BuiltWorlds 2017: Uniting the Construction Industry to Help Build a Better World

The second annual BuiltWorlds Summit will take place in Chicago from May 3 to May 5, 2017. Here, BuiltWorlds Contributing Editor Rob McManamy gives us an idea of what to expect in the WIndy City This Year.

For those of you who attended BuiltWorlds‘ first annual summit last April, the words that follow may seem unnecessary. But suffice to say that we expect this year’s iteration of our signature event to be even better. More compelling. More immediate. More useful.

And that’s saying something, because our memorable CEO Tech Forum last spring featured a stellar constellation of thought leaders and innovators led by futuristic entrepreneur Peter Diamandis. But this year’s lineup is arguably even stronger, more ambitious in the depth and breadth of its subject matter, and more interactive in our desire to engage attendees throughout the proceedings.

That ethos of engagement will define BuiltWorlds’ Summit 2017, set for May 3-5 at The Wit hotel in Chicago’s Loop.

“Our mission is to cover the full range of new technology and innovation affecting the future of the built environment,” noted Walker Thisted, BW producer and Summit co-organizer. “We have assembled 13 panels and 3 keynotes on topics ranging from resilience, infrastructure, energy, and construction to cutting-edge design, BIM and digital fabrication, new tools and software, and the next generation of AEC leaders, among others.”

The three keynotes will be delivered by thought leaders Stan Pepper, chairman and CEO of Pepper Construction, and former CEO of StratusVue; Carlo Ratti, director of MIT’s SENSEable City Lab and founder of Carlo Ratti Associaties; and Tom Scarangello, chairman and CEO of Thornton Tomasetti. At our event last year, the NYC-based structural engineer unveiled TTWiiN, an internal technology accelerator that will launch five of its portfolio firms as separate companies in the first half of this year.

The full list of speakers for this year’s event; via BuiltWorlds

In between, our several star-studded panels will include speakers from AECOM, Bentley Systems, BuroHappold Engineers, DPR Construction, Perkins & Will, Procore Technologies, Skanska, Suffolk Construction, Studio Libeskind, and more. Luminaries include Suffolk Construction EVP and Chief Innovation Officer Chris Mayer, and Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans, who won ENR’s 1994 Award of Excellence for managing construction of the $5.3-billion Denver International Airport.

“Ranging from transportation and city planning to big data, resource management, venture capital, smart tools and smarter buildings, each of our panels will explore case studies on how new technologies are changing our industry every day,” added Thisted. “Over the three days, attendees also will have the opportunity to network with 150 of their peers, talk further with presenters, and consider how to translate actionable insights into their daily work.”

The Wit Hotel in Chicago’s Loop will host BuiltWorlds’ second annual spring gathering of AEC thought leaders in just six weeks; via BuiltWorlds

Of course, the networking can yield actionable results, too. For instance, field data collector Rhumbix co-founder Zach Scheel presented last year and is excited to return this spring. “As a result of our being here, we later met with a large MEP contractor from Canada who had seen us, and we now have a three-year agreement with them in place,” said Scheel.

Top image: The Wit hotel in Chicago; via Kayak