BOND Custom

Networking with America's Leading Luxury Residential Architects

October 23-26, 2025

FL, USA

1-on-1 Meetings and Networking with America’s Leading Luxury Residential Architects.

BOND Custom is the exclusive annual business retreat that connects North America’s top-end luxury residential architects and designers with the premium product suppliers they need.

It is three whole days and nights of 1-on-1 meetings and relaxed, natural networking where you can get to know the Principals, Founders and Owners directing the most prestigious luxury custom home projects in North America.

The quality of attendees, the mind-blowing projects they’re working on and the access you get are guaranteed.

Manufacturer places are strictly limited and sell out quicker every year. If you want to know who’s coming, what they’re working on and how to get yourself and your products in front of them, get in touch right now:

GET IN TOUCH

 

 Read the 2024 event review!

America's Top Luxury Residential Architects and Designers. Guaranteed.

Every single architect and designer you’ll meet at BOND Custom has a portfolio of confirmed luxury residential projects and the authority to influence (and protect) spec.

If the very top-end of luxury residential projects are important to your business, these are the people you need in your life and you will not get this quality of access to them anywhere else.

To make this more real, take a look at who comes…

Get the full attendee list

BOND Custom regular attendees include:

Brian Pinkett

Partner

Landry Design

Bruce Nagel

Managing Partner & Founder

Bruce Nagel & Partners

Evelyn Jung

Principal CFO

Candelaria Design

Maiju Stansel

Partner

Stansel and Case

Bob White

Owner

Forest Studio

Brian Mac

Principal

Birdseye

James LaRue

Principal

LaRue Architecture Design

Damien Blumetti

Principal

Damien Blumetti Architects

BOND has done a masterful job of bringing us together to discuss innovative, cutting-edge materials and products in a comfortable environment.

Quncie Williams

Project Architect

Alexander Gorlin Architects

So much more than a trade show

You know who’s going to be here before you arrive and you will have a guaranteed number of 1-on-1 meetings with the architects and designers of your choice.

And that’s just the start:

You are all together for three days and nights at a luxury resort, away from the office, so you can get to know each other properly and this is where the magic happens. Because there’s a real community feel here where everyone’s more relaxed, open and helpful so any conversation can light up opportunities from totally unexpected sources – you’ll see!

> 18 pre-arranged 1:1 meetings
+ 72 hours of networking in a luxury resort
= a proven formula for success.

 

We will deliver America’s true luxury residential project influencers with time and space to get to know each other on a personal level.

What happens from there is your story…

Save your place

By the 3rd top-notch Architect we met on the 1st day we knew it was absolutely worth the investment! A BOND Event is not like a sales presentation. It is set up in a way that truly helps you develop a “BOND” with the Architects you meet.

John Finley

Regional Sales Manager

Caoba Doors

Program

PLEASE NOTE: This is last year’s program.  Check back soon for the 2025 schedule.
Seminar timings and/or content may be varied at our discretion.

6:30 pm

Welcome Drinks Reception

6:30 pm

Delegate Registration

7:00 pm

Welcome Dinner

7:30 pm

Welcome Speech by Oliver Needs, Owner

6:30 am

Breakfast

7:00 am In-App & in e-mail from Russell Ford

Final Meeting Schedule Released

8:20 am

Seminar - Putting buildings on a lowcarb diet: Integrating Carbon Analysis into the design process.

Vikram Sami | Director of Building Performance, Olson Kundig Architects

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Synopsis

In response to the pressing need to address climate change, architectural firms are increasingly prioritizing the reduction of carbon emissions in their projects. This presentation delves into Olson Kundig’s strategic approach to low operational and embodied carbon analysis, showcasing innovative design methodologies and practical applications.

Operational carbon pertains to emissions generated during a building’s lifecycle, primarily from energy consumption for heating, cooling, lighting, and equipment operation. Embodied carbon, on the other hand, involves emissions from the manufacturing, transportation, and installation of building materials, as well as their end-of-life disposal. This dual focus is critical in achieving a comprehensive carbon reduction strategy.

