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

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Aerogel is a translucent lightweight solid made from silica (sand) that is long-lasting and safe in its production and application. When filled with aerogel, multiwall polycarbonate provides high strength, high light transmittance, and high thermal resistance in a lightweight, long-lasting glazing system. This course examines aerogel’s remarkable properties and the glazing performance of aerogel-filled multiwall polycarbonate to daylighting design in multiple architectural design applications.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

The overuse and misuse of the term rainscreen in the construction industry has created confusion and ambiguity as to its correct meaning and to its application in the field. To clarify the proper use of the concept and the term, this course reviews the essential rainscreen wall components, how they should be assembled, their roles and relationship to energy efficiency, and the various types of rainscreen constructions possible. It focuses on rainscreens utilizing metal wall panels and provides details as to how these panels should be detailed in a rainscreen application and concludes by providing illustrative examples of metal panel wall applications.

Plantable permeable paving systems continue to grow in scope and practicality as we search for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, improve water quality, diminish flooding and erosion, reduce the urban heat island from reradiated heat in our cities and environment, and add attractive open space to building sites and neighborhoods. This course looks at plantable permeable pavement system types, their use, and how they can help achieve sustainability goals.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Long-span composite steel deck slabs blend the speed and versatility of steel construction with the performance and durability of concrete, enabling a holistic approach to space-efficient structural designs. They are engineered to reduce story height while maximizing ceiling height and address market-specific building requirements. This course reviews the design criteria for long-span composite steel deck slabs and shows how they can be designed to increase available space, enhance structural performance, and reduce total project costs.

Aluminum Full View (AFV) doors are a fast growing segment within the building product industry. They have a wide range of applications in a variety of building types. This course will look at potential applications and building types, options for installation, and custom options in design when specifying AFV doors.

An undercounter refrigeration appliance is neither just a box to keep things cold nor a standby, compact appliance selected on price alone. Undercounter refrigeration provides creative design opportunities to add refrigeration in almost every area of a home. Today’s undercounter refrigeration options include beverage centers, wine cellars, freezers, ice machines, and beverage dispensers and can offer varying degrees of cooling performance, flexible storage configurations, and a wide range of styles and finishes. This course examines the cooling technologies used in undercounter refrigeration and reviews the essential features to consider before buying undercounter refrigeration.

Today’s buildings are evolving from independently-functioning structures to intelligent buildings that interact with occupants and surrounding buildings. This trend has impacted the design, operation, and maintenance of data centers around the globe due to the increased demand of data and digital communication, and has resulted in more high-performance data centers. This presentation addresses the specific needs of data centers and presents high-performance design solutions that support sustainable design.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Authentic sustainability requires a long-term approach to reducing impact on the environment and minimizing operational costs for building owners. This course addresses how to use this approach in restroom design by specifying products that save money, time, and resources, including those that reduce waste and usage of consumables, energy, and water. Guidance is provided on how to communicate to clients the full, long-term value of products that are aesthetically pleasing, sustainable, and easy to maintain so that the original design vision is more likely to endure.

Prerequisites:No

Course Level:Introductory

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Redwood Timbers are a safe, strong, and sustainable option for exterior and interior building projects where natural wood is desired. This course provides an overview of the properties of Redwood Timbers including insulation properties, grades, dimensions, fasteners, finishing options, and strength. It concludes with numerous case studies exploring the use of Redwood Timbers for post and beam construction, decorative elements, deck posts, and outdoor living structures.

To fully assess the benefits of spray foam and its importance to today’s building industry requires taking a closer look at one of the main goals of architects and building engineers—to create sustainable structures which allows maximum design creativity. With an ability to contour into any space or shape and adhere to any surface, spray foam allows such creativity. This course examines the performance properties spray foam products and discusses advanced design concepts using spray foam

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Masonry is an ideal sustainable building construction material as it is extremely durable, recyclable, and reusable. It allows for extraordinary design versatility so it can meet both aesthetic and functional requirements. This course looks at the design elements, components, and construction techniques that characterize sustainable masonry cavity wall building envelopes.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

A completely waterproof shower with curb appeal is gratifying to design, easy to install, and offers peace of mind to both the designer and client. This course examines one-piece shower bases and accessories and includes discussions on methods of waterproofing shower floors and walls, shower design, and installation and tiling guidelines for shower pans and accessories.

