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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This course aims to help educate the designer about what performance fabrics are, the content of various fabrics, how they work, and the benefits to a sustainable design in meeting and maximizing your goals of occupant health, safety, well-being, and sustainability. Windows, views, and openings in buildings present the classic battle between form and function. The designer naturally wants the building’s occupants to enjoy views and light, but the solar heat gain from these openings can wreak havoc on sustainable goals. Sophisticated and high-performing solar control fabrics can help reconcile the form and function of light, views, and sustainability.
HSW Justification:
Substantially all of this course is dedicated to a discussion of the health, safety and welfare aspects of performance fabrics through their appropriate specification, their fabrics' chemical composition, their proper use, their ability to meet safety and performance standards, and their aesthetic contribution.
Learning Objective 1:
The student will learn how to analyze shading fabrics for solar light management including energy reduction, glare and outward visibility, using published shading coefficient data.
Learning Objective 2:
The student will be able to list certification requirements for indoor air quality, anti-bacterial protection, flame retardancy, and environmental regulations.
Learning Objective 3:
The student will be able to identify fabric composition options with an emphasis on sustainable design.
Learning Objective 4:
The student will be able to apply their knowledge of performance fabric features to unique, real-world applications in healthcare, hospitality, government, business, and residential projects.
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.
Permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP) have the ability to create solid, strong surfaces for pedestrians and a range of vehicular uses, and can help maintain a site’s existing natural hydrologic function. This course discusses the goals of a PICP system and the materials used. It compares PICP with other stormwater management systems and describes the proper installation of a permeable paver system.
HSW Justification:
Permeable paver systems help prevent flooding that can contribute to injury, accidents, and property damage. Additionally, permeable paver systems properly installed help maintain more purified groundwater by providing a filter medium and detention reservoirs, reducing turbidity and pollution from runoff.
Learning Objective 1:
Students will be able to identify benefits and opportunities for using permeable pavers.
Learning Objective 2:
Students will be able to analyze the goals and criteria for using a permeable paver system.
Learning Objective 3:
Students will be able to list permeable paver materials and understand how to design different solutions
Learning Objective 4:
Students will be able to evaluate and compare permeable pavers to other traditional stormwater solutions.
Learning Objective 5:
Students will understand different installation procedures for permeable pavers.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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There is never a cost to take a course or earn a certificate. Registration takes just a couple minutes – you only have to do it once to enroll in any course, at any time in the future – look over the course catalog for each of our programs, just click on a couple of course descriptions that look interesting to you to add them to your wish list, and start watching some really great videos.
You will also enjoy browsing the Video Vault, our video library of building and construction videos from many of the manufacturers and organizations that sponsor courses on TCA. Courses are not permitted to feature competitive product distinctions between manufacturers, except in very broad terms, so these additional videos get into branded product details, installation, safety, materials and other details of the brands.
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