After a two year stint in Orlando, Florida, the sixth annual Design & Construction Week returns to Las Vegas, Nevada, Feb. 19-21, bringing together more than 85,000 design and construction professionals in the annual gathering of the residential design and construction industry.

Founding partners the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)and the National Kitchen and Bath Association will continue driving the possibilities of home with the co-location of the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). The two shows are expected to host more than 2,000 exhibiting brands spanning more than a million net square feet of exhibit space for the largest annual gathering of the residential design and construction industry.

“As we kick off our 75th anniversary of the International Builders’ Show, we are thrilled to bring even more exciting offerings to our attendees than ever before,” says NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom home builder from LaPlace, Louisiana. “There is truly nowhere else you can find such an array of innovative products, education sessions, special events and networking opportunities all in one place. This is the biggest show for the housing industry and is not one to be missed.”

KBIS

KBIS 2019 will offer an expansive show floor with more than 600 manufacturers and suppliers. Exhibitors will be located in North Hall, Central Hall, South Hall and the new Salon by KBIS located just outside South Hall.

New this year, the KBIS online registration process includes an opportunity to contribute to the NKBA-supported Skilled Labor Fund which encourages and empowers young people to join the skilled trades.

Join more than 31,000 attendees, 600 exhibitors and 400 members of the media expected to visit the kitchen and bath industry’s main event.

“We’re looking forward to introducing Keeney’s no crimp PEX valves at KBIS, our latest water supply stop valve innovation designed specifically for today’s plumbers and featuring our no-crimp, push-on PEX connection system,” says Jerry Piscitelli, director of eCommerce at Keeney Manufacturing. “We also are excited to connect with contractors, plumbers and installers to find more ways our company can continue to support this industry.”

“Gerber is incredibly excited to showcase the Treysta valve at KBIS,” says Katie Hayes, product manager for Gerber faucets. “It’s our most innovative valve yet. From the intuitive service stops to easy installation and pressure-testing features, Treysta saves plumbers both time and money. It is just one of a number of exciting new products we will be featuring in our booth this year.”

LIXIL, which features the American Standard brands, DXV and GROHE, will be front and center as well in Las Vegas, eager to talk to show-goers about its latest products and technologies.

“Consumers are telling us they want to see technology used in exciting new ways in the bathroom and kitchen, to make common tasks easier and more enjoyable,” LIXIL Americas Chief Marketing Officer Katty Pien says. “This can include everything from a kitchen faucet that can deliver water in convenient, pre-measured amounts to showerheads that change spray patterns with the simple touch of a finger. Technology is making its mark throughout the home and it is here to stay.”

American Standard is showing its Advanced Clean bidet seats that it says brings a superior cleansing experience to end users. GROHE’s Sense and Sense Guard water-management system will be on display, offering reliable protection against costly water damage by notifying homeowners about excess moisture or leaks, using a convenient smartphone app, it explains.

DXV notes its Aqua Moment drop-in airbath with waterfall is the only bathtub on the market to offer a curtain waterfall feature to soothe and relax the user. It also will be on display in Las Vegas.

Additional highlights

The new Salon by KBIS is a boutique environment celebrating design-forward brands. This tented exhibit space is located outside the South Hall and opens daily at 8:00 am. Here’s what you’ll find in the Salon:

• The Design Milk X Modenus Talks Lounge returns to KBIS as a platform for conversations among industry insiders, influencers and design VIPs. The #DMMTalks Lounge features three days of programming with talks on design business, current events and industry initiatives, plus follow-up conversations on select KBISNeXT Stage panel discussions.

• KBIS Edit is an invitation-only exhibit space focusing on small batch production, international design-forward brands, bespoke manufacturers and artisans in and around the kitchen and bath curated and promoted by Modenus and Design Milk.

• In partnership with the American Lighting Association, Dallas Market Center’s Lightovation comes to KBIS for the first time in the Lightovation Lounge, an illuminating area under the Salon tent. It hosts an interactive virtual reality experience that transports attendees to the largest residential lighting show in North America, plus two days of lighting-related programming by industry experts.

IBS

Attendees with a full conference registration also will have access to more than 130 education sessions led by renowned experts on a wide range of industry topics. For those looking for more niche programming, the IBS Centrals, free to all attendees, offer more targeted networking and education programs in such specialized fields as remodeling, design, 55-plus housing and more.

The High-Performance Building Zone features real-world construction demonstrations and IBS Live presentations focused on what’s next in home building. Additionally, for the third year in a row, the IBS show floor will feature the CEDIA Pavilion, a space showcasing exhibitors that specialize in technology solutions for the home.

The 2019 show kicks off the morning of Feb. 19 with an opening ceremonies event featuring Emmy-award winning actor and comedian Dana Carvey and a performance from Blue Man Group. That evening, Drai’s Beachclub and Nightclub at the Cromwell Hotel will host the Official IBS House Party. Other events throughout the week include the Young Pro Party and the IBS Spike Closing Concert where attendees will close out the week by enjoying a performance by world-famous rock band the Goo Goo Dolls.

Attendees also will have the opportunity to tour NAHB’s official IBS show homes, The New American Home and The New American Remodel. The homes are designed to showcase innovative building technologies, emerging design trends and the latest building products. The showcase products in the homes are provided by members of the NAHB Leading Suppliers Council.

Dan Coletti, president of Sun West, an award-winning Las Vegas design build firm of luxury custom homes, says he went “outside the box” with many of the design aspects of TNAH. The project aims to achieve a HERS rating of less than 50.

“Design is always maturing,” Coletti says, “and with the mixture of this home’s design, the products, the lot and its overall aura, I’m hoping that when people see the finished product, they truly enjoy it and say ‘Wow, I can’t believe they could do that.’”

Every year IBS attendees are surveyed, and it is through this most recent process that a handful of topics were discovered as being especially high in demand. Game Changers were born out of a desire to create a special series of sessions around those highly popular topics. Each session will feature high-profile thought leaders from across the country specializing in addressing the issues.

IBS 2019 Game Changer topics include: Best practices of leading builders, leadership and coaching, marketing and selling to different generations, customer service and satisfaction, social media and standing apart from the competition.