Zonda - Resource Library

Achieving carbon neutrality and protecting the world's water supply are vital to the AEC industry because of the significant impact buildings have on the environment and occupant health. The structures that we live, work, and commune in use a vast amount of the energy and water consumed on the planet for building operations and maintenance.

Over the past two decades more and more organizations, from private companies to federal governments, have taken steps to minimize their impact on the environment and, more recently, on society's wellbeing as a whole. This has been accomplished through sustainable building design, social accountability, and ethical economic practices. This course will discuss a Net Positive approach to design and business operations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sets the minimum requirements for newly designed and constructed or renovated state and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. When designing restrooms, some of each type of accessible plumbing fixture and restroom accessories and their installation location must meet accessibility requirements contained in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Many projects must also follow the provisions of the 2017 Edition of the ICC A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities Standard.

As states adopt the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) into their states’ building code, the ICC A117.1-2017 Accessible Standards will become effective for existing and new buildings. Forty-six states follow the ICC A117.1-2017 Standards (all but California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Texas; who harmonize with the ADA Standards). Additionally, states such as California have accessible requirements that vary from the ADA standards and are more stringent providing greater access.

In this course, we will cover the 2010 ADA and the ICC A117.1-2017 accessibility standards. We will also point out where and how the states including California, Florida and Minnesota building codes differ from the ADA and the ICC A117.1-2017 standards. It is important that you always check the accessibility standards that apply to your project’s location.

While most kitchens do have ventilation systems, homeowners often don’t use them properly and aren’t aware of how quickly cooking can negatively impact a home’s indoor air quality. This course discusses that impact and how proper specification of ventilation systems can significantly improve indoor air quality to protect occupant health and safeguard a home’s fixtures and furnishings from detrimental grease and odors. We will cover how to achieve proper sizing and positioning of a ventilation system, design and customization options, as well as projects where ventilation systems were used to maximize style and safety in residential kitchens.

Minimalism is a philosophy of simplicity that’s taken off since the pandemic. More homeowners are demanding minimalist kitchen designs, but what does that mean – and what does it look like? This course will explore the concepts of minimalism and minimalist design, trends shaping modern kitchen design and use, and how minimalist design can be used to increase and improve the functionality of the kitchen. Finally, learners will review the role of luxury appliances in a minimalist kitchen and how to specify appliances to meet changing consumer needs.

According to the CDC, well-being integrates mental health (mind) and physical health (body) resulting in more holistic approaches to disease prevention and health promotion. Wellness has suffered greatly during the pandemic, with an increasing number of adults reporting a struggle with mental health or substance abuse. This underscores a holistic sense of wellness via occupational, physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional fulfillment.

This course will discuss how water-based treatments such as hydrotherapy, heat therapy, and chromotherapy promote wellness and how designers can use freestanding bathtubs to create an at-home wellness experience for their clients. Trends in self-care and wellness experiences will be covered, as will features and specification considerations for freestanding bathtubs.

Aging is traditionally seen as a negative experience fraught with challenges and limitations. Baby Boomers are changing that narrative and reshaping what it means to age for themselves and future generations. With this shift comes a heightened sense of health, wellness, and desire to stay at home — to live in place. To accomplish that, architects and designers must approach adaptive kitchens to suit the changing needs of older adults as well as multigenerational users. This course will examine active aging; adaptive kitchen design; and connected, smart appliances that are as high-performance as they are functional. The CEU qualifies for continuing education credits that count toward the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB’s) Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential.

Architecture has always involved some form of collaboration – and the process begins with the client. Whether working with a developer, an institution, a family, or an individual, clients help determine everything from the location to the budget and often weigh in on form and function. In addition to clients, other stakeholders include engineers, builders, interior designers, and consultants.

Often overlooked, however, are the collaborative efforts between architects – sometimes from different firms – and interdisciplinary teams that result in groundbreaking, innovative structures. This course will examine the benefits and difficulties of collaboration, including the ways in which collaboration can help to address climate change and sustainable practices, as well as how various theories on collaboration apply to architecture.

The idea that the design of a home has an impact on the health and well-being of its residents is not new. Read how luxury single and multifamily residential design is responding to a post-pandemic need to maintain and improve the health of inhabitants.

The kitchen is the gathering place of the home. What factors are influencing design transformation over the next few years, and how can kitchen appliances contribute to a more connected, multifunctional space? This course will explore the state of the kitchen industry, results from a national kitchen and bath design trends survey, examples of smart appliances and their role in a connected kitchen, and the impact of wellness and sustainability on kitchen design.

Proper ventilation while cooking is vital for indoor air quality and must be addressed early in the building process. Downdraft ventilation offers flexibility in design and aesthetics, but it suffers from a poor reputation due to performance issues in early iterations of the technology.

This course covers the importance of indoor air quality, a brief history of cooktop ventilation, and historical challenges with downdraft ventilation. It will discuss a revolutionary, systems-based approach to downdraft ventilation that addresses these challenges, including specification and installation considerations for this new innovation.