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.

Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? In this interactive course, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the core leadership principles needed to become an effective leader in any organization. Explore various leadership styles, including autocratic, democratic, transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire, and discover the situations when each style is most suitable. You'll also learn the key elements for creating a leadership vision statement that motivates and drives your team and/or organization. Get actionable insights to enhance your leadership skills with six proven practices to propel you toward becoming a more effective leader. Whether you're a seasoned leader seeking to refine your abilities or an aspiring leader ready to take your first step, this course will empower you to become a more confident leader capable of inspiring, motivating, and driving positive change. Unlock your potential on your path to leadership excellence.

There are a number of materials selection tools on the market, all designed to help you make healthier project and product decisions. But how do you choose? This course shows you how. You’ll learn about tools in the four categories—inventory, screening, assessment, and optimization—including what you can expect to find in any tool in specific category. In the last section of the course you’ll get practical advice for using the tools to make decisions, influence stakeholders, and manage risk. This course is sponsored by CertainTeed

Material selection is a core service provided by architects, but that process is far from simple. The Materials Certificate Program untangles the complexities of that process in five essential courses. The key? Materials transparency. When you know everything you can about the materials you use, you’re able to make the best product decisions for projects, people, and the environment. The courses cover different types of impacts, and best practices for reducing these impacts, from industry-best instructors. Take all five courses and earn a certificate! This series is sponsored by CertainTeed

You wouldn’t buy a car without checking its gas mileage, so why wouldn’t you want to know what goes into your building? In this course, you’ll learn about the potential health and environmental impacts of the products that go into our buildings. You’ll also look at key drivers pushing transparency in the marketplace including client demand and green rating systems. This course is sponsored by CertainTeed

Through detailed data analysis, we will examine the latest Compensation Trends and Employee Benefits, shedding light on salaries for architectural positions and recent graduates at the national level. Discover which employee benefits and diversity and equity initiatives play a pivotal role in talent recruitment and retention, equipping you with strategies to foster a competitive edge in the industry. As part of this exploration, we will review a comprehensive assessment of the application of contemporary workplace policies in the architecture profession to improve work-life balance and well-being. Finally, we will discuss how the report and accompanying calculator can be used to engage your staff to understand the tangible and intangible value that you as an employer provide to your employees in exchange for work. View the 2023 AIA Compensation & Benefits Report here. Course expires 8/27/2026 This session was recorded live on November 2, 2023.

Medical respite care is defined as acute and post-acute care for people experiencing homelessness who are too ill or frail to recover from a physical illness or injury on the streets, but who are not ill enough to be in a hospital. Every medical respite care program shares the same fundamental elements: a short-term, safe place to stay, allowing people experiencing homelessness an opportunity to rest, recover, and heal in a safe environment while accessing medical care and supportive services. These programs are a critical opportunity to provide safety and opportunity to connect with providers and services to address the many factors contributing to a person’s experience of homelessness. To attend to the safety and healing of end users, programs would do well to employ intentional, trauma-informed, human-centered design approaches that support the mental and physical health needs presented by this population. Dignified Design is one such approach that prioritizes the needs of individuals accessing and delivering services in medical respite settings through a clear framework of principles and practices. This webinar will provide an overview of medical respite programs, their role in communities, and how the field of architecture can contribute to these programs through a Dignified Design approach, which centers the needs of people experiencing homelessness. This session was recorded live on August 12, 2025.

An architect’s journey, starting in school, through licensure, and into practice, can be rewarding and simultaneously challenging. The culture of work in architecture sets a high bar for performance standards. It is a creative industry that requires rigorous attention to detail while upholding the health, safety, and welfare of people in the built environment. For students, emerging professionals, women, and BIPOC individuals, there is mounting pressure to excel, resulting in dedicated action to prevent extreme burnout, exhaustion, and mental fatigue. Join this group of panelists who will have an open and honest dialogue on mental health and well-being and will talk about opportunities for improvement and examples of firm leaders leading within their firms.

