This is your go-to source for free AIA-approved continuing education for architects. Plus, almost all our courses are delivered in streaming HD video. Registration is fast and easy, just click on Login/Register above. Then, you can enroll in any of our courses found in any of our programs with a single click. Our courses meet or exceed NCARB's high standards for state board license renewal. AIA member? Your credit will be reported to AIA for you.
Neuroarchitecture is a design discipline that seeks to incorporate neuroscience into design to augment the built environment’s positive influence on the emotional and physical health of people.
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Architecture tells us a great deal about society. In fact, glass and glazing are used to blur the lines between inside and out, helping elevate performance and the experiences of people. Yet while humans can use environmental cues to identify glass as a barrier, there is growing realization that birds cannot. The solution is bird-friendly glass that delivers on performance, energy efficiency and the needs of people. This course from Guardian Glass is intended to provide the basis for a better understanding of how to recognize issues affecting the bird population while learning about best practices and design fundamentals for smarter, safer buildings.
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As architects and clients alike demand the creation of what’s next, design teams rely on new product systems and solutions to help them push the boundaries of form and function. This article profiles a few solutions that enable architects to create distinct building envelopes that don’t sacrifice on the efficient performance or sustainable design considerations that also occupy prominent spots on almost every client’s wish list.
HSW Justification:
This article explores solutions that enable architects to deliver a desired aesthetic that also performs efficiently and offers sustainable design benefits. For example, thermal barriers in the aluminum framing that hold the glazing in place allows architects to complete historic renovation projects that exceed thermal performance targets, without compromising the integrity of the historical aesthetic. Composite metal panel systems that support very unique applications and creative demands from design teams can also offer top-tier performance in terms of fire-, water-, and impact-resistance. Extruded aluminum trim beautifully meshes different types of exterior cladding, while helping the envelope to better manage moisture.
Learning Objective 1:
Explain how incorporating thermal barriers into the aluminum framing in the fenestration of the Crosstown Concourse helped the project become the world’s largest LEED Platinum historic rehabilitation project, while maintaining the integrity of its historic aesthetic.
Learning Objective 2:
Specify a composite metal panel system that offers the resistance to fire, water, and impact best-suited to the needs of a particular project.
Learning Objective 3:
List the aesthetic and sustainability-related benefits of specifying extruded aluminum trim on an exterior cladding.
Learning Objective 4:
Describe how the different finishes of precast concrete used in the façade of the Ale Asylum were reverse engineered to perfectly match the concept originally pitched and accepted by the city.
Dynamic lighting, also known as tunable, color-changing, and circadian lighting, is being adopted and employed in current lighting designs. There are many studies showing the benefits of dynamic lighting in built environments. Early adopters have seeded the market and several lighting manufacturers now employ some level of Dynamic Lighting. This course is intended to explore what Dynamic Lighting is, how it works in commercial luminaires, how to control it, and where the lighting community is being directed by standards, regulation, and voice of the customer.
At the end of this course, participants will learn:
In this session, we will learn the fundamentals of all successful AE firms and provide the basis for making well-grounded business decisions. We will learn how firms can transition from being professionals providing services, to highly tuned businesses that can identify the needs of the marketplace and create services and products that are appropriately priced and yield consistent and greater profits.
Rather than seeking out new projects that merely build upon your current skills, you will start from a business-thinking mindset, where processes that are critical to building a thriving firm are examined and constituted in your firm. We will explore the importance of data within an architect firm and demonstrate how careful collection and interpretation can lead your firm into more exciting and profitable territory.
Following are the course's Learning Objectives:
Designing with green roofs affords design professionals opportunities to plan projects with exciting new elements, added value, and significant, tangible benefits, thereby enhancing the built environment with newly-created landscapes. This course examines green roof systems, including the types, benefits, components, and related standards. It also reviews a number of installations that demonstrate these principles.
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Modern open spaces create a unique set of challenges when it comes to acoustics, particularly because many new buildings are designed with open plans and open plenums. Fortunately, there are innovative acoustic systems on the market that are designed to integrate with open plenums that can help to overcome these challenges. This course will discuss customizable acoustical solutions for open plenum design, including baffles, beams, clouds, and acoustical wall panels, which are available in a variety of materials like metal, wood, fiberglass, and felt. The course will explore the importance of acoustical design and how these open plenum ceiling systems can transform a space aesthetically while maximizing acoustics.
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Designing buildings for life safety and wellness is getting easier.
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Solar shading devices, while available in numerous weaves, textures, and colors, go beyond contributing to the aesthetics of a space. Specified correctly, solar shading devices can maximize daylighting benefits and contribute to occupant well-being, productivity, and engagement, while mitigating the detrimental effects of UV rays and glare.
Learning Objective 1:
Students will understand the benefits daylighting, including the psychological and physiological well-being of occupants, as well as its drawbacks, such as glare and solar heat gain
Learning Objective 2:
Students will become familiar with the types of solar shading fabrics available for use in commercial settings and their components, including operating systems, weave, color, and openness factor, and the ways in which these contribute to the control of daylighting.
Learning Objective 3:
Students will explore the benefits of solar shading devices that extend beyond light management, such as sound mitigation, sustainability, and antimicrobial properties.
Learning Objective 4:
Students will determine how to select the right fabric for an application, taking into account aesthetics and room conditions
This course will teach students how to recognize non-compliant rooftop equipment support scenarios and will discuss their impact on safety and the public health, general welfare, and property value.
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