution for effective and predictable delivery of complex programs.

Speakesr:

Nish Patil, Group Product Manager, RIB Software North America

AK Dash, CTO & Head of R&D, RIB Software North America

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

10:15 - 10:30 AM  |  Break

10:30 - 11:30 AM  |  Breakout Sessions

+ Material Agency Reconsidered: From Specifications to Stewardship

Material agency is often framed as innovation—smart materials, new technologies, or biomimicry. This session challenges that assumption. Instead, it reframes material agency as an ethic of care rooted in time, memory, and responsibility across the full lifecycle of building materials.

Using concrete and other durable construction materials as primary case studies, the presentation explores buildings as anthropogenic archives—repositories of embodied carbon, labor, performance data, and future value—and cities as emerging urban quarries. From specifications and durability design to adaptive reuse, deconstruction, and material recovery, the session positions architects, specifiers, and constructors as custodians rather than inventors.

Attendees will gain a new framework for thinking about material selection, specification strategy, and lifecycle performance—one that aligns sustainability, risk management, and long-term value creation with CSI’s core mission of advancing the science and practice of building construction.

Learning Objectives:  

• Reframe material agency from novelty and innovation toward stewardship, lifecycle responsibility, and long-term performance.

• Understand buildings as material archives, with implications for specifications, durability, embodied carbon, and future reuse.

• Apply lifecycle thinking to concrete and other structural materials, connecting design decisions to maintenance, adaptation, and end-of-life scenarios.

• Integrate material stewardship principles into specifications, procurement strategies, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Speaker:

Frank Mruk, CSI, FAIA, RIBA, Senior Director Building Innovation, NRMCA

Michael Scancarello, WSP Engineers

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Electronic Leak Detection: Lessons Learned from ELD Testing and Continuous Monitoring for Roofing

This one-hour course provides practical insights and proven lessons from over 20 case studies involving Electronic Leak Detection (ELD) in a variety of roofing applications. Participants will explore the use of ELD for quality control testing during new construction, forensic investigation of active leaks in existing buildings, and continuous moisture monitoring of conventional roofing systems.  

The course will review key principles from ASTM D7877 – Standard Guide for Electronic Methods for Detecting and Locating Leaks in Waterproof Membranes and ASTM D8231 – Standard Practice for ELD on Roofing and Waterproofing Membranes, helping attendees understand proper testing methods and avoid common sources of moisture intrusion. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to apply ELD testing more effectively as part of comprehensive roof quality assurance and maintenance programs.  

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain the science, capabilities, and limitations of Electronic Leak Detection (ELD) in accordance with ASTM Guide D7877 and ASTM Practice D8231 by the end of the session.

• Analyze and describe common causes of failures in various roofing and waterproofing membranes using real-world case examples.  

• Evaluate potential future design and construction failures by interpreting and applying data gathered from real-time construction monitoring systems.

• Differentiate and recommend appropriate applications of ELD testing and continuous moisture monitoring for specific risk mitigation and loss control scenarios.

Speaker:

Shaun Katz, Product Line Manager, Detec Systems

This session is approved for 1 AIA HSW LU.

+ Elevate Everyday to Gourmet: Crafting High-Performance Architectural Specifications

Most Specifications are written the way weeknight dinners are cooked — familiar, repetitive, and safe. We copy from the last project and default to what has always worked. We don’t question ingredients. But what if writing Specifications were more like crafting the perfect Arizona chimichanga? A truly great chimichanga isn’t just a tortilla and fillings dropped into a fryer. It requires quality ingredients, thoughtful seasoning, technique, attention to texture, and artful presentation. The same is true for writing exceptional Specifications.

Specifications play a critical role in project quality, risk management, and design execution. This course uses a culinary metaphor — crafting a gourmet chimichanga — to illustrate how intentional product selection, coordination, quality assurance, and construction administration requirements elevate Specifications from routine documents to strategic project tools.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common deficiencies in repetitive or generic specification writing and describe strategies for creating project-specific, coordinated content.

• Develop targeted submittal, mockup, and quality assurance requirements that enhance performance, reduce risk, and protect design intent.

• Establish more effective methods for evaluating products, generating standards, and understanding the Architect’s design intent.

• Develop strategies to move your specifications beyond minimum code compliance.

Speakers:

Shelby Fisher, Specifications Manager, Kirksey Architecture

Melody Jackson, Senior Specification Writer, Populous

This session is approved for 1 AIA LU.

12:00 - 1:30 PM  |  Certification Luncheon & Closing Keynote

+ Event Details

AECO professionals who earned their CDT^®, CCS^®, CCCA^®, or CCPR^® in the past year will be honored. Join in cheering their accomplishment and enjoy lunch too!

+ Keynote

Details coming soon.

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM  |  Offsite Tour

Offsite tours are a great way to see more of Phoenix with your peers while also earning learning units. Conference registration is required. Spots are limited! Email registration@csinet.org to add a tour to your itinerary.

+ Player 15 Group Headquarters 

Step inside the Player 15 Group headquarters and Mercury practice facility for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the home of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and Valley Suns. This tour will explore the $100 million facility that includes 58,000 square feet and have two courts, 10 baskets, a fitness center, hydrotherapy facilities, a film room and an expansive locker room and family lounge, plus a kitchen with a dedicated chef. (Itinerary may change if we go all the way to the playoffs!)

SWear comfortable walking shoes, we will take a short walk from the hotel to their Downtown Headquarters facility. Tour departs the hotel lobby at 2:30 pm.

Fee: $29