The diffuse light-transmitting and composite technology of translucent structural sandwich panels has increasingly caught the imagination of architects and designers because it is possible to maximize wall or roof daylighting while minimizing energy loss, with consequent savings in the running costs of heating, air conditioning, and artificial lighting. This course explores the fundamental connection between light and health by examining how translucent structural sandwich panels deliver glare-free, diffuse daylight deeper and more evenly into spaces with maximum thermal efficiency.

The recent shift towards protecting the environment has also brought about a better understanding of our innate need to reconnect with our natural surroundings. This is known as biophilia. In this course, we will examine the elements of biophilic design and how to implement biophilic design strategies, known to improve physical and mental well-being of occupants. The use of resilient flooring in commercial applications offers an opportunity to implement biophilic design.

Architectural resin panels are engineered to suit the demands of a wide array of interior and exterior applications and offer almost unlimited combinations of color, pattern, and design. This course presents the features and options that allow resin panels to meet design requirements for both function and beauty and discusses how resin panels may play a role in projects seeking LEED® v4 BD+C, ID+C, and O+M; Living Building ChallengeSM v3.1; or WELL Building Standard® v1 certification.

Now more than ever, architects and designers of commercial restroom facilities are responsible for meeting or exceeding guest and employee expectations for safety and cleanliness. Presented here are touchless fixtures for public restrooms, how restrooms affect sustainability goals, and the benefits of taking cost-saving measures.

Provides an overview of the noise issues associated with floor/ceiling assemblies of multi-family dwellings, as well as the factors that affect acoustical performance. Also presented is a review of the acoustical solutions that are available with a focus on sound mats with poured underlayment (SMPU) systems.

Building a stronger connection with nature is critical for humans to maintain health and well-being. Composite wood decking is a durable, environmentally sustainable product that can help build links with nature through applications including home outdoor rooms, roof gardens, healing spaces, and public boardwalks in green spaces.

Understanding a product’s life cycle impact is central to the selection of materials for any green building. High pressure decorative laminate (HPDL) manufacturers have initiatives in place to reduce waste, energy, and virgin materials in its production. This course introduces HPDL, its performance characteristics, fabrication techniques, and manufacturing processes and the processes and ingredients that make it a sustainable decorative surfacing solution for commercial and residential applications.

The office furniture industry is an ever-changing marketplace and this changeability has produced huge amounts of unwanted furniture. Remanufacturing addresses the waste, cost, and storage that comes with replacing office furniture. This course looks at trends in the office furniture industry, the environmental impacts created by legacy furniture, and a review of the environmental and economic benefits of remanufactured furniture as an alternative to scrapping, downcycling, or discarding to landfill.

With the increasing prominence of glass in new buildings and retrofits, the use of window film can raise the style, performance, and safety of today’s building projects. This course examines the use of various types of window film (decorative, solar control, and safety/security) and their role in improving occupant comfort and safety, lowering energy costs, and enhancing privacy.

Around the globe, companies and manufacturers are embracing socially responsible design, construction, and the development of sustainable products. This course provides an overview of sustainable design and the creation of healthier environments in reference to architectural paints. Included are discussions regarding the components of paint, independent testing methods and standards, categories of LEED®, and specification of paint systems for today’s designer.

(Canadian Version) Around the globe, companies and manufacturers are embracing socially responsible design, construction, and the development of sustainable products. This course provides an overview of sustainable design and the creation of healthier environments in reference to architectural paints. Included are discussions regarding the components of paint, independent testing methods and standards, categories of LEED®, and specification of paint systems for today’s designer.

Automated-shading systems are designed to maximize natural daylight, increase building energy efficiency, and ensure occupants have a comfortable environment with views to the outside. This course will explain how an automated shading system predicts, monitors, and responds to the daily microclimate surrounding a building to effectively manage daylight, solar-heat gain, occupant comfort levels, and energy use demands.

This course encourages dialogue and shares methods to adopt inclusive design approaches within the daily practice of design while seeking to inspire industry professionals to imagine an inclusive world that is powered by your creativity and sense of humanity. As our world becomes smaller and smaller, humanity aspires to provide care, work, and play and live connected experiences that are more meaningful. As designers, it is our responsibility to create considerate environments that support this quality of life for all. This is the Future of Design.

Animals, plants, and microbes are engineers of what works and lasts on earth. Biomimicry is a practice in which nature’s designs, patterns, and strategies are examined to find sustainable solutions to our technical and design problems. This course discusses how applying the concepts of biomimicry can better connect our designs and buildings with nature and examines the relationship between nature’s solutions to light, heat, glare control, and shading design principles.

