Zonda - Resource Library

Passive fire protection systems such as fire-rated floor doors provide incredibly important life-safety measures in commercial buildings. This course will discuss construction access products, the difference between active and passive fire protection, and how fire-rated floor doors provide passive protection.

We will also explain 2021 International Building Code requirements for fire-rated floor doors and how they differ from fire-rated access doors. Finally, you will learn about a project where fire-rated floor doors were used in a large New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority project.

This course will examine Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) through the lens of the A/E/C industry and building product manufacturers. It will review the evolution of ESG from the 1980s when organizations began to regulate and manage pollution, improve labor and safety standards, and improve other negative outcomes of economic growth. The three pillars of ESG will be discussed generally, then from the perspective of the A/E/C industry, and finally through the lens of a window and door manufacturer and their specific ESG agenda. The course will conclude with a case study that achieved Living Building Challenge certification and helped both an architecture firm and window and door manufacturer achieve ESG goals.

Evolving design trends have driven the emergence of a new range of folding door products that complement modern architecture and improve user experience through performance and ease of operation. This course will review key attributes of these next-generation folding doors, including product styling and sightlines, size capabilities, hardware design and placement, and performance criteria. You will learn how these design improvements open up sightlines, ease operation, and boost the performance of folding doors.

Wood polymer composite fenestration products are next-generation composites that offer slimmer sightlines, architecturally correct design, and co-extruded pigment to meet the high demand for contemporary, sustainable, and durable windows and patio doors. This course will compare wood polymer composite to alternative materials and will discuss the performance benefits of composite windows and doors, including thermal and energy efficiency, water resistance, and recyclability. The course will also cover style, glazing, and finish options, as well as maintenance and installation considerations.

Aluminum clad-wood windows and doors offer the beauty and warmth of wood in the interior, coupled with aluminum's durability and weather resistance on the exterior. Versatile aluminum clad-wood windows and doors have various applications in all types of commercial and residential projects. Restaurants, offices, mixed-use projects, and multifamily and single-family residential are examples of good uses for aluminum clad-wood windows and doors. This course will discuss expanded, specialized applications for aluminum clad-wood windows and doors in commercial and residential markets, including coastal, mountain, and historic projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and other forces are changing the face of architecture, including a gravitation toward more contemporary styles and solutions. Many of the related architectural elements — including windows and doors — are rooted in principles introduced by modernists nearly a century ago. This course will closely examine the connection between current events and fenestration design, the enduring influence of modern architecture, design trends and influences in contemporary architecture, and fenestration options for contemporary window and door solutions.

“Authenticity” and “handcrafted” are consumer buzz words that encompass everything from small-batch breweries and beers to the mission statements of big corporations. In architecture, these words tie in to design, connectivity with clients, and what is specified in homes. Specifying authentically handcrafted materials, including those for luxury, high-performing windows, harkens back to the Arts and Crafts Movement and speaks to a contemporary generation of clients that prefer one-of-a-kind objects to those that are mass produced. Luxury, handcrafted windows lend themselves to form, function, and the specific needs of exacting clients, as well as to the creation of durable, timeless structures.

Integrating interior and exterior spaces has been shown to provide occupants with myriad benefits in a variety of settings. Establishing a connection with the outdoors can improve health and wellbeing for occupants at home or in the office, as well as encouraging healing and reducing stress. In retail settings, connections with nature have been shown to increase consumer spending, and in any environment, views and sounds of nature have proven to reduce stress and enhance concentration. Folding, multi slide, and swing door systems lend themselves to occupant wellbeing by integrating interior and exterior spaces and seamlessly providing controllable access to nature.

Industry demands are always changing and evolving from trend to trend, style to style. You need to choose a window and door supplier that you trust their products will live up to their performance and durability claims.

Doors and windows have been expanding in size over the past several years, and there seems to be no end in sight. The 10-foot door is the new normal, while window walls can open up the whole side of a room to the outside, and windows mulled together can create a viewing plane of immense proportions.