Zonda - Resource Library

Slate has been used for centuries as a long-lasting building material, and its natural beauty is unsurpassed. Today, rainscreen cladding systems have been developed to adapt natural slate to new architectural demands for sustainable building design approaches.

This course explores the energy efficiency and moisture management benefits of a rainscreen system in combination with the durability and versatility of slate. The different designs and fastening systems are reviewed, and case studies demonstrate the advantages and possibilities for sustainable and beautiful slate projects.

Creating spaces that embrace nature have both physical and mental health benefits. These benefits enhance the occupants experience in an indoor space creating the ambiance of outdoor living. In this course, we will discuss how the exposure to nature through living green walls contribute to LEED, WELL, and other green rating systems. We will cover common places where you might find living green walls, and where exposure to nature can make a dramatic difference, including offices, hotels, retail shops, and healthcare. This course will examine different types of living green walls available, how systems are designed, installed, and maintained. In addition, the course will look at the latest large scale green wall technology and how it can be applicable to a variety of applications.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. The use of metal roofing and wall cladding can help lower operating carbon emissions and make a building more energy efficient, which will positively affect the health, safety, and welfare of a building’s occupants.

There are many ways to achieve this, including the use of cool roof paint technology and above sheathing ventilation for metal roofing, metal roofing panels as a solar ready platform for photovoltaic systems, and solar air heating metal wall cladding.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. This course explores the intersection of sustainable building practices and educational environments. Through the lens of recent mass timber projects, including the Evergreen Charter School, the course examines how mass timber construction can address key challenges in K-12 education, such as facility inequity, student well-being, and sustainability goals.

Participants will gain insights into how mass timber supports healthier learning environments, reduces embodied carbon, and offers cost-effective alternatives to conventional construction materials like concrete and steel. The course emphasizes how buildings can serve as an integral part of the educational experience, fostering community engagement and promoting long-term resilience.

Time-honored material offers a bold new expression of architectural excellence. Read why slate is an ideal cladding solution for numerous applications. In an industry and design environment where so many materials ask architects, contractors and owners to make difficult sustainability, performance and aesthetic decisions, consider how the simplicity and elegance of a reimagined building material presents a way forward with minimal compromise.

As people spend an increasing amount of time indoors, the need to bring natural light into building interiors becomes even more imperative. Daylighting is an important part of architectural design for many reasons, with occupant well-being and sustainable practices at the top of the list. This course will explore the health and environmental benefits of daylighting, look at polycarbonate fenestration products as a practical and high-performing option, and discuss design considerations and possibilities, including case studies of polycarbonate products used in daylighting projects.

This course explores the innovative use of mass timber in architecture. Chandra Robinsons’ extensive experience with timber projects showcases the material's potential to advance building technologies while promoting sustainability, equity, and resilience.

Participants will explore various case studies, from affordable housing to commercial buildings, highlighting the practical applications and benefits of mass timber construction.

This course will discuss how architects and business owners can achieve outstanding performance and low-cost operation by incorporating high-efficiency, low-emission propane appliances into commercial new builds or retrofits.

We will discuss the challenges of designing commercial buildings in rural areas, especially those that do not have natural gas service, and how propane can help to meet resilience and sustainability goals, and maximize health, wellness, and occupant comfort. In addition, this course will explore applications for propane in different commercial building types, as well as case studies where propane was used.

Are we able to dive deeper into these numbers to find ways to reduce a building’s carbon footprint in meaningful ways? What are the methods used to measure building material carbon footprint and do they tell the whole story? Are there simple tools to assess material choices? This course seeks to address these and other questions by explaining the principal methods and tools that are used to assess carbon footprint in the context of building materials.

It includes a primer on product terminology, including life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental product declarations (EPDs), carbon footprint, embodied carbon, and whole building LCA (WBLCA) tools. It explains how biogenic carbon is treated in standard LCA methodology and dives into the forest side of the equation, explaining basics of the sustainable forestry cycle. This course also highlights some ways to track and assure wood comes from sustainable forests in North America and why demand for wood products supports investment in forest management.

Brick is a resilient and sustainable material used in high-performance buildings, a key aspect of sustainable design. Sustainable design considers the health and well-being of building occupants and the concept of resilience, which is to withstand extreme weather events, then quickly repair and re-occupy.

The learning objectives explore the age old material, which has gained traction in resilient design and discusses how buildings constructed of the material provide occupant comfort in terms of thermal, acoustic, and non-VOC emissions.