Upholding ethical obligations to clients is the cornerstone of a successful architecture practice. This essential course will reinforce your ethics knowledge and skills, helping you effectively navigate ethical dilemmas and prioritize client interests.  Dive into the foundations of client-professional relationships with a focus on the importance of ethical standards and legal requirements and steering clear of conflicts of personal gain. Gain valuable insights into identifying, disclosing, and managing conflicts of interest, ensuring decisions are made professionally and without bias. Build strategies to apply with confidence in your daily practice, including communicating effectively, building trust, ensuring project success, and maintaining the integrity of the architect-client relationship. With a focus on the AIA Code of Ethics, you’ll learn how to align your communication strategies with ethical guidelines—from project initiation to completion—while maintaining transparency and confidentiality. Through analysis of a real-life scenario, you’ll develop the tools to uphold your ethical obligations—making decisions that protect client interests and reinforce the trust and integrity of the profession. This course was developed in close collaboration with members of the National Ethics Council. Course expires 06/30/2027

Take a deep dive into architectural ethics—focusing on professionalism, integrity, and competence—in this interactive course examining the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Gain greater awareness and understanding of how AIA members are committed to the highest standards of practice and how the code guides their conduct in fulfilling those obligations. Plus, learn how the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct can assist in attaining individual and organizational objectives while safeguarding the public's health, safety, and welfare. Course expires: 01/16/2027

Designing clinical laboratories requires both operational insight and architectural strategy to create safe, flexible, and efficient spaces. This course will equip you with the essential knowledge and tools to translate benchmarking data and operational workflows into effective clinical lab design solutions.  Explore how space allocation, planning ratios, clinical lab benchmarks, and operational workflows establish a foundation for programming and design. Learn to optimize your design layout by aligning with best practices, accommodating hazardous materials, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Examine real-world case studies to gain practical insights for designing clinical labs that optimize hospital performance and improve patient outcomes.  

The ADA Standards for Accessible Design can seem like a complex web. In this course, you'll review case studies and detailed real-life examples to help you navigate ADA compliance with confidence. Facilitated by an architect and accessibility expert with an intimate understanding of the intent and the letter of the ADA, you'll learn to identify and avoid common errors, and provide guidance on designing for contractor and client success. Return to your firm equipped with valuable strategies that ensure your future projects are built right the first time. Course expires on 3/18/2027.

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

Delve into the principles, challenges, and successes of designing net-zero energy educational buildings by exploring two award-winning case studies: the Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center in Cape Cod and Bard High School Early College. Gain insights into the strategies and innovations that allowed these projects to achieve net-zero energy goals while fulfilling educational needs. This course is ideal for architects, designers, and professionals interested in sustainable design and energy-efficient building practices. This course was recorded live on January 28, 2025.

This intermediate to advanced-level course delves into the technical design implications of recent energy efficiency codes—focusing on the building envelope’s critical role in enhancing thermal performance and occupant health, safety, and welfare. Explore strategies to meet increasingly stringent energy codes, including how to quantify and mitigate heat loss through thermal bridges using the Building Envelope Thermal Bridging Guide. Special emphasis will be placed on addressing the unique challenges of high-rise buildings with traditional unitized glazing systems, where the vertical enclosure area greatly exceeds the horizontal area. Gain the tools and insights needed to improve your material choices, design strategies, and construction practices to achieve optimal thermal performance.  This course was recorded live on February 4, 2025.

Historically, people experiencing disability have been segregated and excluded from mainstream spaces. With a majority presence of non-disabled participants in design teams, there’s often a lack of inclusive practices that address the perspectives of those with varied sensory abilities. Through a case study presentation of the Life Skills Training Center at the Washington State School for the Blind, participants will gain practical insights and actionable strategies to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of the design process and the resulting decisions forming the built environment.   This session was recorded live on June 10, 2025.