Designing healthcare facilities requires a deep understanding of life safety systems that protect patients, staff, and visitors. This presentation is tailored to expand designers’ knowledge of life safety requirements and gain practical tools for integrating these critical elements into hospital and ambulatory care design. Through an exploration of passive fire protection strategies, attendees will gain clarity on the often complex and overlapping requirements found in the International Building Code (IBC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. We will look at egress requirements tailored to healthcare occupancies and explore how to approach egress planning that meets code, supports operations, and prioritizes life safety.  In addition to passive strategies, the session will address active systems, offering an overview of basic design requirements for fire alarm and sprinkler systems. Designed to be both informative and actionable, this session will equip attendees with tools to better collaborate with engineers, code consultants, and authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) to create projects are both compliant and safe.  This session was recorded live on July 8, 2025.

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

Upholding ethical obligations to clients and fellow professionals is the cornerstone of a successful architecture practice. These essential courses will reinforce your ethics knowledge and skills, helping you effectively navigate ethical dilemmas. Explore 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.  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. Review anti-discrimination laws and specific sections within the AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct that underscore the critical need to prevent harassment and discrimination, especially concerning protected characteristics Learn strategies for preventing and addressing harassment and discrimination, such as cultivating a respectful workplace culture, establishing clear policies, and providing education on diversity and inclusion Save up to 15% when you purchase the bundle.

Understanding financial fundamentals is essential for architects looking to build resilient, profitable firms. This course provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the core financial statements and ratios that shape a firm’s financial health. Designed specifically for architects and design professionals, it demystifies complex financial concepts through practical examples, engaging multimedia content, and interactive exercises.  You’ll explore the structure and function of income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements while gaining hands-on experience analyzing financial ratios. By connecting financial fundamentals directly to architectural practice, the course empowers professionals to make informed business decisions that drive sustainable growth and long-term success.  This is a new, interactive on-demand version of the course, adapted from the live session held on April 22, 2025.  

This five-part series, produced in partnership with Owens Corning, gives architects and building professionals a comprehensive look at fire safety. It covers the fundamentals of fire behavior and code intent, explores occupancy-specific design considerations, and highlights advanced engineering applications. Learners will gain insight into the science behind fire protection, the reasoning that shapes today’s codes and standards, and the ways thoughtful design decisions can strengthen building performance and safety.  The series concludes with lessons drawn from real-world fire events that reinforce the importance of designing for performance, resilience, and life safety. 

This course is designed to help emerging and current leaders build a strong foundation in nonprofit leadership within the unique context of AIA service. Whether you're stepping into a leadership position for the first time or deepening your understanding of AIA's nonprofit framework, this course will provide you with a solid foundation for decision-making, collaboration, and strategic stewardship. The AIA is more than a professional association; it is a mission-driven nonprofit organization with a unique structure, purpose, and set of responsibilities. Understanding how nonprofit principles shape the way the AIA operates is essential to leading with integrity, purpose, and accountability. Over the course of four concise lessons, you’ll explore the fundamentals that underpin nonprofit leadership at the AIA.

This course provides an overview of construction contract administration and introduces relevant topics encountered during the construction phase, including effective communication and preparation, submittals, requests for information, modifications, site visits, and more. This course establishes a foundation of fundamental knowledge to launch or refresh one's CCA career. Participants will leave this course with best practices and insight into how they can successfully lead a project through construction contract administration. They will be equipped with a skill set that includes knowledge of fundamentals, contract language, and pitfalls to be aware of during construction.  Participants will be better prepared for their career progression, client conversations, and construction growth. This is the first of several courses in a series developed by the Construction Contract Administration Knowledge Committee (CCA) focused on demystifying CCA. Later courses in this series will dive deeper into various aspects of risk identification and mitigation. This session was recorded live on March 18, 2026.

In the face of mounting industry pressures – ranging from sustainability mandates to labor shortages – the AEC industry must evolve or risk obsolescence. This course equips architects and firm leaders with strategies to turn challenges into opportunities through innovation. Explore a structured approach to diagnosing current pains, envisioning future capabilities, and deploying practical, measurable innovation strategies that align with business goals. Learn how to define success, prioritize initiatives, and drive meaningful transformation in your organization.  This session was recorded live on August 5, 2025.

Climate change is no longer an abstract threat. Day after day, an already disrupted climate is impacting the lives of millions, and the time available to curtail climate change is alarmingly limited. Decarbonizing how buildings are designed, constructed, and operated is a sea change that is already altering professional principles and practices.  In Going for Zero: Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future, seasoned architect and former AIA president Carl Elefante addresses how buildings and cities can and must help resolve the looming climate emergency. Elefante offers a decidedly alternative viewpoint, one informed by his architecture career rescuing buildings from senseless demolition and learning from the practices and wisdom embedded in built heritage.   Going for Zero is an urgent call to action and path forward. Elefante’s message is ultimately one of hope—but we must act now.  This session was recorded live on October 23, 2025.

Extended Reality (XR) – encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) – is reshaping the future of architecture, engineering, and construction. This course offers an in-depth look at XR technologies, their relevance to AEC workflows, and their intersection with complementary emerging technologies like reality capture, digital twins, and AI. Discover current and emerging use cases, learn how to evaluate hardware and software options, and build a roadmap for successful XR adoption. Whether you're just exploring or ready to deploy XR at scale, this course provides the essential knowledge to lead your firm into the future.  This session was recorded live on August 12, 2025.

This panel discussion featuring a university educator, AAH next generation practitioner, AAH mentoring advocate, American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) leader and a firm principal involved in succession planning focuses on the opportunities and challenges in career development and progression.  This session was recorded live on October 10, 2023.

