On October 8 and October 9 Astec USA participated in the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) CRAN Symposium (Custom Residential Architects Network) in Cincinnati, Ohio, an annual gathering of top custom residential architects from all over the United States.

During the two days of the symposium, Astec USA had a booth that welcomed over 200 architects who had the opportunity to talk to American CEO Patrick Rona about bronze and copper alloys in architecture.

Being one of the sponsors of the AIA symposium, Patrick had the opportunity to take the podium on Tuesday during a luncheon and made a presentation on bronze in architecture and Astec’s most recent residential projects.
Patrick emphasized that beautiful architecture is supposed to seduce us and protect us, and that bronze and copper alloys do that better than any other material. He also made clear to the audience that even if a custom residential house they are working on does not have the budget to acquire bronze for all windows and doors, Astec would welcome working on limited scopes of work, such as the main entrance bronze doors or interior accents, like cladding over a fire place, bronze kitchen cabinets and countertops, or a sleek or dramatic staircase railing or balustrade in bronze.

CRAN’s luncheon was the perfect platform to launch Astec’s new social media presence and its main hashtag #doitinbronze. Prior to Patrick’s speech, an architect, and scheduled speaker at the symposium, explained how fundamental social media has become for architectural firms and described the issues involved in using it.

In addition, on Monday night, Astec USA planned a special dinner for a select group of architects coming from seven different states.