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110,000 Attend Design & Construction Week

LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) played host to a myriad of home and garden enthusiasts under the Design & Construction Week moniker during the week of Jan. 18. D&C Week consisted of three events under the roof of the convention center, and an additional event was held a few miles away.

The HVACR industry swarmed the LVCC for the National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show (IBS), more than 80 exhibitors showcased air conditioning, heating, ventilation, IAQ, home automation, and renewable energy equipment. At the same time, the LVCC hosted the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and the International Window Coverings Expo. More than 110,000 housing-industry professionals roamed freely between the three events while the Mandalay Bay Convention Center was home for the International Surface Event, Jan. 20-22, which also was a part of the D&C Week. This marked the third year of the co-located event.

Aside from the obvious attraction to products, attendees had the opportunity to choose from more than 120 educational sessions covering building science, performance systems, business management and operations, design, land development and community planning, financing strategies, market forecasts, legal advice, sales marketing and customer focus, custom building and remodeling, and multifamily dwellings.

Official attendance for IBS was 59,687, which eclipsed last year’s attendance mark by 8 percent. Nearly 1,400 IBS exhibitors filled more than 500,000 square feet of space, including a record-breaking 30,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space. New products focused on home technology and increased energy efficiency — two important factors boosting the return of buyers to the new home market.

“The packed crowds and positive energy throughout this year’s Design & Construction Week were another indication of the residential construction industry’s ongoing recovery,” said Ed Brady, chairman of NAHB.

IBS organizers also noted an increase in international exhibitors, with 460 exhibitors representing 25 countries and filling 72,000 square feet of exhibit space, accounting for 14 percent of IBS’ exhibit space.

Overall, D&C Week boasted more than 3,750 exhibitors and 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space.

“We reached our goal of creating the must attend, must exhibit week for anyone and everyone in the residential construction industry,” said Tom Swartz, chair of the NAHB Convention and Meetings Committee, during his report to the NAHB Board of Directors.

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