Sustainable Design Courses

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 458 results.

FIRST [1-25] [26-50] [51-75] [76-100] [101-125] NEXT LAST

  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Energy creation, distribution, and consumption are all in a period of transition. Understanding this transition and its various aspects is critical to sustainable transitional energy planning (STEP). This course delves into the reasoning behind the STEP approach and its contributions to creating resilient communities and explores available exhaustible and renewable energy resources and innovations in the energy sector that can be leveraged by STEP.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Water is a valuable resource, yet many states suffer water shortages due to preventable issues, such as overuse and leaks. This course presents the increased need for water conservation and provides an overview of the EPA’s WaterSense® program. Examined are how plumbing fixtures can meet the requirements of green building codes, standards, and rating systems, including LEED® v5 Building Design and Construction (BD+C). Healthcare, institutional, and residential case studies demonstrate the benefits of water-efficient plumbing fixtures.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour, 15 minutes ) 

    White roofs made of PVC (vinyl) can reflect three-quarters or more of the sun's rays and emit 70% or more of the solar radiation absorbed by the building envelope. Despite protecting and keeping buildings cool in all climates around the world for decades, misconceptions about the energy impact of cool roofs still exist. This course uses the fundamental science behind cool roofs to address alleged issues concerning the performance of cool roof products.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Now more than ever, public restrooms must provide users with a hygienic and safe experience that supports inclusivity, human health, and wellness. In this course, we explore how multistall public restrooms address users’ concerns about hygiene, safety, privacy, and efficiency through partitions, touchless fixtures, hand dryers, and more. We also discuss fulfilling WELL Building Standard™ v2 requirements by promoting public health and safety in restroom design.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Door systems are an integral part of educational facilities. This course discusses their importance in creating a safe and secure learning environment and explores the different types of doors, frames, and hardware components. Also covered are industry standards, compliance requirements for fire and life safety, accessibility, and security measures that enhance the safety of the door assembly. The course concludes with some practical applications and case studies in educational settings.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour, 15 minutes ) 

    Soft flooring has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years due to its aesthetics, lower costs, durability, and ease of care. This course discusses how to create the optimal soft flooring system through proper substrate and surface preparation.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Industrial-strength ladders must provide functional safety for users in varied and demanding building environments. Aluminum ladders are up to the challenge of virtually any application thanks to aluminum’s high strength-to-weight ratio, durability, and corrosion resistance. This course reviews ladder types and safety considerations and discusses how the sustainability benefits of aluminum along with its other attributes make it an ideal material for heavy-duty ladders.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    There are many choices for exterior siding—which one is best for your project? The right choice depends on the aesthetic and performance characteristics of the product, combined with your client’s needs and budget. This course compares and discusses the aesthetics, durability, installation requirements, and environmental sustainability of common siding materials, plus those of a new innovation: poly-ash siding.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Thermal modification is a tried and tested process for increasing the durability of wood while maintaining a warm aesthetic in building design. This course examines all aspects of this sustainable wood product and how it can be incorporated into a variety of projects.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Vinyl is suitable for many building materials and is often the best selection when durability, aesthetics, and value are vital. This course is intended to help designers and specifiers make the most informed decisions about vinyl product selection. It describes the realities and improvements of today’s vinyl product manufacturing, discusses the latest information about the safety and sustainability of vinyl products, and presents a verification standard for responsible vinyl manufacturing.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    At their root, metal roofs and walls made from steel, copper, zinc, or aluminum have a lower environmental impact because of their ability to be recycled and reused. This course focuses on the green aspects of standing seam metal roofs, and in particular, their cool roof characteristics. Also addressed are the implications of heat islands, what constitutes construction of cool roofs/walls and how they work, some rules of thumb for understanding cool metal roofing, roof slope impacts on performance, and codes, ratings, and standards that apply to designing cool roofs/walls.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Through sustainable management, the forests of New England have had a remarkable comeback since the 1830s, with eastern white pine being the most represented softwood in these forests. This light, yet strong wood species has been used for generations and today, meets the requirements of a renewable and sustainable building material. This course reviews eastern white pine’s contribution to sustainability, its grading rules, wood products, and many applications.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour, 15 minutes ) 

