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Building Smarter: AIA St. Louis Panel Explores Offsite Construction and Code Innovation Gateway South, the innovation district and prefab hub for the building industry, is happening on our Mississippi Riverfront! Our September program brought us the “why” it is happening here; November explores the “what” … buildings, technology, innovation, collaboration. Hear the panel discuss how this can impact the future of housing and its affordability; how codes and standards apply; and, where research is taking us. Speakers: 
Tom Finan Executive Director and Co-Founder Construction Forum (Moderator) | Tom Finan represents the third generation of his family to work in the St. Louis construction industry. After 40 years as a business magazine publisher here and nationally, including two construction magazines, he developed the concept of Construction Forum in 2010. Tom envisioned a “room without walls,” where communication, collaboration, and focused action could address social equity and economic growth in the St. Louis construction industry and region. The Forum was launched in 2013. Today, in its 11th year, the mission of Construction Forum is “to facilitate the collaboration of all the stakeholders in the St. Louis Region in creating inclusive, robust employment and economic growth.” | 
David Koster President Good Developments Group | David J. Koster holds degrees in electrical power engineering and business from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Before relocating to the United States, he led planning efforts for a mixed-use urban renewal project in Aachen—an initiative later paused amid the 2015 migration crisis—an experience that deepened his commitment to resilient, community-centered development. He moved to New York City in 2015 to join a leading development and construction firm and has since built a dynamic career at the intersection of design, construction, finance, legal strategy, and project management—spanning the full development lifecycle from early planning through delivery and operation. As President of Good Developments Group and Gateway South, David leads the strategic planning and execution of a 100-acre redevelopment project in downtown St. Louis. His work focuses on bridging design, construction, and innovation to modernize how complex projects are delivered and financed. Previously, David was Project Director at JDS Development Group, where he oversaw design and led construction of the Brooklyn Tower—the tallest building in New York City outside Manhattan—and helped pioneer innovative structural systems, including a novel slosh-damper design used to enhance tower performance. During his tenure at JDS, he also contributed to several large-scale projects in New York and Miami, guiding teams from early design through construction and completion. Outside of large-scale urban projects, David finds fulfillment on his homestead in Vermont, where he enjoys woodworking, property renovation, and life outdoors. | 
Matt Belcher, NAHB, ICC Principal/C.O.O. Enhanced Building Systems LLC | Matt Belcher is an experienced builder/developer and nationally-recognized consultant, educator and author on the business of green building and Sustainable land entitlement/development. He has been actively involved in the St. Louis area construction industry for over three decades, including six years as a top building codes official. He founded Belcher Homes/Verdatek Solutions in 1993, specializing in building energy efficient, sustainable “high performance” homes, light commercial construction and land development management using effective, low-impact development. He is committed to the “whole building” design approach, the philosophy that every decision should be made in the context of what else it may affect in the construction process and systems as it is in agriculture to maximize effectiveness. | 
Jason van Nest Executive Director Center for Offsite Construction | Jason Van Nest leads a dual mission to modernize how buildings are designed, manufactured, and delivered. As Executive Director of the Center for Offsite Construction (CfOC) at New York Institute of Technology, he guides national research advancing Confi gure-to-Order methods for housing — spanning open-standard interfaces, manufacturing-informed degree programs, and legal frameworks aligned with the Uniform Commercial Code. As Founder and CEO of Logic Building Systems, a seed-stage offsite manufacturer, he is translating this research into commercial practice through prefabricated kitchens, bathrooms, and utility pods connected by the Logic Coupler™—the fi rst product to embody the ANSI CfOC-ICC-1220 Modular Interface Standard. Before founding Logic, Van Nest spent over a decade helping more than 30 New York City–based design fi rms transition from CAD to BIM workfl ows, improving coordination and data exchange across architecture, engineering, and construction teams. That work gradually led to BIM consulting in the East Coast modular space, and the feasibility study that led to both the CfOC & Logic. During his undergraduate studies, Jason built more than 35 homes with the Atlanta chapter of Habitat for Humanity. He has thru-hiked the 1500 miles of the Appalachian Trail. He was a 2008 MacDowell Fellow, and later served 6 years on MacDowell’s board. Van Nest holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University, where he later taught courses in digital fabrication and construction technology. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His career bridges academia, industry, and the outdoors — rooted in the conviction that building smarter is inseparable from building responsibly. |
Credit: 2.00 LU|HSW (pending approval) In person Reception - 5:00 PM Hybrid Program - 6:00 PM Use the button above to purchase your tickets. Series Sponsored by: 
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