In this course, you will learn about strategies for supplying lab vacuum in STEM facilities. Relative strengths and weaknesses are considered. Emphasis is placed on the specification, design, and installation of local vacuum networks. Brief case studies are used to demonstrate the suitability of local vacuum networks for a wide range of project types—renovation and new construction; teaching labs and research labs; and single labs to entire lab buildings.

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

The design of behavioral healthcare facilities should address the therapeutic and safety needs of patients and staff while meeting the applicable codes and regulations. Reviewed in this course are ligature-resistant products developed for patient rooms and bathrooms that strike the balance between providing the safest design solutions while creating a noninstitutional environment.

Risks of self harm and suicide are inherent in behavioral health facilities. The common areas for concern in psychiatric inpatient units are ligature attachment points that present a hanging risk. In this course we review the evolution of patient safety hardware with a focus on ligature-resistant hardware designed to prevent the opportunity for self harm.

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

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

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.

Healthcare environments require high-performance, durable, and sustainable materials to meet the ever-increasing demands for the health and safety of patients and staff. Vinyl provides a reliable and proven solution that supports infection control measures, the need for long-lasting products, and the replacement of infrastructure that supports health and wellness, clean water, reduced carbon footprint, and long product service life. Vinyl is a material of choice for interiors as well as the core and shell of healthcare buildings. Chemistry and formulations are part of successful product performance; utilizing life cycle approaches to product selection, meeting owner project requirements, and supporting criteria within green building certifications are all part of the vinyl story.

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

Turnstiles to control employee and visitor access help to enhance safety and security in a wide variety of applications, from corporate offices to healthcare facilities to distribution warehouses. This course presents the benefits and performance features of optical, full-height, and waist-high turnstiles and reviews the many aesthetic and customization options available to install a turnstile system that meets the needs of any facility.

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

Good acoustic and aesthetic environments are important to the health, safety, comfort, satisfaction, productivity, and general well-being of all building users. This course outlines the benefits of and methodologies for simultaneously creating both with wall and ceiling acoustic treatments. The highly illustrated course includes detailed descriptions of the many acoustic wall and ceiling treatment options available, as well as sample installations.

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

Infrared patio heaters are the best method of increasing comfort for outdoor entertaining areas of any size. There are many variables in creating ambient warmth, as both the effectiveness and the cost of heating an outdoor space greatly depend on the heating option that is selected and the way it is designed. This course looks at the outdoor heating options that are available with a focus on the types, color choices, mounting methods, and control options of electric infrared heaters, including a review of the steps that are required to select the best solution.

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

The cleanliness of rooms in healthcare facilities is critical in preventing patients from contracting life-threatening infections. Along with proper hand hygiene, frequent privacy or cubicle curtain changes help prevent the spread of healthcare associated infections (HAIs). This course examines the social, economic, and operational impact HAIs have on a healthcare organization and explains why removable curtain systems make it easier to keep privacy curtains clear of dangerous pathogens and protect the physical health of the building users.

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

Architectural laminated glass has become an increasingly desired material for indoor and outdoor projects, and digital imagery is a popular method of incorporating design elements. This course describes how vector graphics can be used in architectural design, what vector graphics are, and how they differ from raster images. It also examines in detail how vector graphics are used in architectural laminated glass.

Acrylic solid surface is an attractive design solution, delivering enhanced aesthetics combined with superior performance properties. This course compares the characteristics of 100% acrylic solid surface to other surface materials and reviews the driving factors that contribute to its growing role in sustainable design strategies. Also discussed are the manufacturing, fabricating, and thermoforming processes of acrylic solid surface and the related green standards and certification programs.

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.

Today—as climate change, population growth, and record droughts present an unprecedented strain on our water supply—conservation technology is building awareness to the importance of having the most water efficient fixtures in a home or business. This course recognizes the flush toilet as one of the biggest users of water and discusses how toilet design is pushing flush technology to develop ways for homes and commercial buildings to conserve water without sacrificing the performance of the toilet. Industry testing protocols and the water-saving capabilities of different technologies are evaluated.

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

The healthcare industry is undergoing a paradigm shift, from sick-care to health-care. This course reviews the forces that are fundamentally changing the patient care strategy, including a summary of how those changes are being reflected in the demands placed on the built environments where that care is being delivered. The course concludes with a reflection on how the surfaces specified in the healthcare built environment can help or hinder the overall organizational effort to deliver the care providers desire and patients deserve.

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

This course focuses on barrier free shower design and installation. Following a brief review of the reasons, benefits, and legal requirements for barrier free showers it summarizes the features and attributes of shower assemblies, relevant industry standards, waterproofing membranes and drains, best practices, installation methodology, installation tips and techniques, and walk/roll in showers. It includes a review of the design considerations and advice for the creation of perfectly performing showers which follow the latest design trends.

Bathing facility code compliance does not have to result in an institutional look. Assisted living and healthcare facilities, hospitality installations, universities, multifamily buildings, and large commercial projects all have unique demands, and most require barrier-free, ADA, UFAS, ANSI, and California Title 24 compliant bathing and showering facilities. This course provides an overview of intelligent design solutions that simultaneously address these code requirements and the aesthetic and functional demands of each situation.

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

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are safe, high-performing light sources that outperform other illumination technologies in a broadening portfolio of applications. Retrofitting existing lighting with LEDs is a cost-effective way to reduce building energy use and improve the quality of the lighting system. This course explores the benefits of an LED retrofit to the building owner and the occupants, identifies different retrofit strategies, and explains how to plan an upgrade to energy-efficient lighting.

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

In order to address tile installation difficulties effectively and avoid failures, designers and specifiers must maintain full awareness of current knowledge, practices, and products. This course reviews potentially problematic contemporary tile installation issues along with the industry guidance, methodologies, and products available to address them.

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.

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

 In order to download this course, a USD $35.00 fee must be paid.

The first course of this series from the Carbon Leadership Forum provides a high-level overview of embodied carbon: how it is defined, its significance in the global climate crisis, and how it is impacted by the construction industry. In addition, the course examines procurement policies as an embodied carbon reduction strategy—in particular, the Buy Clean policies, their uptake in the US, and their key elements.

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

All vapor retarders (VRs) are air barriers (ABs), but not all ABs are VRs. Wait, what? How can that be? This presentation provides the practical side to the AB/VR discussion and identifies common VRs and ABs, how they're installed, and why AB/VR approaches vary according to the type of construction and building use.

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.

People experience color in different ways and in different settings; in particular, people in healthcare settings who are vulnerable, healing, or aging are influenced by colors used in interior design. This course presents an overview of color and how we perceive it, as well as some of the research findings on color’s effects on psychological, emotional, and physical health. Designers will also learn how color can enhance safety, orientation, and navigation, and the role that non-SBR rubber can play in offering optimal flooring solutions for healthcare institutions.

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

Floor coating systems are designed to protect surfaces in many different service environments. A coating's ability to increase durability, mitigate abrasion, and utilize antislip properties to improve occupant safety is critical in today's building climate. This course reviews coating system basics, including surface preparation and proper installation techniques. Selection criteria for floor coating systems in various applications are also discussed.