Career Path

After graduating from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1991 as the College of Architecture’s inaugural Crown Scholar, Scott Conwell worked as an intern with Chicago-based architecture firm John Victor Frega Associates for 4 years, where he gained experience in design and construction administration. The strong technical background in materials and construction details he gained as a student at IIT helped shape his early career as an architect as he developed an expertise in masonry design and construction.

 

Conwell received his architecture license in 1995, and that same year he went to work with the International Masonry Institute (IMI), providing technical services and education to architects, engineers, and contractors. IMI is a non-profit organization responsible for delivering education and training in the trowel trades on behalf of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and their contractors. Conwell has been with International Masonry Institute for 29 years and is now Director of Industry Development.

 

His work at IMI focuses on educating architects and engineers on best practice design for masonry, stone, tile, and terrazzo. To that end, he has developed and delivered over 1,300 seminars, all registered with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for continuing education requirements, impacting over 40,000 attendees worldwide. His audiences range from national conferences of professional associations to smaller targeted in-office seminars. In addition to providing education across the United States, he has spoken at International tile and stone conferences in Spain, Italy, and Turkey. In recognition of his educational contributions to the national design community, Conwell was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), AIA’s highest membership honor, in 2015; and he was made a Fellow of the Construction Specifications Institute (FCSI) in 2018.

 

Conwell is also widely published in technical journals and social media. His original works are published in the proceedings of the North American Masonry Conference (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023), and in the Papers Compendium of the Qualicer Congress on Ceramic Tile Quality, Castellon, Spain (2018, 2020, 2022). He has written numerous articles for The Construction Specifier magazine, Licensed Architect magazine, Journal of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Masonry magazine, Masonry Construction magazine, Tile magazine, and many others. He also has a quarterly technical column in the journal of the Tile Contractors Association of America (TCAA). With over 20,000 followers on LinkedIn, over 1.5 million post engagements per year, and new posts every week, Scott is an influencer among design and construction professionals in the realm of social media.

 

Conwell is active on various building codes and standards committees for ceramic tile and stone. He is a voting delegate to the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Handbook committee, the ANSI A108 committee for tile standards where he also chairs the subcommittee on Tile Terminology, the ISO technical committee for ceramic tile, and he is active in the Natural Stone Institute (NSI). He is a founding member and advisor to the industry-wide committee that developed the internationally recognized Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers (ACT). In recognition for his service to the tile industry, in 2021 Scott was bestowed the Carl V. Cesery Award for Service to the Ceramic Tile Industry by the Tile Contractors’ Association of America.

Professional Organizations, Leadership Positions, Awards, and Honors


American Institute of Architects

Fellow; Chapter committee member 

AIA is the world’s largest professional association for architects and allied professionals. Scott Conwell has been an AIA member since 1996, and he served on their National Continuing Education Providers’ Advisory Council in the 1990s, helping the association develop requirements and guidelines for mandatory continuing education for architects, a requirement still in force today. He has been active in the Chicago chapter for nearly 3 decades, and during that time has served on the Young Architects committee, Technical committee, and others. Conwell was made a Fellow of AIA (FAIA) in 2015 in recognition for his contributions to the national design community, AIA’s highest membership honor. 

                                                          

Construction Specifications Institute

Fellow; Construction Document Technologist (CDT); Chapter board member 

CSI is an association of design and construction professionals dedicated to improving the communication of construction information throughout continuous development and transformation of standards, and education and certification of professionals to improve the project delivery processes. Conwell was made a Fellow of CSI (FCSI) in 2018, recognized for his role in developing a new ANSI Standard on Gauged Porcelain Tile and his advocacy for qualified labor and installation standards leading to the creation of seven tile installer certifications referenced by the Tile Council of North America. Scott has held several board positions including Vice President of the Chicago chapter CSI.

 

ANSI A108 Accredited Standards Committee for Ceramic Tile

Delegate; Subcommittee chair 

Conwell is an elected delegate of the ANSI committee responsible for writing and maintaining U.S. standards for the installation of ceramic tile. He chairs the subcommittee A108.T on Terminology of Tile, and he served as a member of the subcommittee that developed the standard for the Installation of Gauged Porcelain Tile, a new product category that has transformed the tile industry. Conwell has served as a voting delegate on this ANSI committee from 2010 to present.

 

Association of Licensed Architects

Member; Advisory board member 

ALA is a national association supporting and providing resources for architects and allied industry members, focusing on small to medium sized firms. Scott was an inaugural member of ALA when they were chartered in 1999 and has been active ever since. He also served on ALA’s education providers’ advisory board.


Tile Council of North America (TCNA), Handbook Committee

Delegate 

The TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass, and Stone Tile Installation is an internationally recognized guide to assist architects, specifiers, and contractors in clarifying and standardizing installation specifications for tile. The committee meets once per year in person and several times per year virtually to discuss revisions and additions to the handbook. Conwell has served as a voting delegate on this committee, as well as many ad hoc subcommittees, from 2010 to present.

 

Carl V. Cesery Award for Contributions to the Tile Industry

Award recipient 

Scott was the 2021 recipient of the Tile Contractors’ Association of America’s (TCAA’s) prestigious Cesery Award, regarded as one of the highest honors bestowed up on leaders in the ceramic tile and stone industry. “Scott’s expertise in architectural detailing of ceramic tile and masonry is legendary,” said TCAA President John Trendell. “There isn’t an architect in the country who hasn’t benefited from his expertise in the practical aspects of how to design with tile.” Conwell’s thought leadership is evident across his portfolio of work. He’s published countless articles in nationally recognized trade press and technical journals, contributed to the development of ceramic tile codes and standards, spearheaded critical tile details, and presented lectures on design theory and constructability internationally.

 

National Tile Contractors’ Association

Technical Committee member

 

Natural Stone Institute

Member

Professional Licenses, Designations, and Certifications