RAiNA’s 2026 Conference is a must-attend event for professionals

By Emma Peterson. 

Stay at the forefront of sustainable architecture and resilient construction by going to the 2026 RAiNA Conference!  

RAiNA (the Rainscreen Association in North America) is an organization that was established with the goal of sharing resources and technical support related to rainscreens for professionals in the roofing and construction industries. Today, the association is made up of experts and leaders from across the roofing and construction industries who are both passionate about and knowledgeable of the importance of rainscreen assemblies in the future of our built environment.  

Their knowledge and expertise is on full display during RAiNA’s annual conference, which is coming up at the end of this month! The 2026 event will be held on September 30, 2026, at the Irving Street Studio in Portland, Oregon and is a must-attend event for anyone who wants to “be among the first to learn about pioneering ideas and groundbreaking projects [related to rainscreens].” Currently, the event’s agenda is as follows:  

• 9:15 a.m. — The conference kicks off with opening remarks 
• 9:25 a.m. — Tyler Smith of BEE Engineers gives a presentation on “how owners perceive risk, evaluate competing priorities, respond to cost proposals and ultimately decide whether to invest in resilient enclosure solutions.” 
• 10:50 a.m. — The RAiNA team shares highlights and updates 
• 11:10 a.m. — The second presentation of the day is held by Emma Mahoney and Jeffrey Kerr, SGH. They will be discussing how to integrate architectural cavity closures into rainscreen assemblies.  
• 1:00 p.m. — David Young (RDH Building Science Inc) kicks off the afternoon presentations with a discussion of how to design rainscreens for real-world performance.  
• 2:20 p.m. — For this presentation, Corey Zussman of AECOM Hunt dives into the importance of “proactively designing the necessary advanced detailing needed to the backup wall system.”  
• 3:45 p.m. — Presentations of the day will close with a panel all about rainscreen retrofits. The panel will be moderated by Paul Grahovac and features Jake LaManna (Walsh Construction Company), Brian Nelson (Knight Wall Systems) and Geoff Duck (Cascadia). 
• 4:45 p.m. — The 2026 RAiNA Design & Technical Excellence Awards will be presented. 
• 5:05 p.m. — Closing remarks transition the conference into its final rooftop networking event. 

In addition to creating this agenda full of cutting-edge presentations that will help attendees refine their strategies and improve their understanding, RAiNA has also brought in industry leaders to host booths around the conference. This creates a great opportunity for attendees to network and learn between formal presentations and events.  

Register for the 2026 RAiNA Conference today!