PCBC 2010: Reframe the Dream
Enter the Learning Laboratory of PCBC 2010, Where Better is the New Bigger
By Michael Castillo
As the housing market begins to make the transition from recession to recovery, PCBC has transformed from a progressive and thought-provoking trade show into a bona fide learning laboratory where attendees and exhibitors will find a wealth of education on what matters most: improving your business and preparing for the rebound.
Taking place June 9-11 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, PCBC 2010 promises to address all of the important questions facing businesses – from financing options to complying with green building standards – while providing a one-of-a-kind trade show experience through a complete transformation of the exhibit floor. In essence, PCBC is advancing the art and science of community building by reframing the dream and the entire trade show experience.
“This year’s Show is all about engaging the audience, not just in educational sessions, but also on the exhibit floor,” said Linda Baysari, CBIA’s Senior Vice President for Conventions and Meetings. “We’ve transformed the exhibit floor into a learning laboratory where we’ve asked our exhibitors to step out from behind their booths to become educators by helping to tell their product stories in a variety of new venues.”
Exhibit Floor Takes on New Look
The PCBC 2010 exhibit floor will feature three new distinct areas: the Green Standards Pavilion, Town Square and Exhibitorium. Also on the floor will be a complete concept house called the HybridCore Home, which aims to bring together the efficiency of building a home in a controlled environment with the aesthetics of building a home on-site.
The Green Standards Pavilion will tackle the new mandatory residential green building standards recently adopted in California under the new CalGreen code, and will provide participants with a clear understanding of what is being asked in terms of compliance. The area will feature interactive displays and expert Q&A sessions that delve into the five main focus areas of the new code, including planning and design, energy efficiency, and water efficiency and conservation.
The Town Square will serve as the starting point for the curator-led product tours, as well as the starting point for the new PCBC experience. Featuring live radio shows from the likes of HomeLive, Popular Science and On The House with the Carey Brothers, the Town Square will be the center of activity on the show floor. It will also feature live interviews with industry experts and guest speakers, social media networking opportunities, daily giveaways, a show concierge to help attendees find their way around and a Block Party taking place on Wednesday afternoon.
And for those who want to sit back and take in the action, the Town Square will include seating areas, internet stations, a coffee shop and crepe station.
Meanwhile, the Exhibitorium will encourage a deeper level of conversation between attendee and exhibitor with sessions developed in conjunction with researchers and cutting edge companies. Each day will feature a series of educational sessions geared toward a specific topic, with Smart Energy leading the way on Wednesday. These sessions will explore the world of the Smart Grid and the New Connected Home and will feature guest speakers from GE and Intel, among others.
On Thursday, the Exhibitorium will explore the Science Behind the Building and will examine the ABCs of a building system, including ventilation, insulation and water use, in an effort to educate participants on the importance of addressing these issues during construction to increase buyer satisfaction while increasing energy and water efficiency.
The week will round out Friday with a series dedicated to Energy Retrofitting that will feature guest speakers from companies including ConSol, The Grupe Company and Owens Construction Contracting Company.
“We’ve really tried to bring a sense of added value to the show floor and to make it better by allowing our exhibitors to become more involved with the show itself,” said Baysari. “Attendees will find plenty of solutions to their toughest questions both on the show floor and in the more traditional educational sessions.”
Conferences Dig Deeper
In addition to the new educational offerings on the exhibit floor, PCBC is again offering the Executive Conference, which promises to bring game-changing new perspectives from thinkers and innovators from outside the realm of the building industry.
The new perspectives and ideas will then be grounded in expertise and application from some of the brightest minds and most accomplished practitioners in community development. The two-day conference will take place Wednesday and Thursday, and feature dozens of sessions focused on a variety of topics including sustainable living and master planning, enhancing public/private partnerships, social networking as a business tool and building for a growing population with changing demographics.
The sessions will be lead by experts from both inside and outside of the building industry, including Nate Garvis of Target Corp., renowned author, speaker and futurist Joel Kotkin, and John Burns of John Burns Real Estate Consulting.
Also back is the Multifamily Trends Conference, PCBC's conference within a conference. Developed in partnership with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the Multifamily Trends Conference will feature multifamily leaders, researchers and capital markets experts debating and discussing the best strategies for minimizing further risk and capitalizing on the market recovery. Sessions are specially designed to deliver rich content from the perspective of institutions, private investors and developers.
New to the Show this year is the Capital Markets Forum. Retooled from the popular Meet-the-Money session from previous years, the Capital Markets Forum will take place Thursday and will feature a series of sessions designed to explore financing options currently available, provide the tools for finding new sources, and conclude with a networking session that puts builders face-to-face with lenders in an effort to connect them with providers on the spot.
Also new to the show this year is PCBC’s Sales Superstars, a session that will feature three dynamic speakers who will share ideas and techniques that are custom tailored to today’s market.
“In the current economic climate, education is the key to understanding the complexities of surviving in the building industry,” said Baysari. “This is why we’ve developed this year’s show to provide that education in numerous venues and on various topics in hopes of preparing businesses to thrive in the housing industry of the future.”
Regular Features Return
This year’s show will begin with the Opening Lunch. It will feature keynote speaker Michael Lewis, author of books including Liar’s Poker and The Blind Side, in an “unplugged” conversation with Ivy Zelman, CEO of Zelman & Associates. Lewis will examine the 20-year era that came to a crashing halt by the subprime and worldwide credit crisis while fielding tough questions from Zelman aimed at exploring how this period began, how it’s likely to end, what we’ve learned from it, and how we might prevent it from happening again.
Other staples returning to PCBC this year are the annual Gold Nugget Awards, taking place on Thursday, and the annual California Homebuilding Industry Hall of Fame Dinner on Tuesday.
“We are really excited to bring such a wide array of sessions and features to the show this year,” said Baysari. “This is a great time to rethink the way we do business in this industry, focus on new approaches, and prepare for the rebound, and that’s exactly what we want participants to take away from PCBC 2010.”
For more information and to register for conferences and events, visit www.pcbc.com or call (800) 956-SHOW.
Michael Castillo is the communications manager for CBIA and PCBC. Contact him at mcastillo@cbia.org.
