Building Connection Summer 2016

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3 6 BUILDING CONNECTION SUMMER 2016
IT ALL HAPPENS IN VEGAS
W e’ve all heard the phrase, ‘what happens in Vegas,
stays in Vegas’; however, in this instance, I think it
is okay to make an exception.
Being an inquisitive person and having developed a
fascination with intuitive building materials and practices
over the past several years means that I’m always on the
lookout for new products and ideas. Given that everything is
bigger in the US, I decided to take the leap in January and fly
to sin city for the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) in
Las Vegas to see what I could find.
IBS is the biggest annual light construction show in the
world, every year attracting more than 60,000 visitors from
100 countries. It brings together some of the industry’s
most important global manufacturers and suppliers and
showcases the latest products, materials and technologies
involved in all types of buildings – including wood, concrete,
stone and brick. The event is held across a staggering
550,000ft 2 with more than 1400 manufacturers and
suppliers of the latest and most in-demand products and
services on show. To say I was buggered by the end of
the convention would be an understatement. There was
seriously just so much to see, from full-scale modular
homes to ridiculous inventions; this show really takes it to
another level.
In addition to the products and exhibits, forums and
presentations were held by industry experts and covered
everything from sales and marketing to construction and
codes.
I wanted to share some of the smarter products and
ideas with you to give a better understanding of just how
far behind we are, and to hopefully inspire some of the
more creative among us to venture out and try something
different.
If you ever get a chance to fly over and check out the IBS
I highly recommend it, as it really will give you a greater
perspective of what can be achieved in our industry. While
I don’t think we’ll ever catch up to the Yanks in terms of
innovation, we can certainly learn from them and put our
own touch on things.
THEY SAY A PICTURE SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS, AND AFTER TAKING A TRIP TO VEGAS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS SHOW, HAYDEN LEPAGE COULDN’T WAIT TO SHARE A FEW WITH US.
HAYDEN’S RANT
HAYDEN LEPAGE
NAHB International Builders’ Show
IMAGE ABOVE: This place is three or four times the size of
the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.