New York City’s AEC Leaders Explore Resiliency and Building Performance at Create + Construct

Hosted by Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), the Create + Construct symposium featured a series of conversations on how to facilitate recovery after natural disasters and human-created incidents, protect physical assets and well-being, and stay ahead of ever-changing codes and regulations. “As New York City responds to a changing climate, aging infrastructure, a growing population, and other challenges, the design and engineering community has a golden opportunity to think differently about infrastructure,” said BIG Associate Jeremy Alain Siegel, who delivered the symposium’s keynote address.

In addition to Mr. Siegel’s keynote, the event featured a series of discussions about responding to natural and human-caused risks, including:

• Wind and seismic design with Konstantinos Garcia-Syngros of Langan, Kevin Poulin of SGH, and David Prevatt of the University of Florida
• Flood mitigation with Kevin Davis of Con Edison and Filippo Masetti of SGH
• Blast resistance with Scott Bondi of SGH and Federico Patrono of Permasteelisa North America
• Fire and life safety with Qianru Guo and David Jacoby of SGH

The symposium concluded with a lively panel discussion on progress, challenges, and opportunities for a more resilient New York City. SGH’s Ricardo Medina moderated the conversation between Douglas Fee of UDR, Robert Freudenberg of Regional Plan Association, Guy Nordenson of Guy Nordenson and Associates, and Eric Wilson of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Resiliency. The group covered a range of topics, including social infrastructure, predictive modeling, New York City’s supertall building boom, and community activism.

“It was a privilege to facilitate this discussion and hear from such a diverse and accomplished group of individuals, representing different perspectives on the critical topics of infrastructure and community resilience,” said Dr. Medina. “To prepare our communities for the future, we must consider multiple components, including our buildings, infrastructure, and related social implications. It was exciting to engage with our experts and hear from our attendees, all of whom understand the complexity of the challenges we face and share the passion to confront them for the next generations.”

Special thanks go to the event’s guest speakers and panelists, as well as Cheryl Saldanha of SGH, who served as the symposium’s Master of Ceremonies. Create + Construct took place at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, returning to its original host city after expanding to new locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston in 2018 and 2019.