Since its establishment in 1901, the National Bureau of Standards (NIST) has been committed to setting standards worldwide. In addition, NIST is a proud steward of scores of historically important research laboratories, facilities, and architecturally significant structures and landscapes. Historic preservation has become an integral component of the planning, design, operations and maintenance activities across all of its campuses nationwide. NIST’s Master Plan, which facilitates this preservation, has been the recipient of both local and national awards. This session will discuss NIST’s exemplary federal agency leadership in preservation practice.  Hosted by the Public Architects Committee (PAKC).   Course expires 9/19/2026 This session was recorded live on December 5, 2023.

A well-structured agenda is the backbone of every successful meeting. This course shows how clear, purposeful agendas enhance focus, efficiency, and participation. You’ll learn the key components of an effective agenda and how to tailor it to specific projects or team needs. The course also covers best practices for sharing agendas in advance, setting realistic timeframes, and using them as tools for accountability and follow-through. You’ll leave with the confidence to design agendas that keep meetings productive, on schedule, and outcome-driven.

Architects face a unique blend of creativity, precision, and pressure. Between challenging clients, tight deadlines, and high expectations, stress can build quickly and, if left unmanaged, can impact both professional performance and personal well-being. How to Manage Stress and Burnout in Architecture is a practical, engaging, and self-paced course designed specifically for architecture professionals. It explores the nature of stress and how the body responds to it, and how to identify and manage stress and burnout. Through real-world scenarios from architectural practice, the course empowers learners with effective strategies to maintain balance, foster resilience, and reduce the harmful effects of stress and burnout—both on the job and in daily life.

Achieving a more diverse workforce requires firms to be deliberate and take measurable actions. A lack of diversity in architecture can be a self-perpetuating cycle that reinforces unconscious biases. A diverse and inclusive workplace is one that makes everyone, regardless of who they are or what they do for the business, feel equally involved in and supported in all areas of the workplace. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging has evolved from a "nice-to-have" to a mission-critical component for organizations to progress and stay competitive in the global market. In this session, attendees will hear from representatives from a diverse group of architecture firm sizes and practices who will share their experiences successfully implementing inclusive and equitable firm policies such as salary transparency, inclusive firm policies for LGBTQ+ folks, equitable and inclusive parental leave, and support for early career professionals. Panelists will share their insights in why consideration for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and the needs of individuals is imperative for architects and their communities. This session will have ample Q&A time, allowing for attendees to engage with the panelists. This session was recorded live on October 3, 2023.

This session from the The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® Building Science Education series explains why and how to provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning to buildings. Beginning with a discussion of various efficiency metric and ending with an examination of thermal energy storage, additional topics in this session include COP, SEER. and EERs, heating systems, heat pumps, load calculations, ventilation air, water heating science and technologies, and controls.   The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® Building Science Education series is designed to educate students and working professionals on building science principles that are paramount to the successful design of high-performance, energy-efficient buildings. AIAU offers architects and design professionals courses that aim to educate on: Brought to you in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

The AIA Guides for Equitable Practice make the moral, business, ethical, and societal cases for equitable practice in the profession of architecture. They provide key insights to hear insights on how the guides can change firm culture and create an environment that nurtures retention and inspires limitless thinking. In this course, participants will discover recommendations on how to achieve goals found within the Guides through utilization in practice and as a resource in connecting these goals with the work of their firm/organization. To learn more, check out the supplements on Justice in the Built Environment and Equity in Architectural Education.

Recruiting top talent in architecture and design requires more than posting a job opening. This course explores the unique recruitment challenges firms face and how to address them through an inclusive lens. You'll learn the difference between attracting and sourcing candidates, how to write inclusive and compelling job postings, and how to implement proactive outreach and sourcing tactics that engage passive and underrepresented talent. Guided by the AIA’s best practices for inclusive hiring, this course offers actionable tools to help firms build a more diverse and equitable workforce. 

Changing access and supervision requirements are beginning to challenge the traditional norm of designing segregated, gender-specific restrooms and locker rooms for K–12 schools. Inclusive facilities offer a more humane and dignified approach to the traditional toileting and locker room experience. Learn the benefits and practicalities of designing inclusive restrooms and locker rooms—highlighting their role in promoting equity, accessibility, efficiency, and student health.  Understand how inclusive facilities can reduce bullying, enhance privacy, and improve overall student safety and well-being. Gain practical tools to navigate conversations with community stakeholders, code officials, administrators, staff, families, and students—ensuring a smooth transition to more inclusive environments in K–12 schools. AIA Best Practices Guide To learn more about inclusive and universal restroom and locker room design in K-12 schools, read the AIA Guide on Inclusive restrooms & locker rooms in K-12 schools by Cheryl Jacobs, AIA, Greg Louviere, AIA, & Benjamin Fields, AIA, published June 2024. This session was recorded live on August 29, 2024.  Course expires 6/14/2027

As a residential architect, would you like to include more high-performance building products and construction processes into the homes you design?  Did you know that designing a home to Passive House certification standards can deliver an energy savings of 80-90% over homes designed and built to current code. In addition to the energy savings, Passive House design and construction produces homes that are more comfortable, healthier, and are more resilient in the face of environmental challenges.  Building to the Passive House certification standard ensures a comprehensive approach to residential design, energy modeling, and construction processes that produce comfortable, healthy, and resilient homes. We will review typical construction types, windows and installation, air barriers and insulation and new, innovative PH products, proper installation of components. Gain insights on how Passive House standards are applied to new custom homes as well as how Passive House certification standards are applied to remodel projects. Hosted by the Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN).  Course expires 10/24/2026 This session was recorded live on November 9, 2023.