Online Safety-Assessment Program (SAP) Training

Post-disaster Safety-Assessment Program (SAP) training provides architects, engineers, and building inspectors with the knowledge to provide evaluations of facilities and buildings in the aftermath of a disaster.

At the end of this training, you will be able to:

  • Recognize the important role architects and associated building professionals play in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
  • Accurately conduct a post-disaster rapid building assessment and complete appropriate damage assessment forms.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the Applied Technology Council’s ATC-20 Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings and ATC 45 Safety Evaluation of Buildings after Windstorms and Floods damage assessment procedures.
  • Earn a Cal-OES registration ID card.

Fee: $105 members; $180 non-members
Earn 6.5 AIA LU | HSW

Register online.

A Designers Guide to Sound Isolation

Learn about steel framing.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand various sound isolation assemblies and their components.
  • Describe various steel framing products and components of sound isolation
  • Understand the importance of proper installation in order to achieve desired STC rating.
  • Explain the building code requirements for sound.

Earn 1.0 AI ALU|HSW

Register online.

Transportation Noise Control in Residential Buildings

In urban and suburban environments, transportation noise continually impacts residential properties 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This applies to not only major sources such as interstate highways, airports, and railways but to secondary streets in urban environments as well, where buildings crowd closely to busy roadways. Understanding the fundamentals of noise, noise regulations, building shell design, and implementation are key to creating quiet living spaces in close proximity to major and “minor” transportation noise sources.

It is our goal to educate residential building designers in the basics of transportation noise and in the fundamentals of outdoor to indoor noise control. Noise impact upon building occupants disrupts work, sleep, and leisure time which in turn adds stress, fatigue, and aggravation to daily life. Quiet environments promote good physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Earn 1.0 AIA LU|HSW

Register online.

The 2030 Challenge: Goals, Design Processes and Panel Discussion

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. Explore the design processes to produce high-performance and carbon neutral buildings, including the Integrative Design Process (IDP). Then, hear 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.

After that, join an interactive discussion about what can often be the biggest challenge making the business case for climate responsive design with your clients.

(The course will include a mid-session break)

Earn 2.5 AIA LU | HSW

Register online.

Presenters:

Edward Mazria, FAIA, FRAIC | Architecture 2030, Founder/CEO

Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C | MALeco, LLC, Principal

Rand Ekman AIA, LEED Fellow | CannonDesign, Director of Sustainability

Nathan Kipnis, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C | Kipnis Architecture + Planning, Principal

Kim Shinn, PE, LEED Fellow, CxA, BEMP | TLC Engineering for Architecture, Principal, Senior Sustainability Wizard

Kirk Teske, FAIA, LEED Fellow| HKS Architecture, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer

Panelists:

Tate Walker, |OPN Architects, AIA 2030 Commitment Chair

Anica Landreneau, Assoc. AIA |  HOK, Director of Sustainable Design,

Don Kranbuehl, FAIA |Clark Nexsen, Principal, Chair of the AIANC Triangle COTE

David Peabody, FAIA | Peabody Architects, Principal

Manoj Dalaya, FAIA | KGD Architecture, Principal

Moderated by: D. Matthew Alexander, AIA | KGD Architecture, Senior Associate, Chair AIAVA COTE Program

Designing for Fire Safety: Complying with NFPA 285 Test Standard for Exterior Walls

When considering the building enclosure, fire safety is an important design factor and needs to be considered hand-in-hand with energy code requirements. The NFPA 285 Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components is a common consideration with modern building assemblies that use combustible materials. This presentation will review common fire standards including NFPA 285 test standard. It will outline the criteria for compliance, as well as identify triggers and contributors under the standard. The presentation will review how the selection of building components such as insulation, air/water resistive barriers and claddings, can affect the fire performance of an assembly, and identify solutions and common paths for compliance.

Learning objectives:

  1. Discuss the history, scope and testing procedure outlined in the NFPA 285 test standard
  2. Identify passive design solutions to achieve compliance and resources available with compliant designs
  3. Discuss the importance of fire and safety design considerations as it relates to the building enclosure
  4. Understand the requirements of NFPA 285 compliant assemblies and the implications of building materials selection.

Earn 1.0 AIA LU | HSW

Register online.

Making the Case for Historic Window Restoration

Hear an overview of existing research on the benefits of restoring historic windows and then take part in a panel discussion with a series of experts in the field.

Presented by AIA Virginia’s Historic Resources Committee.

Speakers

Susan Reed, AIA | Director of Historic Preservation at Glavé & Holmes Architecture | Historic Resources Committee Chair

Greg Rutledge, FAIA | Preservation Architect at Hanbury| Moderator

Ashley Wilson, FAIA | Graham Gund Architect at National Trust for Historic Preservation | Panelist

Jessica Ugarte | Virginia Department of Historic Resources | Panelist

Dixon Kerr | Wood Windows Preservation Specialist at Old House Authority Windows | Panelist

Brooks Gentleman | Steel and Wood Windows Preservation Specialist/Owner at Re-View Windows | Panelist

Earn 1.5 AIA LU | HSW

Register online.

Magnesium Oxide (MgO) Floor Panels for Multifamily Buildings

All multifamily buildings must meet code requirements for fire-resistance between dwelling units and meet requirements for acoustical performance.

This course looks more closely at designing and constructing with MgO panels. We begin with a description of the material and its properties and its code compliance characteristics related to fire resistance. The sound attenuation capabilities are also reviewed. Its installation, particularly compared to wet-laid gypsum underlayment, is presented. Overall, using MgO panels are an option for specifications and design of multifamily projects around the country.

Learning Objectives:
After completion of this course, participants will be equipped to:
1. Identify the physical characteristics of magnesium oxide (MgO) panels in terms of their make-up and basic performance attributes for use in floor assemblies in multifamily projects.
2. Investigate the fire-resistance capabilities and testing standards that demonstrate the ability for MgO panels to provide fire safety in buildings.
3. Assess the acoustical capabilities of MgO panels in terms of meeting or exceeding code requirements for multifamily buildings on certain tested assemblies in dwelling separations.
4. Compare and contrast the use of MgO structural panels with other floor underlayment options, particularly gypsum underlayment, in order to specify MgO panels appropriately in multifamily floor assemblies.

Earn 1.0 AIA LU | HSW

Register online.

Presented in partnership with Huber Engineered Woods