IMI Illinois

03/25/2026

Before stainless steel anchors and engineered wall ties, masonry had a beautifully simple solution built right into the system: the brick header.

In traditional brick construction, headers (those bricks laid perpendicular to the wall) weren’t just a pattern choice. They were structural. Each header physically tied the outer wythe to the backing wythes, creating a unified wall that worked together to resist loads, movement, and time itself.

The world’s oldest building material, masonry, is about more than just materials. It’s about methods refined over centuries. The knowledge of how to bond, tie, and distribute forces was embedded in the craft, executed by skilled masons who understood that durability starts with connection.

Today’s assemblies may be more advanced, but the principle remains the same: a wall is only as strong as how well it’s tied together.

02/09/2026

International Masonry Institute's own Scott Conwell has been nominated for the Coverings 2026 People's Choice Champion. Voting is open today through February 20 (vote up to once per day at
https://www.coverings.com/coverings-champions/ ).

Coverings - The Global Tile & Stone Experience is North America's largest tile and stone exhibition, taking place March 30 – April 2 in Las Vegas. Register for free with the promo code IMI26.

We'd love for you to stop by the IMI booth and say hello... but even if you don't attend the conference, you can still vote for IMI and Scott as People's Choice Coverings Champion.

02/03/2026

Architecture students laying brick… 30 years of hands-on field trips!

We had an amazing turnout this week as we transformed the Bricklayers’ training center in suburban Chicago into a laboratory for architecture students to learn about masonry, tile, and terrazzo, and to develop an appreciation for these crafts.

About 100 students and 7 professors from the second year studio at Illinois Institute of Technology immersed themselves in masonry at the annual field trip organized by International Masonry Institute and executed by apprentice instructors at the BAC District Council Training Center.

IMI has been hosting these field trips for IIT architecture students for the past 30 years, going back to 1997.

The aspiring architects rotated through four hands-on stations dedicated to traditional bricklaying, masonry arches, terrazzo & large format ceramic tile, and rainscreen design & construction. The students will soon embark on their semester-long studio project in which they will apply a form of masonry they learned about on this field trip.

There’s no better place for emerging architects to learn about masonry than shoulder-to-shoulder with journeyman craftworkers. Programs like these help the students understand the complexities of the trade and the skills, dedication, and pride that BAC craftworkers bring to the job.

10/30/2025

10/22/2025

Hope you all can join us at McCormick Place next week.

09/26/2025

It feels like Fall, and that means…. Chicago Build is about 8 weeks away!

It happens Oct 29-30 at McCormick Place. Join International Masonry Institute and about 30,000 of your closest industry friends for a time of education and networking, with 300 exhibitors and hundreds of speakers on a full gamut of architecture, design, and construction topics.

Speaking of making great connections, I urge you to visit Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers ADC 1 of IL in Booth #1025. There's not a masonry, tile, or tuckpointing problem that these professionals can't solve. They are experienced, knowledgeable, safe, and helpful. Not to mention, there may be some great hard hat stickers and other SWAG to be had at their booth.

Register for free at http://www.chicagobuildexpo.com/imi-25. Also register for IMI's conference seminar on Tile & Stone at 10am October 30, Workshop 2 on the Sustainability Stage.

05/30/2025

05/23/2025

The District Council Training Center had a full house this week as about 100 architects, designers, contractors, suppliers, and other industry professionals gathered for International Masonry Institute's annual Chicago Tile Expo.

Tyler Barton from Mapei presented on Large Format Tile and Floor Preparation, and Scott Conwell from IMI spoke on Tile Grouts and Expansion Joints. Outside the classroom, 15 local material suppliers exhibited their latest tiles, setting materials, membranes, patching materials, drains, pedestals, profile strips, and other accessories.

Attendees were then treated to interactive demonstrations by tile coordinator Mike Spatz and his team of BAC apprentice tile instructors who demonstrated mortar application, troweling technique, laying of 12” x 24” large format tile, and grouting. Some of the architects volunteered to lay tile on an area of the floor mockup, and we learned that an irregular floor substrate combined with large warped tiles pose challenges in achieving mortar coverage… a good opportunity to illustrate the importance of floor preparation, good materials, tile training, and skilled craftworkers.

Thanks to all the tabletop sponsors and event partners Tile Contractors’ Association of America, Ceramic Tile Contractors’ Association of Chicago, DCTC, and BAC District Council 1 Illinois.

04/21/2025

Can you tell who among these are the bricklayers and who are the architects? By the end of Masonry Camp, each have absorbed the other’s culture, becoming virtually indiscernible!

You can feel the energy in this room as the 6 interdisciplinary teams complete their unique built elements with great care in preparation for the design jury. By the final day of the intensive weeklong program, the teams have collaboratively designed a scheme using masonry materials for a specific program on a unique site. They have participated in mini-lectures and hands-on sessions addressing masonry detailing, tile/marble/terrazzo, masonry restoration, adaptive reuse, sustainability, and digital design tools, including a keynote by a visiting architect. They’ve sketched on cocktail napkins, on tracing paper, and on iPads. They have learned from International Masonry Institute's apprentice instructors and from each another.

Most importantly, these early-career professionals have spent a week immersed in masonry design and construction, participating in areas within and outside their disciplines and comfort zones… developing a perspective of the craft they will never forget. This is the generation of architects and craftworkers who will drive the industry forward.

03/31/2025

Hands-on masonry in Central Illinois!

Illinois design and construction professionals, you’re invited to join AIA Illinois, International Masonry Institute (IMI), and Central Illinois Mason Contractors' Association (CIMCA) for a half-day session of education (3.0 HSW LUs).

Presenters from IMI will provide AIA-registered programs covering a balance of design and construction considerations all architects and contractors should know.

In addition to the two classroom sessions, bricklaying instructors from BAC Local 8 Illinois will lead interactive hands-on demonstrations on a variety of brick and concrete masonry mockups, so wear your jeans and work boots.

Cost is free for qualified design and construction professionals, lunch is included, and advanced registration is required. https://info.imiweb.org/central-il-masonry-day to register.

03/10/2025

Next time you visit “The Bean” in Chicago’s Millennium Park, consider the planning, coordination, and expert skills of BAC members required to install the porcelain paver tile plaza it rests on.

Click on the link below to read the story of this fascinating project, its challenges, and its ex*****on.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/anchoring-bean-new-porcelain-tile-plaza-chicagos-park-scott-aapoc