Properly designed, a building captures existing site resources such as light, wind, and solar radiation to provide for the comfort and needs of occupants. Passive systems work in concert with site resources to manage building energy demand through design.  This session will build upon the concepts introduced in Courses 3 and 4 and explore a holistic strategy for designing passive systems.  The AIA+2030 Online Series is an AIA and Architecture 2030 co-production. It's based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series, which was created by AIA Seattle and Architecture 2030, with support from the City of Seattle and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

A building’s envelope is the critical interface between occupant comfort and outdoor climatic conditions. High performance buildings require high performance envelopes that respond to exterior environmental impacts throughout the day and year. This course will explore design, material, and technological approaches to wall and window assemblies, from straightforward low-cost methods to advanced double skin facade applications.  The AIA+2030 Online Series is an AIA and Architecture 2030 co-production. It's based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series, which was created by AIA Seattle and Architecture 2030, with support from the City of Seattle and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

Energy efficient design embraces the climate when beneficial, and minimizes unwanted environmental conditions. In this session, we’ll explore using climate data and site characteristics to conduct climate analyses, which we can use to inform building design and lower energy loads. This will set the stage for future courses that will address specific design strategies in more detail. In this course we cover the key elements of climate analysis. We discuss climatic factors that affect both a building’s performance and occupant comfort. We also decipher the “mysterious” psychrometric chart, which allows us to consider both climate and comfort together. Finally, we explore ways in which climate affects design decisions about site and program, as well as where to look for hidden opportunities during this phase to increase efficiency. The AIA+2030 Online Series is an AIA and Architecture 2030 co-production. It's based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series, which was created by AIA Seattle and Architecture 2030, with support from the City of Seattle and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

The 2012 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code has been adopted by AHJs in many parts of the country. The 2012 IECC is a quantum leap forward in building performance and will have a significant impact on how architects and engineers work together to design high energy efficient, high performance buildings. In this course, speakers illustrate the changes in the code affecting architecture design and give an in depth look into the building science and physics behind the the changes and how they will result in significant energy reductions. They will emphasize that the process to achieve compliance must be a team effort among all members of the project early on and describe how to demonstrate compliance with the code and advantages and disadvantages for each pathway. This course is presented in collaboration with AIA Middle Tennessee, which produced the course and provided it for delivery on AIAU.  Course expires 5/22/2025

The building sector is the single largest consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gas emissions.The 2030 Challenge, adopted by the AIA, provides a path to reducing our sector’s negative impacts and reaching carbon neutral design as the standard practice. This series will inspire architects to meet the 2030 Challenge through design strategies, efficient technologies and systems, and applying renewable energy resources. The 2030 Challenge outlines a set of incremental design targets moving towards carbon neutral design. Those targets should be part of the design process from the start of the project. This course examines tools that can help set your project’s energy targets and track progress towards those goals. You'll also learn about setting targets, not just for the whole building energy use, but for energy end uses of the building, which is critical to achieving results. Finally, you'll explore how energy modeling can be used at all stages of design to verify progress towards realizing the project’s goals.    The AIA+2030 Online Series is an AIA and Architecture 2030 co-production. It's based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series, which was created by AIA Seattle and Architecture 2030, with support from the City of Seattle and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

The building sector is the single largest consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gas emissions. The 2030 Challenge, adopted by the AIA, provides a path to reducing our sector’s negative impacts and reaching carbon neutral design as the standard practice. This series will inspire architects to meet the 2030 Challenge through design strategies, efficient technologies and systems, and applying renewable energy resources. The design process is an important element in the creation of next-generation buildings that meet the 2030 Challenge targets. In the first course of the AIA+2030 Online Series, we will explore the design processes to produce high-performance and carbon neutral buildings, including the Integrative Design Process (IDP). We will explore collaborative strategies that can achieve low energy outcomes, and how these strategies can be used as a roadmap throughout the design process. In particular, we will examine defining core, early design decisions such as building form and orientation. The AIA+2030 Online Series is an AIA and Architecture 2030 co-production. It's based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series, which was created by AIA Seattle and Architecture 2030, with support from the City of Seattle and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

Accessibility is fundamental in today's architecture practice. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies not only to new construction, but also when remodeling existing facilities—and the guidelines and exceptions can be confusing. In this case-study course, we'll present real-life examples of applying the ADA during renovations. Topics to be covered include: The challenges of knowing how and when to apply the ADA to ensure accessibility compliance The difference between an alteration and an alteration of an area containing a primary function What happens if an existing building is not being altered, and what exceptions apply when an alteration occurs Course expires 1/6/2025

This course will cover the specific wording of ADA Standards Section 104.1.1 on tolerances and similar language in selected other accessibility standards and explain how they should be interpreted. It will cover what types of conditions are subject to the tolerances language and which ones are not. The panelists will discuss how they measure field conditions affecting accessibility and ADA compliance, how those measurements are critical in understanding and applying the tolerances language, and what types of field conditions affect the determination of whether a measurement is within the tolerances. This session provides architects with peer feedback on a critical but highly esoteric topic. Course expires 1/6/2025

This course takes a detailed look at setting fees, providing you with in-depth understanding of the impact of risk and the value of the services architects provide.  You will learn "top-down", "bottom-up" and 'staff level" methods for building fees, with additional discussion of creating and managing contingencies properly.   Course expires on 5/21/2026.

Accessible design is inherently challenging because it’s not a "settled science." Standards are constantly evolving—sometimes even in conflict with one another. This course will cut through the confusion. Our discussion/exploration will: Review compliance missteps and achievements in real-world scenarios Identify phases of the design process where various concerns are best addressed Help you create a clear plan for accessibility success Address questions, comments, and concerns from members like you Hear from accessibility experts and learn from the experiences of your peers in this clarifying course. Course expires on 4/19/2026.