Last week, more than 10,000 attendees were on hand at the San Diego Convention Center for PCBC 2017, the largest annual homebuilding trade show in the Western United States. They experienced three days of education sessions, keynote addresses and an exhibition hall full of the newest products in homebuilding showcased by more than 350 exhibitors, including more than two dozen door and window companies.

“PCBC works to continuously push the limits in homebuilding and provide professionals in the industry with the environment, education, networking opportunities and products needed to continue to forge ahead,” said Linda Baysari, senior vice president of PCBC. “The quality of each element at this year’s event proves that. As our final show in San Diego, we could not have asked for a better way to end our rotation in the area.”

The exhibit floor  showcased the newest trends and products in homebuilding. In addition to products from the exhibitors, the trade show also featured show homes and displays, including the Motion Mobile Experience from LIXIL, The Flex House presented by Green Builder Media and Shelter Dynamics and the OSI Roadshow Trailer. The High Performance Home Theater was back again for this year’s event with interactive educational presentations that focused on connecting builders with top experts to understand and comply with California’s changing 2016 Title 24 Standards. Also returning to this year’s show was the PCBC Hub for Social. It hosted social media experts who answered questions and held pop-up talks on relevant topics.

Doors and Windows on Display

As usual, door and window companies had a strong presence at PCBC. For example, Marvin brought several products from its Contemporary Studio collection, including a direct glaze corner window. The product will be available  in August, and it comes in sizes up to 84 inches by 120 inches in vertical or horizontal orientations.

Panoramic Doors showed off its folding patio door, which the company calls an affordable and innovative alternative to the traditional hinged bi-fold doors.

Ply-Gem’s large booth featured a wide selection of its doors and windows, including the 4880 patio door, a new product for 2017. It’s available in two-, three- and four-panel sliding and pocket configurations and features thermally insulated construction along with high-performance glazing packages. Sliding, multi-panel openings are available up to 8 feet high by 16 feet wide. The 4880 patio door can be upgraded with an automated operating system that allows homeowners to control it either with the included remote or with the DreamView app for iOS devices and smart phones.

Panda brought its lift-and-slide doors systems to San Diego, and the company also showed off its new PandaSelect line, which is designed to fit both the plans and price points from high volume builders.

Fleetwood, GPI Group, Lincoln Windows, Masonite, Johnson Hardware, NanaWall, ODL, Sierra Pacific and Jeld-Wen were among other notable fenestration brands making an appearance at PCBC.

Spotlight on Speakers

The PCBC 2017 keynote speaker lineup featured a diverse group of presenters. On June 28, NASA’s Adam Steltzner kicked off PCBC with his presentation focusing on harnessing curiosity and ambition to work as a team to create success. On June 29, Steven Kotler, New York Times best-selling author and co-founder and director of research for the Flow Genome Project, spoke on using states of consciousness to solve critical challenges and outperform the competition. And finally, Pixar’s Matthew Luhn closed PCBC with his session focusing on the power of storytelling in business.

Highlights of the PCBC 2017 conference included the inaugural Re-Think Conference. Over its two days, the conference focused on challenging home building professionals to step outside the conventional “four walls of homebuilding” and embrace a wider sphere of influence to drive thinking and help move home building and design businesses forward.

PCBC education also featured the Land & Capital Forum, focusing on land acquisition, development, research, investment and entitlement, and the Multifamily Trends Forum, which looked at high-level design and development trends. It featured expert perspectives on the economy and real estate markets, shifting development patterns, debt and equity sources, and new ways to think about floor plans, parking and amenities.

PCBC hosted several marquee events again this year including the 54th annual Gold Nugget Awards. Businesses were recognized for improving California communities through exceptional concepts in design, planning and development. The California Homebuilding Foundation Hall of Fame Gala was also hosted at PCBC this year. A selection of individuals whose professional achievements have enhanced construction and development in California were recognized.

In 2018, PCBC will return to the Moscone Center in San Francisco on June 26 for pre-conference events and June 27-28 for the trade show and conference.