    As interest in cross-laminated timber (CLT) buildings grows, the market for building enclosure products as a whole has yet to fully provide the water-resistant barriers, vapor retarders, and air barriers to optimally support the unique characteristics of wood. Furthermore, there are few building enclosure design guides specific to detailing wood-framed walls and roofs. This comprehensive course fills the gaps, providing detailed information on mass timber, building enclosure issues, the vapor-permeable technology available to address wood’s unique moisture characteristics, and a how-to guide on detailing the walls and roof of the enclosure.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Solid surface material is a durable and sustainable solution for custom architectural solutions. Explore the extensive design possibilities of this nonporous, thermoformable material and review key performance characteristics and fabrication guidelines.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    This course introduces architects and specifiers to the fundamentals of radio-frequency (RF) shielding in building design, with a focus on hybrid-performance doors that provide both acoustic and RF attenuation for sensitive environments. Topics include applicable government standards, key applications, system components, and installation and testing considerations to support the effective specification of hybrid-performance doors for applications with stringent acoustic and RF shielding requirements.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour, 15 minutes ) 

    Today’s louvers not only are functional but also offer enhanced architectural design to the façade of many buildings. More than just a hole in a wall, louvers are responsible for reducing or eliminating water infiltration and offer protection from heavy storms and hurricanes. Different types of louvers and their applications are discussed in this course as well as specific terminology, AMCA/BSRIA testing procedures, and the Certified Ratings Program.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Beneficial acoustic environments are especially important in healthcare facilities as inappropriate acoustics can be damaging to patients and stressful and tiring to staff. Because a beneficial acoustic environment plays an important role in supporting health, safety, and well-being for all occupants, acoustic issues are now a key component of healthcare design guidelines. This course explores the impacts of acoustics on healthcare, outlines the relevant acoustic standards and guidelines, and describes the methods by which designers can address the issues and improve healthcare facility conditions for patients, families, and healthcare workers.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Undesirable acoustics in educational spaces adversely affect the learning and teaching processes. The impact on students’ academic achievement, social adaptation, and mental health can be profound and long lasting. This course examines the impact of different sound problems and presents solutions that create synergy between the architecture and the classroom environment to optimize student learning and engagement and teacher retention.

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  • ( ~ 15 minutes ) 

    Policies targeting the reduction of carbon emissions associated with building products require the disclosure of embodied carbon data to inform those policies and verify whether reduction targets or incentive requirements have been met. This course aims to provide a guide to collecting high-quality embodied carbon data.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour, 15 minutes ) 

    There are many kinds of resin-based coatings for metal. The type of resin used plays an important role in determining a coating's durability and physical properties. This course discusses these coatings and their application techniques. It also discusses why the coatings may deteriorate and how to measure the performance of the coatings. The role that resin-based coatings perform in cool roofs is explored along with the standards that measure the sustainability of cool roofs. This course provides the information one needs to ensure that the coated product will perform as expected and provide a durable, long-lasting finish.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    The interior design industry will play a critical role in meeting the challenges of our increasingly changing world. However, the current practice of design is flawed and becoming increasingly marginalized by standard operating procedures. Business-as-usual approaches challenge effective responses to the diverse and evolving needs of humanity. Life happens in all the spaces we create. Without design, the way we experience living and each other would be drastically different. Beyond outcomes and aesthetics, what would reframing design to consider the diversity of our modern world look like? Learn how it would impact our creative processes and representation of "good design." Join the conversation to explore and see our industry through a new lens that will change the way you see design forever.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Cooktops are manufactured and classified by construction type and method of heat energy transfer. This course reviews the operation, control, performance, and efficiency of induction cooktops in comparison to their gas and electric counterparts, and shows how induction cooktops can be incorporated into any kitchen design in residential and specialty-commercial applications such as marine, mobile, military, academic, institutional, and hospitality.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Resilient design integrates strategies that reduce vulnerability and improve long-term building performance in the face of hazards. This course examines the threat of wildfires in the wildland—urban interface (WUI) and the role that resilient design plays in protecting homes and communities, as required by the LEED® v5 Building Design and Construction rating system. Presented are the manufacturing and engineered performance of polyurethane roofing and the testing standards that govern fire-resistance classification ratings for roof coverings and assemblies. The course addresses the benefits of Class A fire-rated roofing as well as home-hardening techniques and defensible-space planning to support safer, more wildfire-resilient buildings and communities.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    This course provides a comprehensive overview of quartz surfacing as a sustainable material in contemporary design. It examines the environmental impact, safety standards, and wide-ranging applications of quartz surfacing. The course focuses on manufacturing processes, performance characteristics, and the material’s contribution to sustainability, equipping participants with the knowledge to effectively utilize quartz surfacing in residential and commercial projects.

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  • ( ~ 1 hour ) 

    Daylight is an essential part of our health and well-being, but it needs management. Shading strives to maximize daylight without compromising building occupant comfort and well-being. This course explores the role daylight has within the built environment and its impact on occupants and energy usage, with a focus on how to better specify shadecloth based on factors such as project type, solar optical properties, shadecloth composition, and environmental factors.

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 458 results.

FIRST [1-25] [26-50] [51-75] [76-100] [101-125] NEXT LAST