The firm’s approach begins with an integrated design process, where interdisciplinary collaboration ensures that sustainability goals are embedded from the project’s inception. Key strategies include the implementation of passive solar design principles, high-performance building envelopes, and advanced energy-efficient systems to significantly lower operational carbon footprints. Additionally, the firm emphasizes the selection of sustainable materials, utilization of recycling practices, and adoption of low-carbon construction techniques to minimize embodied carbon.

By addressing both operational and embodied carbon, our holistic approach provides a robust framework for achieving carbon neutrality in the built environment. This presentation aims to inspire and equip architects, engineers, and builders with actionable insights to drive sustainable development and reduce the environmental impact of buildings.

Biography

Vikram Sami, Olson Kundig’s director of building performance, has been working on high performance design for over eighteen years, combining technical expertise with a love of design. Since joining Olson Kundig in 2016, Vikram has infused the firm with his infectious curiosity about how buildings can best support the health and well-being of their occupants. Often, this is achieved through a more harmonious relationship to nature. “In design,” Vikram notes, “high performance isn’t about finding the answers. It’s about asking the right questions. I want to ensure we are coming up with creative questions from the start that lead us down a path of discovery.”

Vikram earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the Academy of Architecture in Mumbai, India. Even before he began studying architecture formally, Vikram was most inspired by spaces that foster a connection between people and nature. At Arizona State University, Vikram found his calling in the Master of Science in Building Design program, focusing on energy performance and climate-responsive architecture. Since then, Vikram has worked for sustainability consulting firms as well as architecture firms. He has also developed Chhaya, an interactive analysis tool that quickly gives designers actionable building performance and climate data.

Today, Vikram leads Olson Kundig’s participation on the AIA 2030 Commitment and provides mentorship to the firm’s designers with regards to thermal comfort, materials impact, energy use and any number of other performance strategies. He also helps the firm understand sustainability ratings systems such as LEED®, WELL Building and Passivhaus. Vikram is active on the research side of building performance, speaks regularly at sustainable leadership conferences and has served as adjunct faculty at Georgia Tech and the University of Washington. At Olson Kundig, Vikram frequently leads workshops and charrettes to explore new green building innovations with colleagues.

9:30 am

One to One Meetings

1:00 pm

Group Photograph

1:10 pm

Lunch

2:15 pm

Seminar - “Radical” Flexibility and Architectural Practice

Diana Nicklaus | President & CEO, SAAM Architecture

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Synopsis

Both during and after the pandemic, architects jumped on the task of assisting their clients in rethinking the physical and virtual work environments. But have these firms also adopted their own progressive approaches to how they work? With new modes of architectural practice available, some firms have evolved their practice model, others have reverted to traditional studio operations. This breadth of work modalities has disrupted the architectural labor market, shifted how we collaborate both internally and with clients, redefined staff expectations, and offered a variety of critiques on how we as architects work.

Hear from Diana Nicklaus, President & CEO of Saam Architecture on the successes and lessons learned of operating a hybrid firm since 2014.  Since its founding, Saam has offered its staff remote/hybrid work, “radical” flexibility, and unlimited vacation.  Initially an experimental way of practice, the Saam team has leveraged this culture and become a successful firm of 25 competing with some of Boston’s largest firms. 

Biography

In 2014, Diana co-founded Saam Architecture with the mission of delivering design excellence while providing a progressive HR model to attract top talent to an equitable environment. In doing so, Diana began an intentional experiment. She understood that a level playing field for all team members was essential to designing the firm she had envisioned throughout her career. After working in large firms for 15 years and experiencing the limitations of traditional practice, Diana reconciled her past experience and vision of supportive firm culture through a progressive practice model that empowers all team members to balance their work and life commitments.

