Women in architecture, design, and the allied building industries are one of the most influential segments in the profession. Yet when looking at leadership roles in these industries, we still ask: Where are they?  Women’s Leadership Summit, founded by AIA, is a premier event that brings together the industry’s largest network of diverse women in architecture, design, and the allied building industries. It exists to support and empower women on their leadership journeys and break down the barriers that get in their way.  Focused on networking, leadership training, business development, gender equity, and personal empowerment, WLS helps women manifest the careers they want while making a difference in the world.   •    Share pathbreaking ideas to tackle challenges, uncover potential, and lead change. •    Celebrate women leaders at every career stage, empowering everyone to change the future.  

Architects, whether working with a private client on a custom, single family residence or with developers on multi-family projects, face many similar challenges. The costs of land, labor and materials overlaid with regulations does not often pencil out, resulting in a lack of mid-priced and mid-scaled housing. However, more and more architects are striving to create a variety of housing opportunities including multi-family, workforce development and missing middle housing to complement their portfolios of affordable and market rate-housing. Join us for this session to learn about innovative models of practice and projects that are diversifying the housing market, what single-family and multi-family housing can learn from each other, and how firms are structuring their practices to tackle an array of housing typologies and mission-driven work. Hosted by CRAN®.   This session was recorded live on December 15, 2021.  Course expires 12/18/2024

This session tells stories from across the United States which address questions such as: How do you finance and retrofit real energy improvement projects with energy and environmental justice in mind? Do practices need to change for architects implementing work in cities with building energy performance standards? How do policies in more progressive cities in turn influence other US cities? What are progressive cities like Seattle doing to jumpstart zero-carbon goals and how are architects engaging in this work? Course expires 01/12/2025

This session on zero energy buildings introduces their foundational terminology, concepts, and strategies. Topics covered include defining zero energy, understanding site energy vs. source energy, the cost of zero energy buildings, setting goals, historically informed architecture, and passive design strategies. Course expires 03/05/2025

Achieving zero-net energy (ZNE) requires full buy-in from the entire design team. This course offers insights from an experienced team—developer, architect, mechanical engineer—who use the integrative design process and continual energy analytics to maximize efficiency, leverage design opportunities, and contain costs. ZNE on paper doesn't cut it. Don't miss this chance to gain a valuable understanding of how to approach ZNE within the context of cost-constrained affordable housing—and learn the skills you need to truly deliver for your clients and the users of your buildings. Course expires on 4/10/2026.