When designing a steel mesh fence, there are three steel mesh options to consider: chain link fabric, expanded metal, and welded wire mesh. Although mesh choice may be the primary focus when designing fence, an understanding of the application and material specifications should be key considerations as well. This course provides a review of the material specifications, installation, and standards related to the design of steel mesh fence systems.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Due to advancements in architectural decorative glass technology, the number of design options available to help designers and architects achieve the specific aesthetics and performance requirements they desire has dramatically increased. This course provides a review of architectural decorative glass including product options, applications, features, and specification considerations. Also discussed is how decorative glass can contribute to sustainable design and LEED® initiatives.

With faster build speeds, superior environmental control performance, and exceptional design flexibility, insulated metal panels (IMPs) offer many advantages over other conventional building envelope systems. This course details these and other aspects of IMPs and why they can be considered the key component of “the perfect wall.”

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Insulated metal wall panels (IMPs) offer a sleek, modern, and light-weight envelope system that is highly customizable. This course explores the characteristics of IMPs, including how they can offer a five-in-one design solution that provides the exterior finish, as well as the air, vapor, water, and thermal control layers. Discussions will also include design options, installation processes, code compliance, sustainability, and available warranties.

Prerequisites:No

Course Level:Introductory

Insulated metal panels (IMPs) are lightweight composite exterior wall and roof panels with superior insulating properties. Commercial and industrial buildings benefit from their energy efficient insulation, lightweight construction, durability, and cost-effective, timely installation. This course discusses IMPs in terms of their design options, appropriate support structure, installation, function, code compliance, and warranties.

Lightweight, pre-finished, and factory-fabricated insulated metal panels (IMPs) offer building owners a cost-efficient and easy-to-install roofing system that provides an air barrier, vapor barrier, and insulation all in one product. This course discusses the characteristics of IMPs and the installation process, and explains why IMPs are ideally suited for pre-engineered and structural steel buildings. The role of IMPs in a building’s hygrothermal control layers and IMP code compliance are reviewed.

Typically specified for pavements because of its strength, durability, and life-cycle value, concrete is increasingly being specified for a variety of exterior and interior projects because of its aesthetic potential. This course explores colored concrete including coloring methods, pigments, color consistency, and maintenance. It examines the specification considerations of cast-in-place and precast concrete and looks at a range of interior applications and concrete finishes.

Modular metal panel (MMP) systems allow for an array of different building designs due to their wide range of panel sizes, planes, and layout configurations. This program covers the history and attributes of MMPs including the available substrates and their ease of installation. Through comparisons to other building products used in rainscreen walls and project case studies, the customizable design concepts of MMP systems are illustrated.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

The architectural uses for perforated metal span a wide variety of interior and exterior applications for residential, industrial, and commercial projects. Reviewed in this course are the applications and the specification considerations of standard and custom perforated metal, along with a discussion on how it is used to sculpt light, control sound, and compose views.

Without a doubt, the human-nature connection contributes to well-being and improves our mood. Water features are one way to extend this connection to the indoors. In this course we’ll review the components of indoor water features, design options and considerations and look at a few case studies.

While architects and designers have many choices for specifying dynamic architectural surfaces in their projects, the result of using photography in such applications has historically presented challenges. This course explores typical digital images used in glass installations, gigapixel photography, guidelines for glass transparency, and the impacts of luminosity and reflectivity. Finally, it looks at potential applications for gigapixel images in large- or small-scale architectural surfaces.

This course presents an introduction to the types of gas fireplaces and vents, and covers the applicable code and standards for direct-vent, factory-built gas fireplaces. Also included are discussions on the new protective safety barrier requirements, test methods for fireplace efficiency, and typical steps for installing a direct-vent gas fireplace and barriers.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...