ASID@NeoCon® Design Your Experience
The American Society of Interior Designers is excited to present the 2011 ASID@NeoCon® National Conference, offering something for every designer. Whether you’re a NeoCon® veteran or first-timer, ASID@NeoCon® provides countless opportunities and events to suit your passion and practice. Register now to design your experience today!
For more information on ASID@NeoCon®,
e-mail neocon@asid.org.
Networking
Connect with friends and colleagues, old and new, during several social and networking events hosted by ASID@NeoCon®. Members and non-members alike are invited to join ASID for Celebration – the ASID awards, and the after party FIRSTnight – ASID toasts Design, Monday, June 12, 2011 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. ASID members can catch up with each other anytime at ASID’s official host hotel, The Hotel Allegro, located just a few steps away from the Merchandise Mart. Make sure to stop by the ASID booth 7-1030 and say hello as well!
For a complete listing of all ASID@NeoCon® networking opportunities
Education
ASID@NeoCon® provides members with an array of educational opportunities. Pick and choose among experiences that suit your personal business objectives by selecting from a variety of educational options, ranging from one, two and three-hour programs. Through ASID’s unique partnership with MMPI, our professional development opportunities offered at NeoCon® are available for purchase a-la-carte during your NeoCon® registration. Please consider these unique education and learning programs as you customize and create your ASID@NeoCon® experience.
For a broader description of the available programming.
Association Forums
ASID@NeoCon Forums are designed to help conference attendees hear first hand topics that are original and critical to the industry. This year ASID will hold two strategic forums addressing vital industry issues including the effects of variety and choice on today’s consumer and its effects on the industry and InteriorDesign 2025 which will look at the state of the industry in 2025.
These interactive panel discussions allow you to learn from industry experts and ask questions that are most important to you. Whether you are a student, emerging professional or seasoned interior designer. Whether your specialty is commercial or residential, you are guaranteed to benefit from these cutting edge and engaging events that are a conference can’t miss opportunity.
The Variety Revolution: How Variety Influences Consumer Decision Making [AF2]
Monday, June 13
1:00 – 3 p.m.
Credits: 0.2 CEU
Fee: $29 members, $49 non-members
Join the author of “The Substance of Style” for an in-depth discussion on her research in variety, selection and its effects on the modern decision-making and buying process. The "variety revolution" is one of the biggest business stories of the past decade. Thanks to production and distribution innovations, consumers now have access to far more choices for all kinds of goods and services, from fresh vegetables in the supermarket, DVDs from Netflix, HGTV and DIY. Interior designers are not immune to this phenomenon as clients and potential clients are overwhelmed, by choice or not, by the variety of design options and do-it-yourself philosophies available today.
Speaker: Virginia Postrel
Ms. Postrel has explored the management practices that have made the variety revolution possible, the psychological challenges it poses for consumers, and the opportunities it presents for both future business models and personal pleasure and meaning. The variety revolution is an economic story, but it has much broader implications for how we think about pluralism and individual differences. This forum will help you learn how you can take this phenomenon and make it work for you as an interior designer as well as how to educate clients or potential clients on the benefits a professional interior designer can bring to a project.
Ms. Postrel’s discussion will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
Virginia Postrel Biography
Ms. Postrel is a widely recognized and respected analyst and award-winning commentator who speaks and writes about a wide range of topics, often centered on culture, social trends, and economics. She offers valuable business-oriented insights into design and architecture, fashion, innovation and intellectual property, politics and social policy.
For eleven years, Virginia edited Reason magazine, earning three award nominations, and she founded Reason Online. She has twice been a finalist for journalism’s prestigious Gerald Loeb Award.
Register for this programInteriorDesign 2025 – Design Your Future [AF3]
Tuesday, June 14
2:15 – 4:15 p.m.
Credits: 0.2 CEU
Fee: $25 members, $45 non-members
What is the state of the profession in 2025? How will you as a designer, maintain your stake in the interiors industry and use the power of design to influence systematic wellness in society and for the planet? With large numbers of advanced design professionals slated to retire in the next 15 years, these are questions that cannot be ignored as we must turn to the next generation of design thinkers to lead.
