ACM/MCM cladding meets design criteria not physically or economically possible with other building façade materials. This course describes the continuous manufacturing process that results in extremely flat and strong panels and reviews fabrication, installation, and attachment techniques. Fire performance testing and ACM/MCM’s sustainability benefits are reviewed, and a wide array of coating and finishing options are presented.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Air control dampers are an essential component of a building’s HVAC system, regulating heating, cooling, and ventilation performance. Presented here is an introduction to control, balancing, backdraft, industrial, and multizone dampers; each type plays an important role in the HVAC system. Discussed are damper types, components, and performance metrics. Guidance is provided for damper specification, installation, and maintenance and inspection.

Louvers are an essential part of every HVAC system but their selection and sizing is often misunderstood or overlooked. In this course we’ll take a thorough look at louver components, types, options, and accessories and appropriate selection and proper sizing of louvers for a variety of climates, including WDR (wind-driven rain) and hurricane areas.

Provides an overview of the key reasons to apply a primer to every surface before painting a topcoat. Surface preparation, typical primer applications, stain-blocking and functionally specific primers are discussed.

For those who desire the look and feel of granite, but are concerned about its drawbacks, engineered quartz may be the solution. Harder and stronger than granite, engineered quartz offers a design aesthetic that is different from other surfacing materials. This course provides an overview of the characteristics, features, and benefits of engineered quartz surfaces, as well as a discussion on the related green certification programs.

Mortars are utilized to bind masonry units together and fill the gaps between them. Understanding the critical relationship between bricks and mortar is fundamental to a successful installation. This course covers the performance and specification considerations related to the different types of mortar used for masonry construction, including portland/lime mixes, mortar cement and masonry cement.

According to building professionals, the solution to achieving an energy efficient building envelope is to focus more on the roof. Protected membrane roof (PMR) assemblies deliver thermal efficiency and can play a valuable role in a sustainable design strategy. Presented in this course is a review of the components, advantages, ballast options, and design and installation considerations of PMR assemblies.

While the kitchen has long been considered the heart of the home, the bathroom is often thought of as a utilitarian space. However, by drawing inspiration from kitchen design principles, designers can create a bathroom that’s personalized, organized, and highly functional. Beyond serving basic needs, the bathroom is a space for relaxing, recharging, and preparing for the day ahead. This course discusses strategies for incorporating organization, ergonomics, personalization, and technology to create a streamlined styling space.

Perforated Metal, Expanded Metal, and Wire Mesh combine aesthetics, durability, and functionality. Although each product is distinct with unique characteristics, they have similar properties that provide light and sound diffusion, security, strength, and durability. This course provides a review of the characteristics and architectural applications of these products, the different materials in them, and how they achieve a safe work environment.

Sometimes a design finish cannot be achieved within a certain budget or time frame. While not intended to be a substitute for real materials in every situation, architectural finishes mimic the aesthetics of natural and other materials. This course discusses the uses, manufacturing process, performance characteristics, selection considerations and proper installation techniques of architectural finishes.

The variety of paint products offered can be overwhelming. And with each variety of paint offering different properties that affect the outcome of a project, understanding what is in a can of paint is key to success. Reviewed in this course are the types of architectural paint, the components of paint, and proper surface preparation, as well as the causes of and solutions to common paint problems ranging from simple to complex.

Segmented pavers have been successfully used for roads, courtyards and paths for hundreds of years. Durability of materials being one of the key reasons for their lasting popularity. These days modern pavers offer up a wide variety of newer performance capabilities and finishes. In this course, we’ll take a look at the unique technologies of segmental concrete paver systems, the types, finishes and their design considerations.

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®, Living Building Challenge®, or WELL Building Standard® certification.

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

Artificial turf is essentially a flooring fabric made from a variety of materials and layers. Since its creation, the artificial turf industry has studied the behavior of natural grass and the safety and sustainability of artificial grass. This course examines today’s artificial grass systems and discusses how they are carefully planned, designed, and built to suit the specific needs of an outdoor residential or commercial landscape.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

This presentation celebrates the value of incorporating artisanal, handcrafted fixtures and furnishings into a building’s design. Not only are these products unique, functional, and aesthetically appealing, but they can also establish a sense of connection with their maker. Many artisanal, handcrafted products are made using traditional techniques that have been passed down over time, often from generation to generation. And because many of these products are made from sustainable, recycled, or reclaimed materials that are locally available, they can help reduce the environmental impact of a new build. This course illustrates how sourcing artisan-made products for their projects can allow designers and builders to effect social, economic, and environmental change

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

Although built-up roofs are the oldest type of low-slope roofing systems, gaining an understanding of the advantages and characteristics of modified bitumen membranes will help you select the asphalt roofing system that improves performance and saves on installation costs over traditional asphalt roofs. Learn how “mod bit” roofs, whether APP or SBS, provide improved durability with stronger reinforcements, resistance to hail and traffic damage, and provide factory-controlled quality manufacturing.

There are two requirements to provide a good audio system: analysis and mitigation of the acoustic performance of the space, and proper design of the audio system itself. Architects and designers need to treat these two elements as completely separate subjects and should involve an Audio-Visual specialist during the planning stages of any project to ensure proper performance of an audio system. This course explains the fundamentals of acoustics and identifies how sound behaves in different environments. Acoustic analysis and mitigation approaches are examined with the goal of achieving a properly targeted audio system design that will enhance the users’ experience.

By design, automatic pedestrian doors provide easier, more convenient access than manual doors for a wide variety of building types, and their popularity in commercial design continues to grow. Reviewed in this course are the available options of automatic door solutions, including sliding, swinging, ICC/CCU, and revolving door systems. Also discussed are the code requirements and considerations relating to automatic doors for proper specification.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Commercial door manufacturers have developed solutions that are specifically tailored to address the unique challenges of the automotive dealership market, which include high energy costs, damage to automobiles, and costly repairs. This course provides a review of the types of commercial doors, commercial door operators, safety sensors, and automotive dealership accessory options, as well as a discussion of UL 325 compliance.

Bar and Plank Gratings are used for a wide range of applications. With the array of Grating products that are available on the market, the proper selection of a suitable solution requires an understanding of the specification considerations. This course provides a review of these considerations along with a discussion of the applications and terminology relating to Bar and Plank Grating products.

In this one-hour presentation, we explore how HVLS fans can contribute to LEED v4, increase thermal comfort, and provide a silent and elegant design strategy. We discuss how to save energy and improve indoor air quality for building occupants. Our team will explain how HVLS fans provide a creative design solution that effectively moves large amounts of air within occupied spaces to cool building occupants, maintain thermal comfort, and support ventilation strategies. Finally, we will review computational fluid dynamics to measure airflow performance and impact to a space and how this can contribute to LEED v4 certification.

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

The cleanliness of a hotel guestroom bathroom directly impacts a hotel’s profitability, by its influence on customer satisfaction and hotel image. Designers should not only consider aesthetics but also the selection of finishes and fixtures that allow for faster, more cost effective sanitation. This course examines the role of clean hotel bathrooms in hotel profitability, customer satisfaction, and public health. Potential modes and threats of infection are discussed and strategies suggested for selecting fixtures that improve sanitation and minimize labor.

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

Lack of secure bicycle parking and storage is one of the top barriers to increased bicycle ridership. However, there is much more to selecting functional and appropriate bike storage than installing a few racks at the building sidewalk. This course examines best practices for bicycle racks and shelters for indoor and outdoor bicycle parking and storage, including typical municipal guidelines and regulations, incentives, guidance on shelters, and rack planning and design.

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

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, and glare control and today's shading design principles.

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

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.

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