Course description:
We became architects to conceptualize, to design, to create. But too much of our time is spent searching
for products, organizing their details and writing specifications. Technology has provided tremendous
improvements to the design process, and to building materials themselves. But, beyond digitizing all
those binders, it has provided little advancement to product sourcing.
A recent study found that architects spend an average of one-third of their working hours on
administrative tasks like searching and specifying building products. This 1-hour course will be divided in
two parts to improve this ratio:
1) An introductory keynote by Tim McManus, followed by a panel discussion between industry’s leading
architects, manufacturers and spec writers about their views on the innovations they’ve personally
adopted to optimize efficiency for their firms.
2) A showcase of software developed by acelab, an information marketplace developed by graduate
students at Harvard and MIT
Join us, and take back your schedule to focus on where you can make a difference!

Moderators:
Michael Brotherton – President, SITU Fabrication
Nicholas Desbiens – Head of Digital Practice, KPF
Keynote Speaker:
Tim McManus – Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company
Tim currently serves as a consultant and advisor to government agencies and companies involved in the
planning, development and delivery of major infrastructure, urban development and sports projects and capital programs. He has worked with companies to develop growth strategies, enterprise risk
management plans, organizational restructuring and adoption of innovation strategies. He currently
serves as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company.

Panelists:
Kimberly Kelly – Senior Associate, Gensler
Kimberly Kelly designs a range of workspaces for the finance sector, spanning global service firms to
boutique hedge funds. In her role as Design Director, Kimberly cultivates unique interior experiences for clients which are deeply rooted in custom materiality and health.
Aaron Pine – Principal at Construction Specifications, Inc
Aaron M. Pine, CCS, LEED-AP is the Principal at Construction Specifications, Inc., an architectural
specifications writing and consulting organization based out of NJ. He is a professional member of the
Construction Specifications Institute and his project experience encompasses preparation of
specifications, coordination of construction activities, and management of quality assurance.
Jonah Kaplan – Director of Business Development, Workshop APD
As Director of Business Development, Jonah serves as Workshop/APD’s lead brand evangelist,
developing business strategy and catalyzing more meaningful relationships within the industry in order to identify and secure projects that are aligned with our design philosophy. In his five years at Architizer, he ran the digital design resource’s business development and sales.
Matt Samson – Principal, Samson & Partners
Matt is the principal consultant at Samson and Partners, focusing on the intersection of building
products, marketing and strategy. Prior to this, he was a manufacturing and distribution executive at
Harvey Building Products for 12 years. Matt joined acelab in September as CRO, following his passion for programs that improve construction industry innovation and productivity.

Research Showcase:
Vardhan Mehta & Dries Carmeliet – Co-founders of acelab
Spun out of a research project at Harvard and MIT, acelab is an information marketplace that connects
quality architects and manufacturers, allowing architects to search, select, spec and share building
products instantly.

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