On Oct. 10 and 11, design innovators from around the world gathered in New York City for Architectural Record’s 2007 Innovation Conference. The fifth annual event offered an impressive line-up of presenters who discussed how new technologies and changing environmental conditions are transforming the fields of architecture and design. Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and William Mitchell delivered the keynote speeches. Read a message from Charles Linn, the RECORD deputy editor who chaired the event.

Gary van Deursen knows a thing or two about innovation. Before starting his own consulting business last year, he was the head of product design for General Electric, Black & Decker, and The Stanley Works.
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Sir Nicholas Grimshaw has gained recognition worldwide for his seamless integration of complex technological systems into striking, modernist structures.
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William Mitchell, director of MIT Design Laboratory, is investigating how buildings and cities can respond more intelligently to their inhabitants. Includes:

Chuck Hoberman's vast and varied project portfolio includes everything from toys and medical equipment, to deployable shelters and retractable domes.
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William Zahner's firm has fabricated stunning metal façades for high-profile projects by Frank Gehry, Morphosis, Herzog & de Meuron and other notable architects.
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Read our thorough coverage of educational sessions and keynote speeches. In blog posts authored by RECORD editors, learn what our presenters had to say about performative architecture, daylighting and digital fabrication, among other topics.

Visit the 2007 Innovation Conference photo gallery and see some of the 300 industry professionals from around the world who gathered in NYC for the event.

Photo: © Danielle Austen

On Oct. 10, editors of BusinessWeek and Architectural Record presented awards for their annual competition, “Good Design is Good Business.” The winning projects vary greatly in terms of scale, budget and program and include a Frank Gehry-designed office building in Manhattan and a Canadian’s firm’s conversion of a brick warehouse into a performing arts center in Toronto.

Photo: © Albert Vecerka