Inverters are a modern, simple way to achieve an emergency lighting solution while minimizing maintenance costs and utilizing existing architectural fixtures for emergency purposes. This course will give the student the skills they require to design and specify inverter-based emergency lighting systems.

The building envelope has a lot of different jobs to do—from insulating the building so that it can be efficiently heated and cooled to providing air and water barriers that keep harmful moisture at bay, as well as providing the aesthetic face of the project. High performance building envelopes do all of those things extremely well. This article explores some of the latest high-performance solutions that can be used to create those high-performance envelopes.

HSW Justification:
A high-performance building envelope is necessary to create a building that is efficient and healthy. This article takes a look at how different components in the building envelope perform—giving architects the information they need to choose high-performance components that will produce a high-performing envelope.

Learning Objective 1:
Compare different types of continuous insulation in terms of the thermal performance they offer and the way they behave when exposed to water and fire.

Learning Objective 2:
Describe how insulated metal panels (IMPs) can be used on the envelope to improve building performance, create efficient and healthy interiors, and enhance design flexibility.

Learning Objective 3:
Explain how PET bottles can be upcycled into insulation creating a new product that contains recycled material and improves thermal performance of the building envelope.

Learning Objective 4:
Describe the ways that architectural metal wall systems enable architects to push the creative boundaries of their designs.

This course will explore the requirements, challenges, and best practices for achieving the Circadian Lighting Design Feature L03 in the WELL Building Standard version 2.0.

HSW Justification:
The purpose of this feature in the WELL Building Standard is to provide building occupants with an appropriate exposure to the type of light that can maintain circadian health and align their circadian rhythm with the day-night cycle. The support of the circadian system has been shown to have tremendous health benefits to the people in the space.

Learning Objective 1:
Explain the relationship between spectral power distribution (SPD) and circadian lighting.

Learning Objective 2:
Summarize the circadian lighting feature requirements in the WELL Building Standard v2.

Learning Objective 3:
Describe a few best practices that can help architects to meet this challenging circadian lighting criteria.

Designing buildings for life safety and wellness is getting easier.

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. 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.

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:

1. Identify why a “business-thinking” mindset is of utmost importance for service professionals
2. Explain best practices for implementing a metrics-oriented leadership system
3. Summarize how data-based performance management drives smarter business decisions
4. Analyze how profitability drives growth rather than being merely a result
5. Reframe your firm as a platform that enables you to achieve your business and personal goals

This course is designed to teach the history of synthetic turf, its application in water and energy conservation, pollution abatement, sustainable design, and its versatility in numerous landscaping applications and designs. Participants will become knowledgeable about synthetic turf and innovative applications that could be applied to their residential and commercial projects. The most current technological advances in the industry and the positive role synthetic turf plays in the environment.

Learning Objective 1:
Students will gain an increased awareness of the positive environmental impact of synthetic turf on water use, reduced energy demand and reduction of use of fossil fuels, reduced chemical application, and resulting reduction of water and noise pollution.

Learning Objective 2:
Students will become more informed on the newest synthetic turf material technologies available, including the use of soy based materials, as well as how the proper application of infills and proper material selection can benefit the health and safety of athletes.

Learning Objective 3:
Students will be more knowledgeable about the history and evolution of the technology and of landscaping and sports applications using synthetic turf.

Learning Objective 4:
Students will better understand the versatility of synthetic turf and its many uses in sustainable landscape design.

This course aims to familiarize you with the terminology, capabilities, and applications of operable glass walls in both interior and exterior residential settings. You will learn how operable glass walls can enhance the health, safety, and welfare of residents. Additionally, we will share ideas that you can incorporate into your current projects.

Learning Objective 1: Students will be able to explain the welfare aspect of design and product selection that enable equitable access to all, can elevate the human experience with daylight and outdoor access, and benefit the environment through sustainable building design.

Learning Objective 2: Students will be able to assess the safety aspects of incorporating product selections that protect buildings and people from harm and damage, particularly considering unexpected violence or vandalism.

Learning Objective 3: Students will be able to identify and recognize the significance of ongoing health concerns related to residential design and product selection.

Learning Objective 4: Students will be able to determine ways to incorporate the design principles as presented in case study examples into single family building projects.

High rise fires are not new to us. In fact, we have seen an increase in fire incidents in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East in the last 5-10 years that have amplified awareness on fire safety performance of taller structures. High rise buildings present a greater risk with an increased number of occupants that have a limited means of escape in the event of a fire. That is why the time element for containing a fire is so critical. Also, as we have seen in actual fires, vertical fire spread at the exterior façade can rapidly overwhelm fire fighters means of interceding the fire from ground level. As the fire accelerates and upward spread progresses, it often reaches a height beyond the reach of fire services water streams. That is why containing a fire and preventing it from spreading vertically is so critical for both occupant and first responder safety.

This course will review the importance of acoustics in architecture, discuss the fundamental principles of sound management, explore how to design interior spaces to maximize occupants’ comfort, and review emerging tools to solve for both sound and lighting. It will also focus on the standards that govern acoustic requirements for diverse applications.