It’s no question that significant economic, environmental, spiritual and political shifts over the last few years have proven that future planning is critical for designers. This forum represents the vision and dedication of ASID members to bring forward a timely and compelling discussion that will help shape a sustainable future for the interior design industry. InteriorDesign 2025 will identify thought provoking topics to inspire continued conversations with your associates and whether you are a commercial or residential designer, a manufacturer or a publisher, this is the key forum to hear from your peers in an open and candid way.
A panel of ASID members, representing a diverse array of design practice areas and career stages, along with select professionals from related design industries will discuss their perspectives on the future of interior design and what can be done to sustain a viable practice.
Audience members are invited to participate in an open discussion following the panel discussion.
Tours
Make No Little Plans [TR1]
Monday, June 13
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Designer: Lucien Lagrange and Associates, Di Leonardo International (restaurant)
Focus: Hotel, Neoclassical Design, Historic Building, Renovation/Restoration
Tour Location: The JW Marriott and The Rookery Building
Meeting Location: The Merchandise Mart, South Lobby
Credits: 0.2 CEU Fee: $40
Join us for a tour of the new JW Marriott in Chicago’s bustling financial district. Experience firsthand the neoclassical design by legendary architect Daniel Burnham and see the transition of a once glorious bank to a stunning modern day hotel full of the original grandeur that makes this address a designer’s dream and a must see landmark building.
The JW occupies the first 12 floors of the historic Continental & Commercial National Bank Building. Finished in 1914, the property recently underwent a $396 million restoration, which included the renovation of the original domed ceiling that now occupies the Burnham Ballroom.
The tour will begin in the grand lobby; a stunning example of old meets new. The guest rooms will impress with their 10 foot ceilings of handcrafted crown molding, and bathrooms clad in Italian marble that feature stand alone tubs, separate marble showers, and expansive mirrors.
The 20,000 square foot spa features a modern approach to its design based on ancient Greek and Roman bathing rituals and Turkish baths.
The tour will conclude with a stop across the street at the famous Rookery Building. The Rookery is one of the most historically significant buildings in Chicago seamlessly combining the flair of an era gone by with modern day conveniences.
The Rookery is one of the greatest surviving examples of early commercial skyscrapers. Its stately designed façade is unmatched in architectural detailing and is complemented by a rich and inviting environment within the building. The interior is highlighted by incredible design features including the mesmerizing oriel staircase and stunning light court.
Designated a Chicago Landmark in 1972 after being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, The Rookery is universally considered a masterpiece.
This tour is the grand example of what Daniel Burnham meant when he so famously said, “Make no little plans.”
Feast Your Eyes On This! [TR2]
Monday, June 13
2 – 4 p.m.
Focus: Restaurants, Latin, Classic, Zen
Tour Locations: Carnivale, Spiaggia, Zed 451
Meeting Location: The Merchandise Mart, South Lobby
Credits: 0.2 CEU Fee: $40
Join us for as we venture to three of Chicago’s most famous restaurants for an insider’s tour that is sure to inspire the mind and feed the soul.
Carnivale
Jerry Kleiner, designer and co-owner
This tour features the visually stunning Carnivale restaurant. A feast for the senses with over 35,000 square feet of dining space. Carnival’s design is fantastic, energetic, highly artistic, and very well planned. The design is Latin with inspiration drawn from Brazil, El Salvador, Cuba, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Mexico. As you enter the restaurant you will be guided through the large host and bar area before entering a space only imagined in a kaleidoscope with multi – colored ceiling lamps, giant hanging light fixtures, various textures and shapes throughout, and black and white photographs juxtaposed over the dramatic hand painted walls.