Saam’s practice model quickly drew attention as an innovative, equitable, and new approach to practice. Audiences are both eager to learn more and often skeptical about how “radical” flexibility works without compromising design collaboration. Frequently asked questions inspired Diana to develop a shareable proof of concept intended to embolden others to become change agents. 

From conversations hosted by the Boston Society of Architecture to national conferences (#EQxDV Symposium; AIA Women’s Leadership Summit), multiple AIA components have engaged Diana to speak on practice, including her role nationally as an Advisory Board Member for the Center for Practice. Diana has shared Saam’s experiment, highlighting how this model has emerged as a practice that is 88% women and includes team members from 9 countries who speak 11 languages. Diana’s approach, rooted in supportive teams and radical flexibility, has overcome many of the industry career pinch points for staff — moments of inflection where many often leave the profession.

Diana holds a B.A.in Art History from Tufts University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin.

3:20 pm

One to One Meetings

7:30 pm

Drinks & Dinner

6:30 am

Breakfast

8:20 am

Seminar - Visible Green: New Material Opportunities in Sustainable Design

Blaine Brownell | Professor and Director, UNC Charlotte School of Architecture

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Synopsis

Today, a global material revolution is in full swing, propelled by intensified material research and development efforts as well as an acute cultural interest in creative material expression. Given the critical role that the choice of building material plays in affecting the flows of resources, waste, and emissions, architects have realized the importance of developing more extensive material expertise. Yet the construction industry has, thus far, hesitated to take full advantage of the expressive potential of new green materials. This talk will consider innovative opportunities enabled by sustainable materials in architecture and strategic methods of pursuing new design strategies that are visibly green.

Biography

An architect and researcher of emergent materials and sustainable building technologies, Blaine Brownell, FAIA is a Professor and Director of the David R. Ravin School of Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A former Fulbright scholar to Japan, he has authored nine books on advanced and sustainable materials for architecture and design, including Matter in the Floating World, Material Strategies, and the four-volume Transmaterial series. He writes the Mind & Matter column for Architect magazine, and his work has been published in over 70 architecture, design, science, and news journals, including Nature. His latest book, The Pandemic Effect, addresses the inoculation of the built environment.

9:05 am

One to One Meetings

12:35 pm

Lunch

1:40 pm

Seminar - Layers of Light

David Warfel | Founding Designer, Light Can Help You

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Synopsis

After a long day at work, the human body and mind are ready for relaxation and rest.   Lighting during the evening and nighttime hours plays a critical role in fostering safety, security, and a sense of welcome to residential and hospitality projects.   Discover a new, client-friendly approach to illuminating interiors, learn what makes some light fixtures better tools, see why we are putting lighting in the wrong places, and explore the intersection of light, human wellbeing, and intelligent controls. Author, speaker, and innovative lighting designer David Warfel will take you on an engaging journey through everything that is wrong with lighting today and plot a course for a brighter future.

Biography

David Warfel is Midwestern farm boy turned lighting designer, author, and educator who passionately shares the gift of light. Whether blogging at languageoflight.blog, writing for Fine Homebuilding, Designing Lighting, Technology Designer, and Houzz.com or designing residential and entertainment experiences from coast to coast, David simply wants to help others live better lives through the scientific and artistic application of light.

From the local theatre to Carnegie Hall, from his parent’s kitchen to multi-million-dollar homes, from local pizza joints to the Las Vegas Strip, from school cafeterias to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line projects, David is endlessly fascinated by the power of light to reveal and transform space. David is founding designer of Light Can Help You.

2:45 pm

One to One Meetings

6:00 pm

Free Time

7:00 pm

Farewell Drinks

7:30 pm

Farewell Dinner

6:30 am

Breakfast

8:00 am

Delegate Departures

Venue
The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village

5951 Silver King Boulevard
Cape Coral, FL 33914, USA

+1 800 937 8461

Visit Venue Site

Apply to Attend