A Roundtable Discussion: Designing to Meet Resilient Building Challenges with Stainless Steel
Innovative Approaches to Resilient and Sustainable Façade Design
Sponsored by The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York | Presented by Catherine Houska, Shawn Crismond and Leo Henke
Live Webinar Airing on November 20, 2025 at 02:00 PM ET
Climate change and other human-caused environmental challenges are driving new approaches to the design of façades, materials, and building systems. To make buildings more resilient and reduce their carbon footprint, architects, engineers, and fabricators are exploring innovative strategies that enable current projects to meet tomorrow's needs.
Our panel discussion will introduce state-of-the-art resources, innovative design influences, and informative case-studies, while providing the diverse perspectives of a metals consultant, a fabricator, and a façade engineer.
Photo courtesy of GKD-USA Inc.
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Catherine Houska has more than 200 publications and over 40 years of experience in the architectural and structural metals industry, Houska is a globally recognized consultant in the building and construction industry, as well as metallurigical engineering and materials. As Vice Chair of ASTM E60 on Sustainability, she also has extensive knowledge of circular economy, sustainability, and resilience standards. In addition to consulting on buildings and structures, she serves on AISC 370, AISC 313, AASHTO/NSBA TG18, AWS D1.6, and ASCE/SEI 8. The Construction Specifications Institute has honored her with two Society Technical Awards for extensive contributions to the field. |
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Shawn Crismond has over 20 years of metal fabrics experience as a Regional Sales Manager for GKD-USA. Inc. His unique perspective of working with a wide array of architects and designers across the world combined with his extensive knowledge of aesthetically pleasing and sustainable architectural metal fabric solutions allowed him to work on some of the most monumental metal fabric projects worldwide. Some of them include: Doha New International Airport, Samsung U.S. HQ and University of Oregon Hayward Field. The GKD Group mission statement is ‘to lead the company into a sustainable future by making the world healthier, cleaner and safer with innovative products and responsible practices’. |
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Leo Henke is a Principal at Front, a specialist façade consulting practice. He is a licensed architect in New York and Texas with 20 years of industry experience in the design of high-performance, complex façade systems on office buildings, art museums, institutional buildings, and multi-unit residential buildings. Recent projects include the repositioning of Lever House and 660 Fifth Ave, the Tang Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Public Science Common at the Museum of Science in Boston. |
The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York is a not-for-profit association created to advance the interests of the architectural, ornamental, and miscellaneous metal industries by helping architects, engineers, developers, and construction managers transform designs into reality.
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in October 2025
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Discover new resources for assessing resilience and sustainability in façade applications.
- Consider the perspectives of a leading consultant, a fabricator, and an engineer on the changes needed to achieve designs that are both resilient and sustainable.
- Acquire knowledge about how the inherent resilience and sustainability of stainless steel is being used in design and how it compares with other metals.
- Discover where stainless steel is being used and the reasons for its selection.
