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This is your go-to source for free AIA-approved continuing education for architects. Plus, almost all our courses are delivered in streaming HD video. Registration is fast and easy, just click on Login/Register above. Then, you can enroll in any of our courses found in any of our programs with a single click. Our courses meet or exceed NCARB's high standards for state board license renewal. AIA member? Your credit will be reported to AIA for you.

Innovations In Education Design Using Opening Glass Walls

This course will describe the benefits of moveable glass walls in education environments from K-12 through higher education. It includes a comprehensive look at design options, framing and installation options, interior and exterior connecting applications, acoustical attenuation, daylighting, and 21st Century Educational design.

HSW Justification:
Privacy, daylighting, on-demand teaching flexibility, improved teaching outcomes and student and teacher health benefits are the primary focus of this course.

Learning Objective 1:
Identify and recognize the significance of flexible space in school design to safely accommodate variable educational needs

Learning Objective 2:
Assess the health and welfare aspects of glass wall systems in terms of providing daylight and views to students, teachers and staff.

Learning Objective 3:
Explain the importance of acoustics and the impact on student performance, and creating a better indoor environment.

Learning Objective 4:
Determine ways to incorporate the design principles presented into building project documentation as shown in project examples.

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Designing Beautiful High-Performance Building Envelopes

The building envelope has a lot of different jobs to do—from insulating the building so that it can be efficiently heated and cooled to providing air and water barriers that keep harmful moisture at bay, as well as providing the aesthetic face of the project. High performance building envelopes do all of those things extremely well. This article explores some of the latest high-performance solutions that can be used to create those high-performance envelopes.

HSW Justification:
A high-performance building envelope is necessary to create a building that is efficient and healthy. This article takes a look at how different components in the building envelope perform—giving architects the information they need to choose high-performance components that will produce a high-performing envelope.

Learning Objective 1:
Compare different types of continuous insulation in terms of the thermal performance they offer and the way they behave when exposed to water and fire.

Learning Objective 2:
Describe how insulated metal panels (IMPs) can be used on the envelope to improve building performance, create efficient and healthy interiors, and enhance design flexibility.

Learning Objective 3:
Explain how PET bottles can be upcycled into insulation creating a new product that contains recycled material and improves thermal performance of the building envelope.

Learning Objective 4:
Describe the ways that architectural metal wall systems enable architects to push the creative boundaries of their designs.

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Lighting Overview for Healthcare Facilities

 The class is a high-density orientation to lighting considerations and methods in the healthcare environment. Topics will include application situations, impacted populations, design methods, and a review and critique of examples of successful and less-than-successful healthcare lighting designs.

At the end of this course, participants will:

  1. Identify current trends in the healthcare lighting design and the impact lighting has on its occupants and the environment. 
  2. Identify who is impacted by our lighting design decisions and learn best practices on how to light the spaces they occupy.
  3. Identify specific lighting needs of patient rooms.
  4. Identify emerging lighting methods including design for circadian health.
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Innovative Solutions for Architectural Challenges

Operable glass walls can provide for flexible interior spaces, safer interior environments, rapid and highly accessible connections to exterior spaces and all the benefits that ensue, such as fresh air, light, unobstructed views and rapid egress in the event of emergency. This course examines how operable glass walls meet those challenges and then shows the application of those principals in several case studies.

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WELL Building Standard | Version 2

The WELL Light concept promotes exposure to light and aims to create lighting environments that are optimal for visual, mental and biological health. This session explores the elements that make up the WELL Lighting concept and provides insights and recommendations for designing to these standards.

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Introduction to Exterior and Facade Lighting

Program: The Art and Technology of Lighting

This course will explore the use of exterior lighting to illuminate building facades, landscapes, pathways, plazas, and points of interest, like statues. Popular techniques (moonlighting, wall washing, grazing, etc.) will be defined and the performance of various lighting fixtures will be compared to help designers identify the fixtures best-suited for particular applications. Important considerations including: energy codes, dark sky criteria, and occupant safety will be addressed. The renovation of the exterior lighting at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, designed by Ardra Zinkon, will be profiled.

