Aug 14 2006
The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) will present FEDCon 2006, the Market Outlook Conference on Federal Construction, on December 5, 2006 at the Washington Convention Center, offering authoritative, up-to-date information on building budgets, construction forecasts, and regulatory updates affecting federally commissioned projects. The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) are this year’s conference co-sponsors.
Providing an opportunity for federal agencies to present their construction programs to the building community, FEDCon sessions will outline:
- current year construction budgets
- planned budgets for future years
- building types to be designed
- regional and international construction information
- overall direction of design/construction programs
In general, each FEDCon presentation will cover a spectrum of useful information for private sector architects, engineers, general and specialty contractors, and manufacturers interested in providing services and products to the federal government, the world's largest facility owner and procurer of design and construction services.
The one-day conference is expected to host over 300 attendees from design and construction firms and building product manufacturers nationwide. This year's presentations will include speakers from the National Institute of Building Sciences, US Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, US Air Force, General Services Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of State, Department of Defense.
The event forms part of a December 4-7, 2006 convention and product exhibition that includes AEC-ST Federal, the conference and exhibit on lifecycle strategies for the built environment, and Ecobuild Federal, the environmental systems technology conference and exhibition held in cooperation with the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council and the Green Building Initiative. Both events are managed by Ecobuild America. NIBS will use these events as a platform to host a variety of committee meetings throughout the week including: National Building Information Modeling (BIM) Standards, Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG), Facility Maintenance and Operations Committee (FMOC), Facility Information Council (FIC), and National CAD Standards.
“With three preeminent organizations as cosponsors—AIA, AGC, and CSI—we anticipate a high level of federal agency participation at this meeting,” says David A. Harris, FAIA, NIBS president. "Improving the building process depends upon constantly expanding information and educational resources. The FEDCon program brings design and construction professionals together with government agency leaders in a forum that not only covers this year’s priorities, but also helps the building community learn and plan for the future.”
Earle Kennett, NIBS vice president responsible for Institute technical programs, adds, "By co-locating FEDCon with the AEC-ST and Ecobuild events, NIBS can more effectively reach out to the myriad groups that make up the design and construction industry. Many NIBS councils have the support of government agencies, so this program will have a far-reaching appeal to the entire building team."