Interesting Discussions, Before and After the Event
Leading up to the event, several discussions were held, mainly during a visit to Boston by the Quebec delegation. Several participants had the opportunity to speak with Quebec Delegate in New England Marie-Claude Francoeur, commercial attaché Mary Elizabeth Meade, and John Dalzell from the Boston Planning and Development Agency.
Additionally, three architects associated with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) also met with the delegation before and after the event: Martine Dion from SMMA, Carolyn Day from Ellenzweig, and Marcell Graeff from Wilson HGA. Among them, two were part of a previous Boston delegation and had already visited the Québec City region.
Significant Visibility
Quebec delegation companies earned valuable visibility during the BuildingEnergy Boston Conference. In addition to their presence at the green and smart building cluster booth, attendees had the opportunity to meet with many potential partners and demonstrate their expertise to New England market representatives.
The presence of Quebec businesses was a rare event in BuildingEnergy Boston’s history, as this was only the second foreign delegation to attend the conference or give a presentation.
In the afternoon of March 15, cluster director Martin Gougeon and three companies from the Québec City region presented exemplary green and smart construction projects in which they have played a major role. Dany Blackburd from ABCP Architecture (Augustinian Monastery), André Huot from Nordic Structures (Origin), and Alejandro Montero from TERGOS Architecture + Construction (Habitus) brilliantly demonstrated Québec City’s skills in that department.
Most of the other companies from the delegation had participated in these projects and could improve the presentations with their knowledge, experience, and expertise.
The audience’s sustained attention and technical questions showed just how much interest the session aroused.
Great Benefits for the Region
The Québec City region and participants have already started to reap the benefits of these few busy days. Several companies have been invited to take part in the development of an energy efficiency training program for NESEA’s engineers and architects, a wonderful sign of recognition from this leading association. Moreover, the NESEA has undertaken consultations with the cluster to add a stop in Québec City as part of the Pro Tour, which features a series of inspiring high-performance buildings.
Of course, other outcomes are still to come, and several meetings are already planned between the Quebec delegation members and various partners or companies met at the event. One thing is clear, the Québec City region did not go unnoticed during this trip but rather shone by the respect and openness to collaborate shown by its representatives.
