AIA 2004 National Convention and Expo

If the attendance at the annual AIA National Convention can be regarded as a barometer of the economic health of the AEC industry, the current prognosis looks extremely positive. The estimated attendance at the 2004 Convention held last month in Chicago was over 22,000, a record-breaking number for this event. Compare this to the attendance numbers of past conventions: 18,000 for the 2003 event in San Diego, 15,000 for the 2002 event in Charlotte, and 16,500 for the 2001 event in Denver. The leap was staggering and beat the best expectations of the organizers—their original estimate was 18,000! The McCormick Place in Chicago, where the convention was held, was packed at all times, and the booths on the Expo floor were located so close together that it was hard to get a demo of a product without the background noise of several competing product demos. The exhibitors weren't complaining, of course, and were extremely elated by the unexpected crowds that kept them on their toes throughout the show.

The July edition of AECbytes is devoted to capturing more details of the AIA Convention, following Newsletter #10 published last month which briefly described the highlights of the Convention from a technology perspective and provided an overview of the new releases of existing products that were unveiled at the show. Newsletter #11 explores some of the new products that made their debut on the Expo floor this year. Subsquently AECbytes will review version 4.0 of SketchUp which was previewed at the show. Rounding up this month's content will be a Viewpoint contribution from James Vandezande, Associate and CAD Manager at SOM, and a newsletter on the booming construction industry in India and the level of its technology adoption.

Many thanks to all those who responded to the AECbytes reader survey that was open last month. Your feedback is invaluable and will be used to guide the course of this publication.

Thank you
Lachmi Khemlani

Editorials> July 2004