Spiaggia
Matt Lorenz, Allied Member, ASID, designer
If there was one term to describe the design of this famous Italian restaurant classic Italian is it. Spiaggia is separated into two cleverly designed spaces for dining. First you will visit the Tuscan inspired cafe with its rustic earth tones, Tuscan murals, and fabulous street views along the Magnificent Mile. The interior has been designed to be intimate and calm yet warm and inviting at the same time. You will then venture to the fine dining restaurant. The design here takes on a more modern, urban feel yet completely Italian. Clean and classic designs in earth tones and wood against contemporary art and simple furniture create a beautifully designed space. The staggered dining area is open and airy with fantastic views of the lake. The kitchen is open in design and the wine room is uniquely placed in the center of the restaurant accessed by a staircase.
Zed 451
Julia Roth, designer collaborated with Chris Smith, architect
Full of nature, wood and white leather, Zed 451 is an American Churrasco style restaurant with very unique design features and a definite edge. Upon entering the restaurant through a two-story solid glass entryway you will immediately notice the very Zen landscape with marble pavers surrounded by black stone, a full size tree trunk bench and a sofa seat constructed of bound twigs. Where most restaurants design with one main dining room, Zed 451 breaks up the interior space to give guests options. From the hard wood floors and a hard wood bar, period exposed brick, highly designed and detailed fireplaces, stone accents, wine tasting room, and custom made artistic light fixtures this space gives visitors a sense of relaxation and calm. The bar area features an original speak easy window that has been preserved since the 1920s.
Good Art is Never Dated [TR3]
Tuesday, June 14
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Focus: European decorative arts, modern design, technological influence on design
Tour Location: The Art Institute of Chicago
Meeting Location: The Merchandise Mart, South Lobby
Credits: 0.3 CEU Fee: $55
Join us at the world renowned Art Institute of Chicago for a personal tour of two very contrasting exhibits featuring interior design elements, the European Decorative Arts Collection, and a recent installation, Hyperlinks: Architecture and Design.
The Institute's extensive European decorative arts collection of 25,000 objects includes furniture, ceramics, metalwork, glass, enamels, and ivory from 1100 to the present. Highlights of the collection include Continental glass; English, French, and German ceramics; English 18th-century silver; French 19th-century silver; and furniture from the early 17th century to the present. The department also contains 1,544 objects in the Arthur Rubloff Paperweight Collection.
The second exhibit you will tour is the installation Hyperlinks: Architecture and Design. This exhibit contemplates how technology, specifically the Internet, has influenced architecture in the modern world. The Internet has undoubtedly transformed the world we live in; its unprecedented access to and layering of information lead to greater interaction and engagement, and a complex understanding of our place in the world. However, this innovative method of accumulating and remixing data is also occurring across the fields of design and architecture. A fluid exchange between these disciplines—fueled by advances in production processes, materials research, social and environmental concerns, and influences drawn from scientific and biological research—is resulting in new attitudes to architecture and design that are opening up these subject areas and stretching their range of influence.
You will have free time to tour the museum after the formal tour has completed.
Don’t Miss This Boat! [TR4]
Tuesday, June 14
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Focus: Design, Architecture, History
Tour Location: Boat Tour
Meeting Location: The Merchandise Mart, South Lobby
Credits: 0.2 CEU Fee: $55
It has been said that no other city has influenced and embodied state-of-the-art in high-rise design and modern architecture as prominently as Chicago. Virtually every major interior designer and architect has a signature piece of work here. This is where architecture and design lives, and history is still being etched upon the sky. This tour is entirely by boat.
Chicago's architectural heritage is considered to be among the finest in the world, and the Chicago River provides the ultimate setting to view these magnificent structures and hear about their interiors.
Traveling through the heart of the city, docents will provide you with an in-depth perspective on why Chicago's architectural heritage is known and studied around the world.
Whether you're a serious follower of design and architecture, looking for inspiration or just want to view one of the most beautifully designed cities, come aboard and join us for the ultimate tour of Chicago.
- Important Dates
- May 23
Book Your Travel
Book with OnPeak for the lowest rates. Click here - June 6
Pre-registration Deadline
Register early and save time & money. Registration on site is $25. Register here