Daylighting is the controlled admission of natural light into a building. It takes into consideration both direct and diffuse sunlight and reduces use of electric light, thereby decreasing energy costs. By controlling daylight, solar heat gain can be minimized, lowering the demand on HVAC systems. This course evaluates a variety of daylighting strategies for commercial applications and includes discussions about the relevance of daylight factor calculations and the impact fabric characteristics have on a shading solution.

Energy conservation and occupant health and well-being are issues of increasing focus in current building design strategies. Appropriate lighting design and control can address both issues simultaneously. This course explores those aspects of health influenced by lighting and the means by which lighting can be designed and controlled in order to increase occupant comfort, productivity, and overall physical and mental well-being and reduce energy consumption in a single, integrated design.

Sustainable design and green practices have raised consumer awareness about the potential dangers lurking in buildings and homes from products such as paints and coatings. Environmental sustainability has influenced architects and interior designers to approach their projects in ways that boost health, lower consumption of nonrenewable resources, and minimize waste. This course looks at the evolution of sustainable design, ways to measure the environmental impact of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), how paints and coatings can contribute toward satisfying LEED® credits, and how these products may play a role in designing for well-being.

Rubber has been recycled for more than a century and used in recycled rubber flooring for over 65 years. Over this time, it has been proven to be a durable and flexible product that improves numerous aspects of the built environment while benefiting the natural environment. This course examines the sustainability attributes of recycled rubber flooring, how rubber is recycled, how it is used to make flooring, its health and safety benefits, and where to use and not use the product. The course also includes an overview of how recycled rubber flooring can be used to meet a number of USGBC’s LEED® v4 BD+C and WELL Building Standard® v2 credit requirements.

Currently, buildings are the single biggest contributor to GHG emissions, accounting for roughly half of all energy consumption in the U.S. and globally. It is crucial to reduce this level of consumption by including high-performance envelope strategies such as shading systems in all new building designs. In this course, we look at shading systems, examine shading and design strategies, and learn tips for successful selection and design.

Incorporating nature into the built environment through biophilic design increases occupant well-being, productivity, and health and is an integral component of an ecologically healthy and sustainable community. Presented here is an overview of biophilic design, its relationship to sustainability, and its positive human, environmental, and economic outcomes. Case studies demonstrate how rooftop deck systems can contribute to biophilic and sustainable design objectives.

Recycled rubber flooring is an environmentally responsible material that outlasts many types of traditional commercial flooring products when exposed to normal foot traffic stress. Interior and exterior recycled rubber surfacing products are explored in terms of their sustainable design benefits and applications. The program includes discussions on rubber manufacturing, postconsumer tires, and green building certification systems.

In many climate zones, the heating and cooling of outside air (OA) is one of the largest energy loads and contributors to building emissions. Traditional commercial HVAC designs based on the Ventilation Rate Procedure (VRP) rely on large volumes of outside air to maintain acceptable indoor air quality, often resulting in oversized HVAC equipment and wasted energy. Adding to this, good indoor air quality is no longer just a matter of meeting code but is now seen as a necessity for business continuity, improved learning outcomes, and employee productivity. In this course, we will examine ASHRAE Standard 62.1, a recognized standard for nonresidential ventilation system design, and its Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP), which allows for the use of air cleaning technology to offset outside air for a more efficient ventilation system design. We will review the requirements and calculations for this procedure, showing the impact on indoor air quality and energy use, and present a number of case studies. We will also show how IAQP used with air cleaning can help achieve LEED® v4 BD+C: New Construction and O+M: Existing Buildings and WELL v2™ certification.

In addition to being an effective alternative to artificial lighting options, daylighting provides a wide range of other benefits for the building and the health and comfort of its occupants. This course addresses achieving daylighting in building design using skylights and translucent wall systems. This program includes discussions on the basics of daylighting, glazing options, daylighting methods, creative design, and the environmental benefits of daylighting systems.

Synthetic or artificial grass bears virtually no resemblance to its early version produced over fifty years ago. The current product is much more aesthetically pleasing, safer, softer, and durable, made with environmentally friendly materials, highly customizable to suit many indoor and outdoor uses, and recyclable and nonflammable. This course details the many sustainable attributes of this material; its benefits, construction, and certifications; and numerous sample installations.

This course introduces accessibility from Canadian and US perspectives. It covers a few specific technical accessibility requirements and compares the differences when referencing Canadian or US design standards, such as the National Building Code of Canada (Canada's Model Code) or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (the United States accessibility regulation), while reinforcing the intent of good design that is not always outlined by a code or standard. The seven principles of universal design are also discussed.