Designing for Durability in High-Use Spaces: Abuse and Impact Resistant Gypsum Systems

AIAU25-NG01

Included in subscription

1 LU|HSW

Live course date: 11/19/2025 | 03:00 PM

Member Price

Non-member Price

Description

Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | 3-4pm EST

In high-traffic, high-impact environments like schools, hospitals, civic centers, hospitality, and university campuses, wall durability is essential to long-term performance and occupant safety. This course introduces architects to the distinctions between abuse-resistant and impact-resistant gypsum board systems, highlighting their relevance in demanding building types. Participants will explore product classifications, ASTM performance standards, and real-world applications that help preserve interior wall integrity, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance occupant protection. Whether designing for public corridors, patient rooms, classrooms, or other high-use spaces, attendees will gain the knowledge to specify the right gypsum board solutions for resilient, code-compliant interiors.

Learning Objectives

check

Identify and evaluate gypsum board solutions that enhance durability, occupant safety, and welfare in high-use environments.

check

Understand the distinctions between abuse-resistant and impact-resistant gypsum boards, including their compositions, performance attributes, and appropriate applications for minimizing surface damage and cavity penetration.

check

Apply ASTM C1629 testing standards and classification systems to assess product suitability and ensure code-compliant, resilient interior wall design.

check

Select and specify gypsum board products for critical locations within buildings, such as corridors, patient rooms, classrooms, guest areas, and other high-traffic spaces, to protect occupants, reduce maintenance, and maintain the integrity of interior partitions over time.

This free live course is brought to you through a partnership with National Gypsum Company. By registering for this course, you grant AIA permission to share your name and email address with National Gypsum Company.

Instructors

Thad Goodman

FCSI, CDT, CCPR, LEED Green Associate

Thad Goodman serves as the Construction Design Manager for National Gypsum Company, where he leads educational outreach on gypsum products and systems to architects across the Midwest. Thad is a seasoned presenter, having conducted hands-on workshops at national trade shows and appeared on programs such as Bob Vila’s Home Again and HGTV. His expertise in architectural education includes serving as a “Train the Trainer” for AIA presentations at two separate companies, helping elevate the delivery and impact of continuing education programs.

View details

Scott Hughes

CSI, CDT, LEED GA

Scott Hughes has been the Construction Design Manger for National Gypsum Company since 2006, promoting architecturally specified products in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Scott’s primary responsibilities are architectural specifications and presenting AIA certified lunch-and-learn Programs. Scott has been in the building products industry for 28 years as an architectural sales representative in both the roofing and gypsum industry.

View details

Similar courses

card_membership

Included in subscription

Deconstructivist Zoning: The Sixth Generation of Zoning in America

A century of constructing zoning laws in America has resulted in illogical, disconnected, and homogenous built environments that are not environmentally or economically sustainable. Yet we keep hoping that doing much of the same will yield different results. This course examines how deconstructing zoning leads to more economically sustainable development outcomes. Produced in partnership with AIA|DC Course expires 10/17/2026

1.50 LU|HSW

$35

Architect$35

Member Price

$50

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 4.31

card_membership

Included in subscription

Secret Cities

Hear about K-25, the "Queen Marys", and other scientific and military buildings of the Manhattan Project. G. Martin Moeller, Jr., curator of the exhibition Secret Cities, discusses how extraordinary achievements in architecture and engineering yielded the world's largest building (K-25) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, when it was completed in 1944 and the 800-foot-long chemical separation plants (Queen Marys) of Hanford, Washington. Provided by The National Building Museum Course expires on 09/13/2026.

1.50 LU

$35

Architect$35

Member Price

$50

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 4.56

card_membership

Included in subscription

Implementing Justice in the Built Environment

Centering justice means different things to different people, depending on context and on their definition of justice. For architects, justice in the built environment encompasses history and practices that can be unrecognized and therefore difficult to notice and name. For clients and communities, justice may be understood through lived experience and values that are recent or continued from their ancestors. This course will offer participants frameworks for examining their own practices and broaden their capacity to center justice in ways that are most likely to be effective. The research team will share what they learned while writing the Justice in the Built Environment supplement after completing the AIA Guides for Equitable Practice and suggest ways they think practitioners can use the actions, prompts, and worksheets to center justice with their clients and community partners. Download the Guides for Equitable Practice Course expires 2/13/2026

1.00 LU

$25

Architect$25

Member Price

$40

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 4.29

card_membership

Included in subscription

Healthy Futures: Plenary Session

This plenary will present the latest research on designing for heath, both within healthcare environments and in a wider urban setting. Healthcare morphologies and research on green space will be explored as well as research discoveries occurring in practice. Course expires 1/25/2026

1.00 LU|HSW

$30

Architect$30

Member Price

$45

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 2.50

card_membership

Included in subscription

Acts of Creation: Balancing Total Cost of Ownership with Joy

What happens in planning and design impacts what happens in the facility life cycle and vice versa. Unfortunately, project life cycle factors are overlooked when the project team has a myopic attitude to capital planning only putting first cost front and center. Brushing TCO aside during planning and design leads to costly waste and unintended consequences. Responsible Owners envisage the long-term impact of ROI on their bottom line and strive to minimize TCO within their business model. Accountable Architects strive to meet the Owner’s project requirements by providing solutions with considerations to "cradle to grave” and TCO assessments. The TCO is a crucial factor in calculating the ROI, for efficiency and for value creation. A TCO strategy is an approach to delivering a sustainable project. Course expires 01/17/2026

1.5 LU|HSW

$35

Architect$35

Member Price

$50

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 3.00

card_membership

Included in subscription

Trends and Capital Strategies to Deliver the Future of Care

Healthcare institutions are rethinking capital planning strategies and the future of care, as a reaction from the COVID pandemic and continued financial strain. These changes are expected to be permanent. In a study of over 100 healthcare engineering professionals, the importance of community trends and agility/flexibility of spaces are priorities. The future of project delivery for healthcare spaces requires strategic alignment of health systems, real estate developers, design professionals, and builders. Chantily Malibago, Director of Healthcare Development with Mortenson, presents healthcare research and market trends on the impact of the built environment and project delivery. Course expires 01/25/2026

1.00 LU

$30

Architect$30

Member Price

$45

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 5.00

card_membership

Included in subscription

An Integrated Approach to Planning the New Austin State Hospital

How do you successfully invest nearly $300 million in a master plan for a state psychiatric campus in the middle of a rapidly developing urban community? This session will look at how the redevelopment of the former Austin State Hospital campus provides an opportunity for academic engagement in the clinical process, implements a continuum of care, and offers opportunities for mental health partnerships in the heart of Austin, Texas. This project involved collaboration between the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, and a variety of design professionals and community advocates to master plan and execute on the construction of the new 240-adult bed Austin State Hospital. This panel is moderated by Nick Faust. This session was recorded live on March 21, 2023.

1.00 LU|HSW

$30

Architect$30

Member Price

$45

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 4.71

card_membership

Included in subscription

Healthy Futures: Special Focus Session

This session will delve into tools and techniques in healthcare design to improve outcomes and plan for resilience. Using artificial intelligence to evaluate and discover scenarios for preventative design in healthcare spaces will be uncovered as well as material health in healthcare settings. Using nature to increase patient outcomes will also be explored, including ongoing research with human subjects in a healthcare setting. Course expires 1/25/2026

1.00 LU|HSW

$25

Architect$25

Member Price

$40

Non-member Price

Learn more chevron_right 5.00