This course will cover introductory level descriptions of various sectional door styles and how they impact energy efficiency, maximize ambient light, add to design aesthetics. Additionally, applicable varieties of industrial doors will also be included.

HSW Justification: Understanding upward acting door and safety device specification and installation contribute to health, safety and welfare of building occupants, including infants, children and the elderly, by helping avoid entrapment, injury, or exposure to exhaust gasses. Additionally, proper installation helps assure comfort control, energy efficiency and better design aesthetics.

Learning Objective 1: Students will be able to recognize and differentiate various types of sectional and industrial doors, with a focus on selecting door types that enhance occupant safety, support energy efficiency, and improve building design aesthetics for a healthier environment.

Learning Objective 2: Students will learn to specify upward-acting doors, prioritizing occupant health and safety by understanding how door selection impacts injury prevention, exhaust gas exposure, and energy conservation, while also enhancing natural light and aesthetic integration.

Learning Objective 3: Students will gain skills in assessing mounting conditions, headroom and side room requirements, and types of lifts and operators, with particular attention to how these considerations affect safety, mechanical reliability, and occupant welfare.

This course will explore the cutting-edge union of design and technology by delving into parametric design and its symbiosis with digital fabrication, and how the vision is best achieved via vertically-integrated, technology-forward product manufacturers. We will also discuss strategies for effective collaboration with these manufacturers throughout the architectural design process.

Learning Objective 1: Students will learn about the use of parametric design in architecture, including its definition, history and current state.

Learning Objective 2: Students will learn about the marriage between parametric design and digital fabrication.

Learning Objective 3: Students will understand why vertical integration is an important operating model for product manufacturers looking to leverage parametric design.

Learning Objective 4: Students will understand how to partner with vertical manufacturers throughout the architectural design process and learn the advantages of this digital collaborative approach.

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.

The building envelope separates the conditioned interior space from the environmental elements of the great outdoors, and this course explores a few solutions to equip the building envelope to defend the interior from nature's onslaughts, manage moisture, improve thermal performance, and admit daylight without glare.

HSW Justification:
Improper use of vapor barriers is one of the leading causes of moisture-related issues in buildings today. Those moisture related issues can include the growth of mold and mildew, which compromises the quality of the indoor environment and can even cause structural damage. Designing a proper air barrier system is crucial to moisture protection and protecting the thermal performance of the original design. This article provides best practices for designing an air barrier system that will function properly. We also discuss some solutions that can improve the functionality of the building envelope’s thermal performance. The course explores a translucent and an opaque solution that improve the thermal performance of the envelope, while offering additional benefits. Translucent wall panels allow diffuse, glare-free daylight into an interior, without compromising thermal efficiency at the opening and precast structural panels offer code-exceeding thermal performance and structural load-bearing capabilities.

Learning Objective 1:
Students will be able to explain why controlling air leakage in the building envelope is crucial to safeguarding the quality of the interior environment and protecting the energy efficiency of the building.

Learning Objective 2:
Students will learn to apply best practices to design an air barrier system that will effectively manage moisture intrusion and avoid moisture-related issues in the building envelope.

Learning Objective 3:
Students will be able to describe how translucent daylight panels allow daylight into the interior, mitigate glare and provide better thermal performance than many other glazing solutions.

Learning Objective 4:
Students will learn to use structural precast concrete panels to reduce the amount of perimeter steel needed on a project, while achieving and exceeding code-compliant thermal performance.

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:

1. Define elements of dynamic lighting.
2. Learn the uses of dynamic lighting.
3. See illustrations of how to control dynamic lighting.
4. Become aware of the regulations, standards, and customer requests that are driving adoption.

Beauty, functionality, and wellness-enhancing can co-exist in design, with the right products. This article explores solutions that help architects achieve these important multi-benefits. Pavers that create beautiful outdoor spaces that are easy to maintain. Skylights that allow daylight and fresh air into the interior. Underlayment that improves acoustics and sound management, while protecting the integrity of the interior air quality. Each improves the functionality of the space and the wellness of the people in the built environment.

NFPA 70, the national electrical code details 2 different types of Emergency Lighting Control Devices—devices that guarantee that life safety lighting will be on at desired illumination levels in the event of an emergency. This course will help mitigate the confusion regarding the specification of these devices and understand their applications in the real world.

Prerequisite Knowledge: Knowledge of life safety systems, particularly a high-level understanding of the purpose of emergency lighting inverters and generators. In particular, ISO-1001/ISO-1002 would be a perfect lead into this course.

HSW Justification: This deals with life safety, the safe egress, and illumination of buildings in the event of an emergency.

Learning Objective 1: Understand the background technology where ALCR and BCELTS devices need to be deployed.

Learning Objective 2: Learn the difference between the technologies and reviews how they sit within one-line diagrams.

Learning Objective 3: Understand some of the real world tradeoffs between the device types as it relates to wiring, proximity and ease of testing.

Learning Objective 4: Understand the integration of lighting controls with the different types of ELCDs and review some tricks for how to reduce costs in systems.

The pattern map evaluates a pattern on two key elements: structure and nature. This course explains why these two elements affect how we recognize and respond to patterns and examines ways to bridge architecture and nature by using architectural panel systems with patterned openings, and provide a sense of space, privacy, shade, or camouflage with cladding, screens, or railings.

HSW Justification: Architectural use of patterns plays a vital role in enhancing the Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) in of our built environments. Our mental well-being, for example, can be positively impacted through organic biophilic geometries that connect occupants to nature to positively affect mood and reduce stress, while geometric or crystalline patterns create the dynamic visual interest necessary for effective way-finding elements to prevent accidents and ensure safer navigation. Some patterns can also be visually transparent while others act as camouflage which can be an important consideration for surface treatment in circulation areas. From a macro perspective, patterns can promote inclusivity and community engagement, while enriching their overall user experience.

Learning Objective 1: Students will learn to compare patterns on a pattern map and explore how different geometries are perceived and processed in the mind of the user, how they contribute to issues affecting safety, and even encourage engagement in built environments.

Learning Objective 2: Students will learn to explain how different characteristics and application of a pattern’s functionality can impact on how we perceive visual space to improve safety and social interaction, as well as contribute to positive mental health.

Learning Objective 3: Students will learn the importance of selecting the most appropriate openness factor and base material for the given project objectives, for example, how to enhance natural light, improve air quality, and create a welcoming atmosphere in built environments.

Learning Objective 4: Students will learn how to apply HSW Best Practices to provide privacy, facade screening, camouflage, shade, or railings with architectural panels with patterned openings to best create a positive user experience.

This course is designed to introduce the architect to egress marking systems that are used for ordinary way finding and building evacuation in emergency situations. These signage systems are meant to be selected and installed according to specific standards established by building codes. Additionally, once installed, these systems must be tested to assure their efficacy in case of an emergency. How to select and specify the appropriate markers and the technological solutions available, as well as testing methods, will all be covered in this course.

HSW Justification:
Building exit markings are critical to the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants during emergency situations.

Learning Objective 1:
When this course is complete the student will will understand egress signage obligations as imposed through building codes and standards.

Learning Objective 2:
The student will further understand the various technologies available to address those signage codes and standards.

Learning Objective 3:
And, the student will learn what the requirements are to conduct on-going testing of egress systems after installation.

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