Zonda - Resource Library

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Cutting-edge building projects must use durable materials that also help reduce carbon footprint. Concrete is the material of choice for the tallest buildings in the world and infrastructure designed to last centuries.

This session explores how new products using pozzolans, calcined clay, biochar, and other innovations enhance a product that is nearly 5,000 years in development and provides another pathway for meeting future challenges in the built environment. This presentation includes the histories, compositions, and environmental impacts of these technologies and offers case studies to show how innovation is being put into action.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. The impact of building materials on the environment continues to grow in importance within the construction industry. In addition to performance, budget and aesthetics, design professionals are now being asked to evaluate the environmental burdens of their design choices. Measuring the impacts of buildings, assemblies and products can be complex. Every design decision, from material and product selection to envelope design and construction can have an impact on the environment and the methods used to evaluate those decisions are still not widely understood.

This presentation will address critical issues the design professional should consider when evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials to maximize performance and deliver lasting value.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Concrete is the building block of modern society and the most widely used building material. Nearly every structure built today, including buildings, bridges, homes, and infrastructure uses concrete in some way. It provides us with shelter along with places to work, learn and play. It connects us through roads and rapid transit and airports. Water is delivered and treated in concrete structures. Concrete is economical, available everywhere, durable, and versatile.

As demand for building construction continues to increase, it is likely the demand for concrete will also increase. Like all building products, however, concrete has a carbon footprint. This presentation will analyze the top ten strategies to take advantage of concrete’s benefits while ensuring the lowest possible carbon footprint.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. When looking at the environmental impact of a building, it is important to assess every stage of the environmental life cycle, from material extraction and product manufacturing to building operations and maintenance through to end-of-life.

Concrete offers many environmental attributes that help reduce the overall environmental life cycle impacts of a building. This session explores how life cycle assessment can be used to measure and lower the environmental impacts of buildings.

Insulated concrete forms (ICF) have been in use in North America since the 1960s. First known as “Foam Form,” contemporary ICF combines reinforced concrete with expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation to create walls that meet or exceed code as it relates to fire and extreme weather events. ICF also offers superior noise mitigation and energy efficiency.

This course will examine the performance characteristics of ICF as well as case studies that demonstrate its uses in commercial, industrial, residential, and institutional settings.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Look around and you’ll see many 5 to 7 story residential projects being built today with one or two floors of concrete, supporting up to 5 floors of steel or wood frame. These “pedestal” projects are assumed to be the cheapest way to build while longer term ownership implications of these designs are not well understood. This 1-hour presentation dispels the myths that are driving the popularity of pedestal construction and demonstrates the ownership value concrete provides including lower operating costs, less maintenance, and improved tenant retention.

Tilt-up is a method of construction whereby large concrete panels are cast horizontally on site and then raised into final position, usually vertical, with a crane. This building system, which was conceptualized in the early 1900s, is used throughout North America and across the globe. Once considered a method suitable only for large warehouses, today tilt-up construction is employed on virtually every building type, from distribution centers to schools, churches, libraries, retail centers, and office buildings. It has become the method of choice for many developers, designers, and contractors because of its numerous benefits.

This course presents the latest advances in tilt-up concrete technology, which provide economical, energy-efficient, and durable building solutions for a variety of project types, and focuses on several case studies.

Many countries, regions, cities, and organizations around the world are striving to reduce carbon emissions in an effort to mitigate climate change and its effects. Globally, operational carbon, which occurs from lighting, heating, and cooling buildings and homes, is responsible for 28% of annual CO2 emissions. Because buildings play a large role in carbon emissions, architects, engineers, and other building professionals are in a unique position to aid reduction efforts.

This course will enable learners to assess the role of concrete in carbon reduction strategies and the ways in which concrete can support sustainability initiatives. With a focus on operational carbon, this course will also examine Passive House, the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, Race to Zero, and Architecture 2030, as well as several case studies. For information on embodied carbon, learners should refer to the course Concrete Pathways to Net Zero: Part 1, Embodied Carbon.

An inspiring look at what makes concrete one of the strongest, most durable and resilient building materials on earth.

Extreme weather events costs the US billions in recovery every year. Find out why building a resilient structure pays off.