Illya Azaroff, FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects (confirmed)

Powering America’s Next Industrial Wave

Access to reliable, affordable energy is now the defining factor shaping where and how America builds. As demand from manufacturing, construction, and data centers accelerates, grid constraints and rising power costs are increasingly determining project feasibility and timelines.

This session explores how the U.S. can expand capacity, enhance grid resilience, and integrate on-site and distributed energy solutions to meet surging industrial demand — while aligning energy independence goals with the practical realities of onshoring and rapid infrastructure delivery.

9:40pm – 9:45am          Session Keynote

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs (confirmed – via video)

9:45am – 10:50am        Panel Discussion

Will Toor, Executive Director, Colorado Energy Office (confirmed)

Kristy David, Senior Vice President, Clean Energy & Infrastructure, JLL (confirmed)

Lori Murphy Lee, Senior Regulatory Manager, PJM Interconnection (confirmed)

Christina Baworowsky, Senior Vice President, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) (moderator – confirmed)

Low-Waste Innovation, American-Made Inputs, and Durable Design

The materials that power construction and manufacturing — from concrete and steel to glass, timber, and insulation — are evolving to meet today’s performance and cost demands. This session explores how circular design principles, reuse strategies, and advanced production techniques are helping to extend material life, reduce project waste, and enhance resilience across supply chains.

With federal and private sector buyers increasingly focused on long-term performance and lifecycle value, speakers will explore where innovation, procurement, and policy intersect to scale smarter material choices.

Brian Hanlon, Director, Department of Buildings, District of Columbia (confirmed)

Colin Grabow, Associate Director, Cato Institute (confirmed)

Mary Thomas, Director, Building Innovation Hub, Institute for Market Transformation (moderator – confirmed)

How digital design tools and automation are reshaping how America builds.

From building information modelling (BIM) to advanced simulations and automation, digital tools are rapidly improving how we design and deliver projects. This session looks at how early-phase digitisation reduces inefficiencies, prevents rework, and unlocks the full benefits of AI across construction and manufacturing.

The conversation will also examine how public-sector innovation initiatives — including those focused on permitting technologies — are helping to normalise the use of digital design in federally supported projects.

1:00pm – 1:05pm          Session Keynote

U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC), Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation (confirmed – via video)

1:05pm – 2:05pm          Panel Discussion

Chuck Hardy, Chief Architect, U.S. General Services Administrator (confirmed)

Ryan McMahon, General Manager, Manufacturing Informed Design, Autodesk (confirmed)

George Guszca, Chief Executive Officer, National Institute of Building Sciences (confirmed)

Will Rinehart, Senior Fellow, AEI (moderator – confirmed)

Fast-Tracking Projects Through Smarter Permitting, Procurement and Delivery Tools.

Getting infrastructure and industrial projects off the ground requires alignment between approvals, capital, and delivery. This session highlights practical, bipartisan efforts to reduce red tape — from modernised permitting workflows to more flexible procurement models and financing mechanisms.

With examples drawn from both federal and state initiatives, this discussion offers insight into how these tools can reduce delivery timelines, increase cost certainty, and unlock innovation at scale.

2:05pm – 2:10pm          Session Keynote

U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01), Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (Chair, Tactical Air & Land Forces Subcommittee) and Vice Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee (confirmed – via video)

2:10pm – 3:10pm          Panel Discussion

Emily Domenech, Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) (confirmed)

Chad Whiteman, Vice President, Environment and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (confirmed)

David Lieberman, Senior Director, U.S. Government Relations, Bentley Systems (confirmed)

Andy Winkler, Managing Director of Housing and Infrastructure, Bipartisan Policy Center (moderator – confirmed)

Designing systems, places and infrastructure for long-term resilience, competitiveness and growth

America’s next phase of growth will not be defined by short-term expansion alone, but by how effectively it prepares for long-term economic, infrastructure and environmental change.

As demand for energy, manufacturing capacity and new development accelerates, the risks facing U.S. infrastructure, from ageing assets to climate exposure and system constraints, are becoming harder to ignore. The challenge is no longer just resilience, but adaptation: rethinking how infrastructure, industry and places are designed to perform over the coming decades.

This closing session explores how architecture, infrastructure planning and industrial development can come together to de-risk long-term investment; repurpose and modernise existing assets; integrate energy, transport and industrial systems at a regional scale ; and apply regenerative design principles to unlock greater productivity and long-term value.

Bringing together policymakers, designers and industry leaders, the discussion will focus on what a future-ready America looks like in practice, and what needs to change, in design, delivery and decision-making, to get there.

Illya Azaroff, FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects (confirmed)

Julie Wagner, President and Co-Founder, The Global Institute on Innovation Districts (GIID) (moderator – confirmed)

Illya Azaroff, FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects (confirmed)