Masonry Magazine August 1982 Page. 11
Turnout for 12th Annual Marketing Meeting Is Largest on Record for IMI
Some 205 registrants and guests convened for the International Masonry Institute's 12th annual marketing meeting in Gleneden Beach, Ore., May 23-26, making this IMI's largest meeting to date.
The broad range of topics covered included the marketing impact of a renewed appreciation for craftsmanship, the effect of demographic trends on the masonry industry, and the latest developments in masonry codes and standards. Those attending the meeting also had the opportunity to hear about the progress of IMI's Market Development Program as well as activities of the Masonry Research Foundation, the Masonry Industry Committee, and local/regional masonry promotion groups.
One of the positive messages conveyed at the meeting was by Maximilian Ferro, AIA, RIBA, who described the industry's widespread concern for quality in construction and the related growth in masonry restoration work. He traced a respect for craftsmanship in the United States to before the Industrial Revolution and said it was only after World War II that short-lived, "kleenex" houses came into vogue.
The new interest in rehabilitating masonry buildings is a result of long-term cost advantages as well as aesthetic concerns. Ferro said. "Those masonry buildings disdained after World War II are now the most prestigious addresses," said Ferro, who is managing partner of the Preservation Partnership.
Population characteristics will also have a significant impact on future construction, according to D. Quinn Mills, Ph.D., a professor in the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Mills reported on various demographic factors that will affect the types of buildings constructed, including a decline in average household size from five to three, and a population which is increasing its proportion of older individuals. "There will be a steadily declining rate of household formation through the year 2000," he predicted.
John T. Joyce (left), president, International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen, and Don Leonard, president, Mason Contractors Association of America.
John Eberhard, executive director of the Advisory Board for the Built Environment, National Academy of Sciences, described today's increased emphasis on research and development in the building industry. "We are building research institutions into virtually every organization in our society." Eberhard said. Computers, behavior and psychology, chemistry and biochemistry, and ecology are the areas that researchers should concentrate on, he said.
A major industry-wide marketing study commissioned by the Masonry Industry Committee-which consists of eight masonry organizations including IMI and the Mason Contractors Association of America was described by Rolland B. Guy of Battelle Laboratories, who is coordinating the program. Its goals are to develop a marketing strategy that will enhance the growth of the industry and bring about an industry-wide implementation of that strategy please turn page
D. Quinn Mills, Ph.D., professor, Harvard Graduate School of Business and consultant to the IMI Board of Trustees.
L. Gerald Carlisle, executive vice president, International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen.
Rolland B. Guy, Battelle Laboratories.
William M. Sangster, chairman, Masonry Research Foundation and dean of the Engineering College, Georgia Institute of Technology.
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