Owners and planners are seeking innovative ways to transform service delivery to address worldwide challenges such as declining birth rates, geopolitical issues, employee safety, and natural disasters. We will specifically address the five Ds (Dirty, Dull, Dangerous, Difficult and Dear) as key qualifiers to consider logistics automation. In this session, we will discuss a variety of decision factors such as feasibility, practicality, safety considerations, space requirements, & engineering considerations for various automation alternatives within different operating environments. Business case evaluation being one of the first steps in understanding the overall decision factors that will help all parties involved understand how it impacts their function. This seminar will go over the overall evaluation process including information gathering, user input, cultural and operational factors. Part of our case studies will involve presentation of empirical data driving the decision process. Considering and implementing logistics automation presents challenges in project planning, space programming and regulatory compliance. We will present practical solutions that have been tried and tested in Healthcare Facilities Planning arena. Hosted by the Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH). Course expires 10/24/2026

Join the AIA Interfaith Design Knowledge Community’s Knowledge and Resource Committee for a presentation by John White, AIA, emeritus professor Texas Tech University, concerning his documentation and preservation work on the San Antonio Missions in San Antonio, Texas. As the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas, this lecture will discuss the important history and significance of five mission locations: Mission Nuestra Señora de Acuña, Mission San Francisco de la Espada, Mission San Antonio de Valero, Mission San Francisco Xavier de Najera Centennial Marker, and Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo. White will also present his process of documentation of the sites through the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) and how this has informed ongoing preservation efforts. Course expires 07/29/2026 This session was recorded live on August 9, 2023.

Winner of the 2023 AIA Architecture Firm Award, Mithun is an interdisciplinary collaborative of designers, constantly evolving to address the critical challenges of our future. The practice is driven by a shared mission, Design for Positive Change, that is reflected in the firm’s structure, culture, and award-winning body of work. Learn about the evolution of the practice, now in its fourth and fifth generation of leadership, and significant work, both built and on-the-boards, nationwide. Presented in partnership with AIA Colorado.  

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.

Strengthen your ability to integrate resilience into practice by strategically applying codes, regulations, and rating systems. As climate-related hazards increase, minimum code compliance is no longer sufficient. This course explores the current regulatory landscape, identifies gaps in conventional approaches, and empowers licensed architects and design professionals to make informed, proactive decisions across all project phases—from pre-design to construction administration. Through practical examples, case studies, and analysis of existing and emerging standards, you’ll gain the tools to advocate for smarter land use, apply hazard mitigation codes, and leverage building rating systems to enhance both resilience and sustainability outcomes.

SF Public Works plays a pivotal role in supporting San Francisco’s homeless population. This session will explore the city’s homelessness challenges and how the department’s architects are designing innovative shelters to meet them. In addition, the speakers will discuss how SF Public Works collaborates with other city agencies to serve people experiencing homelessness by overcoming the challenges posed by limited funding, regulatory requirements, bureaucracy, and NIMBY opposition. This will include a discussion of shelter typologies including Navigation Centers (rapidly-deployed tensile structures and modular units), Vehicular Triage Centers (individually occupied vehicles), Tiny Cabins, Safe Sleeping Sites, Transient Hotels, and newly constructed or renovated permanent buildings serving as Family Homeless Shelters or Congregate Dormitories. Hosted by the Public Architects Knowledge Community (PAKC). Course expires 05/14/2026  

Does that little voice inside you say - Be happy with what you have - don't get pushy! - Times are tough right now - I can't ask now... But why not? The fact is that WOMEN DON'T ASK and most bosses are not mind-readers. But they also don't want to lose you - particularly in these tought times. However, if you are not happy, you won't produce your best, so let's come clean and learn how to negotiate for everyone's benefit. Did you know 20% of adult women admit having never negotiated? Of course, that means that 80% have, but maybe you didn't get what you wanted. Women are known as strong collaborators, multi-taskers and relationship builders, which happen to be three essential skills needed to negotiate successfully. Multiple studies attribute this lack of negotiating to a lack of confidence and some would add risk-taking. Don't let fear of negotiating get you stuck! Join Elizabeth Suárez as she leads participants through her exclusive and effective Negotiation Unleashed System. This process will have you feeling prepared, confident, and excited to negotiate for everything you want - in business and in life. By the end of the session, you will feel more confident and embraced three essential tips that you can immediately implement to accomplish your goals! Course expires: 10/09/2026

Selecting a Perimeter Fire Containment (PFC) design listing that most closely represents project conditions is the first line of defense for minimizing risk of vertical fire spread.  Navigating through hundreds of design listings and choosing the correct system can seem overwhelming. However, understanding how various building materials respond to fire and identifying the design elements needed for successful PFC, designers will be able to confidently select PFC systems that will perform in the event of a fire. This session was recorded live on September 16, 2025.

