UpSpring

Fifteen years of //3877. What David Shove-Brown and David Tracz have built is a firm with a real point of view on architecture, design, and the way people actually want to live and work in the spaces they create. Thirteen of those fifteen years have been alongside UpSpring, and the partnership has shaped how we think about what it means to grow with a client. It's rare to see a firm meet the potential the founders strive for, and then keep moving the ceiling on what that potential means. To be part of it from the inside, alongside the leaders building it, has been a real honor. Here's to the Daves, and the team. And to the next fifteen.

GEO. Most AEC brands have never heard of it. But they're already losing business because of it. Generative Engine Optimization is how brands shape what AI says about them. And the brands winning at GEO aren't doing anything mysterious. They're showing up in the places AI trusts most. When AI answers a category question, it cites recent articles in trade and business publications. Press coverage from outlets your clients already read. Bylined articles. Features. Expert interviews. One great placement in the right publication carries more weight than ten press releases. More than 85% of links cited by AI are earned media. Not your website. Not your ads. Third party coverage from sources AI already indexes. This is where the next wave of business development is happening. The firms that understand it are already building. Read more: https://tr.ee/ERSIfr

AD PRO recently published its first ever Longevity Report. The premise is simple and overdue: the materials inside a home shape the health of the people living in it for decades. The report tackles clean-washing, the misleading practice of labeling products nontoxic without adhering to actual health standards. It features architects, designers, and builders who are doing the work differently. And it quotes Carbon Custom Builders founder Sam Fertik alongside some of the most credible voices in healthy construction. "We say we're building the 1,000-year house." That's not a tagline. That's a philosophy. And it landed in a publication read by the exact architects and high-net-worth clients who commission the kind of work Carbon Custom Builders does. When the positioning is that clear, the press follows. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9DYWw-K

The conversation around AI in the built environment isn't hypothetical. It's already happening. Erin McDannald is the CEO behind an ecosystem of wellness-focused design and environmental technology firms. Elevated, her AI-powered proptech platform, monitors and optimizes everything from utilities and climate to facility operations through real-time data and AI integration. Environments brings the design lens. Lighting Environments brings the technical precision. Together they represent exactly where the built environment is heading. When she was ready to launch Elevated, the goal wasn't just visibility. It was establishing her as the expert in a category most brands are still trying to define. That's exactly the kind of story we exist to tell.

AI can help you draft a pitch. It can't build the relationship that gets it read. In this clip from The Circle, the conversation with Kelsey Ogletree, founder of Pitchcraft and one of the sharpest minds in media relations, to talk about something the PR industry needs to hear more often. The brands earning consistent media coverage aren't the ones with the best pitches. They're the ones who put in the work to understand what journalists actually care about and show up that way, every time. Personalized outreach. Genuine relationship building. A long game mindset. In a world where AI is flooding inboxes with generated content, that's also the clearest differentiator a brand can have. Authority isn't built by volume. It's built by being the human in the room. Listen to the full panel discussion: https://tr.ee/xCE6BW #AEC #InteriorDesign #BuildingProducts

There are two types of manufacturers at NeoCon. The ones who show up with a strategy. And the ones who show up. The difference is visible on the floor. You can see it in which brands stop traffic and which ones get walked past. You can hear it in what specifiers are asking about and what they're ignoring. NeoCon is one of the clearest proof of concepts in the industry. The positioning gap between brands is never more obvious than when 50,000 design professionals are in the same building, making specification decisions. Are you ready for the show floor? Check your trade show readiness score: https://tr.ee/ocwu5f

The way your next client finds you has changed. And most brands haven't caught up. The discovery path now follows four stages. Inspiration. Research. Validation. Conversion. Each one happens in a different place and different channel. Instagram for inspiration. Websites, case studies, and AI tools for research. Press coverage, awards, and recommendations for validation. And direct outreach, referrals, and proposals for conversion. Most brands are strong in one or two of these. Few are intentional across all four. The brands that show up consistently across every stage don't just get found more often. They get trusted faster. And trusted faster means shorter sales cycles, stronger inbound, and less time convincing people you're the right choice. Where are you showing up? And where are you invisible? #AEC #BuiltEnvironment #BrandStrategy #PublicRelations #Marketing

New York doesn’t create strong brands. It reveals them. What works here tends to define what works everywhere else. Tomorrow, we’re unpacking what’s shaping design in New York right now with insights from leaders across the architecture and design industry, including Eran Chen, Ricardo Nabholz, Assoc. IIDA, LEED AP, CDF, and Ryan Swanson. New York Doesn’t Just Follow Design Trends. It Creates Them.
 May 19 | 12–1 PM ET | Zoom We’ll cover: ✔ How real estate and development are shifting opportunity ✔ What designers and brands are responding to culturally ✔ What it takes to build relevance in this market If you want a clearer view of where design is heading, join us. 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eS25z-CB #NYCxDESIGN #Architecture #InteriorDesign #AandDIndustry

Beautifully designed quiet spaces. Certified by Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. Built for the commercial interiors where performance and aesthetics have to coexist. Carnegie Acoustic Solutions just launched Eden, their latest collection, and the industry noticed immediately. Features in Business of Furniture, Officing and Hospitality Design | HD Expo. Three influential voices in the commercial interiors space. Three audiences that specify exactly the kinds of products Carnegie makes. That's not just a launch. That's a brand entering a new conversation with the right people already paying attention.

Trade show strategy doesn't stop at the booth. For //3877, it extends to the stage. Taking the stage at KBIS, Hospitality Design | HD Expo, NEWH, Inc, and New York Build Expo is a deliberate strategy to position the firm among the leading voices in the design industry. In the rooms where editors, peers, and potential clients are already paying attention. The panel topics say everything about how they show up. Designing functional spaces that go beyond trends. Building dynamic partnerships. Driving purpose-driven transparency in design culture. Words of wisdom from designers at the helm. These aren't generic panels. They're a consistent point of view repeated across the industry's most influential stages. That's thought leadership with a strategy behind it.