HSW Justification:
Exterior lighting can facilitate the enjoyment of an outdoor space and enhance the feeling of safety and security people experience in these areas, but the design of exterior lighting systems must accomplish more than bathing an area in illumination indiscriminately. Energy codes limit the amount of energy that the lighting system can consume and define lighting controls requirements to minimize energy waste. In addition, the Model Lighting Ordinance (MLO), developed by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), provides guidance on ways to reduce light pollution and glare that can be created by outdoor lighting. This course will provide designers with tips on how to create exterior lighting solutions that satisfy energy codes and dark sky criteria, while providing ample illumination to create beautiful and inviting outdoor spaces.

Learning Objective 1:
Create exterior lighting designs that provide the recommended levels of illumination for highlighting facades, supporting wayfinding, and accenting features of the outdoor space, while satisfying code-mandated energy use and controls requirements as well as dark sky criteria.

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Designing for Wellness

This article explores some of the latest products and solutions improving the air quality, thermal comfort, electric light, and daylight control that can be incorporated into a project. Each improves the wellness of the people in the built environment.

HSW Justification:
“Increased evidence shows that indoor environmental conditions substantially influence health and productivity. Building services engineers are interested in improving indoor environments and quantifying the effects. Potential health and productivity benefits are not yet generally considered in conventional economic calculations pertaining to building design and operation. Only initial costs plus energy and maintenance costs are typically considered. A few sample calculations have also shown that many measures to improve indoor air environment are cost-effective when the health and productivity benefits resulting from an improved indoor climate are included in the calculations (Djukanovic et al. 2002, Fisk 2000, Fisk et al. 2003, Hansen 1997, van Kempski 2003, Seppanen and Vuolle 2000, Wargocki, 2003.) This article explores some of the latest products and solutions improving the air quality, thermal comfort, electric light, and daylight control that can be incorporated into a project. Each improves the wellness of the built environment.

Learning Objective 1:
Explain how air circulation improves thermal comfort and alertness.

Learning Objective 2:
Describe the ways that increasing the presence of plants and greenery on a project have been shown to clean the air, reduce urban heat island effect, and positively affect the health and wellbeing of people in the built environment.

Learning Objective 3:
Summarize how circadian LED lighting technology delivers health benefits—improving overall sleep quality, daytime productivity, and feelings of wellbeing—that modern architectural lighting lacks.

Learning Objective 4:
Discuss how using an underfloor air distribution system (UFAD) improves indoor air quality.

Learning Objective 5:
Identify the latest advancements in smart window technology that allows these solutions to control glare and solar heat gains, while maintaining views to the outdoors.

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Controlled and Connected Luminaires and Design Integration

Program: The Art and Technology of Lighting

This course will review the components and uses of connected luminaires, their specification and the standards and protocols involved in current lighting controls application. Further, this course will review the emergence of the Internet of things, and how it will impact future lighting controls application.Understand the definition, components and function of a connected luminaire.

Learning Objective 1:
Understand the definition, components and function of a connected luminaire.

Learning Objective 2:
Understand how connected lighting systems interact with the Internet of Things (IoT).

Learning Objective 3:
Understand the basic components of a lighting control system and uses with LED technology.

Learning Objective 4:
Understand the specification of connected luminaire systems.

AIA Course Number FP2018-D

 

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New Principles in Hospitality Design Using Opening Glass Walls

This course explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on design and construction decisions, particularly focusing on operable glass walls in interior and exterior applications, primarily in the hospitality industry. Students will gain familiarity with terminology, capabilities, and uses of operable glass walls, with an emphasis on addressing health concerns post-pandemic through responsive design. The course highlights how operable glass walls contribute to improving the health, safety, and well-being of building occupants while also providing psychological benefits by creating comfortable environments. Practical design concepts applicable to various commercial projects will be covered, with direct access to manufacturer resources for further assistance.

 

Learning Objective 1:
You will be able to identify and recognize the significance of the health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic as they relate to building design and product selection.

Learning Objective 2:
You will learn how to assess the safety aspects of incorporating design and product selections that protect buildings, occupants, and owners from harm and damage, particularly in light of unexpected violence and vandalism.

Learning Objective 3:
You will be able to explain the welfare aspects of design and product selection that enable equitable access to all, can elevate the human experience with daylight and outdoor access, and benefit the environment through sustainable building design.

Learning Objective 4:
You will be able to determine ways to incorporate the design principles as presented into different building types and applications.

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