As remote work transforms the commercial real estate landscape, architects face unprecedented opportunities to address the affordable housing crisis through innovative adaptive reuse strategies. This course explores how underutilized office buildings in suburban markets can be transformed into vibrant residential communities. Our expert panel will examine current office vacancy trends and their implications for conversion opportunities, while diving deep into practical design strategies that navigate stringent zoning challenges and building code adaptations essential for structural health and safety. Participants will discover the complexities of adapting essential infrastructure, particularly the requirements for updating mechanical, electric, and plumbing systems to ensure adequate sanitation. These design challenges also include addressing issues such as the potential need for seismic retrofits in certain areas and determining the usability of existing structures, such as existing circulation and floor slabs. Beyond addressing housing shortages, these conversions offer substantial environmental benefits by extending building lifecycles and reducing construction waste. Join us to explore cutting-edge approaches that transform vacant commercial spaces into thriving residential neighborhoods while supporting sustainable development goals. This session was recorded live on December 9, 2025.

As health systems increasingly focus on leveraging the facility design process to improve patient outcomes and improve staff workflow, multidisciplinary design teams comprising architects, constructors, researchers, and operators are relying on current research to inform facility design decisions.  Clemson University has engaged with health systems and architecture firms as part of a multi-year federally funded patient safety learning lab to design a safer and more ergonomic operating room. This work represents the most comprehensive evidence based on OR design and has resulted in an OR prototype that has been implemented in multiple health systems. This webinar shares how Clemson University has collaborated with health systems and design professionals to develop concepts for flexible and safe operating room layouts.  This course will present an overview of the research process and how findings were implemented in real-world settings at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Emory Musculoskeletal Institute.  This program was recorded live on March 12, 2024. Course expires 02/03/2027

As healthcare systems face increasing demands for high-quality, efficient care, facility design is crucial in meeting operational and patient-centered goals. Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is a cutting-edge tool that enables architects, planners, and healthcare professionals to visualize and optimize complex patient flows and resource utilization. This session showcases how DES was applied in two emergency departments and two multi-clinic buildings, addressing critical operational challenges and offering long-term design solutions. The speakers will discuss how across all four projects, DES provided a data-driven framework to test scenarios, evaluate performance metrics, and implement evidence-based design improvements. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for incorporating DES into future healthcare facility design projects, ensuring operational efficiency and patient-centered care.  Emergency Department Projects: Importance: DES was instrumental in modeling patient triage, treatment times, and discharge processes to accommodate current and future patient volumes. Challenges: Handling unpredictable patient influx, managing resource allocation, and reducing care delays in high-stakes environments. Lessons Learned: Simulation uncovered inefficiencies, prompting design adjustments that reduced congestion and improved patient flow.  Multi-Clinic Building Projects: Importance: In multi-specialty clinics, DES helped optimize spatial layouts and resource sharing (e.g., imaging, labs) to streamline patient flows. Challenges: Predicting and coordinating department interactions and managing complex, overlapping patient journeys. Lessons Learned: Early DES integration allowed for flexible space planning and workflow improvements, enhancing staff efficiency and patient throughput.  This session was recorded live on February 10, 2026.

Clear, effective communication is the foundation of successful projects, strong client relationships, and cohesive teams. This course explores the five most common barriers that hinder understanding and collaboration in architectural and design settings: Informational, language, emotional, physical, and perceptual. Through real-world scenarios and interactive exercises, you’ll learn to recognize these barriers in everyday interactions and understand their impact on outcomes. You’ll practice strategies to clarify messages, provide timely feedback, and improve empathy and awareness. By applying these tools, you’ll enhance collaboration, strengthen professional relationships, and foster a culture of open, respectful, and constructive communication.