Today, Building Innovation 2013—The National Institute of Building Sciences Annual Conference and Expo continued with the Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) Symposium and the first day of the buildingSMART alliance Conference.

The MMC Symposium, Large-Scale Mitigation Planning and Strategies, brought together a host of experts to address the multihazard mitigation problems in the United States. With 15 speakers, five sets of morning brainstorming workshops, and five afternoon discussion groups, the symposium had a wide range of voices, all working to guide the hazard mitigation policies for the next decade. Breakout groups met to discuss five key mitigation planning topics: social considerations, governance, built environment, hazards and economics.

David L. Miller, Associate Administrator, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, gave the keynote address during the luncheon, and spoke about this important topic. During the lunch, sponsored by the International Code Council, Miller told a host of personal stories from citizens impacted by natural disasters.

“Do you know the hazards your community faces? All of them?” asked Miller, as he told a story about talking to a group of the nation’s mayors. “Have you done an assessment?” Miller went on to talk about the importance of understanding how disasters impact more than just the community involved. He also explained that businesses and individual homeowners often make their decisions based on a number of factors that are different, beyond cost, than what a mitigation expert might expect.

Also held today, the first day of the two-day buildingSMART alliance Conference educational sessions brought together an audience that actively participated in the event. With the theme, Integrating BIM: Moving the Industry Forward, more than 120 attendees took part in discussions on how best to implement BIM into daily practice and to learn about the latest metrics available to access industry progress.

Other scheduled activities during the day included meetings of the Institute Board of Directors, Building Enclosure (BEC) National, High Performance Building Council (HPBC), BETEC Board of Direction and the National Council of Governments on Building Codes & Standards (NCGBCS).

Day Three of the conference will continue the buildingSMART alliance Conference, as well as FEDCon 2013—The Annual Market Outlook on Federal Construction, and the Integrated Resilient Design Symposium—Evaluating Risk, Improving Performance, as well as meetings of the Council on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (CFIRE), Facility Maintenance and Operations Committee (FMOC), Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC), and Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) Board of Direction. Also scheduled is the Institute’s Annual Awards Reception and Banquet.

To see a full list of conference activities, visit www.nibs.org/conference.

About the National Institute of Building Sciences
The National Institute of Building Sciences, authorized by public law 93-383 in 1974, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology.