Zonda - Resource Library

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.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Buildings must be designed to stand up to their natural environment, including high winds, heavy rain events, and freeze / thaw cycles. Increasingly, building systems must also have a positive impact on a building in case of a catastrophic event, such as potential natural disasters. Wood-plastic composite cladding is a great alternative for constructing resilient and sustainable commercial buildings.

The material is highly durable with performance attributes that equate to a longer-lasting, more resilient product than alternative cladding materials. This course will cover the principles of resilient design, the importance of material durability and high performance when specifying resilient materials, and how wood-plastic composite cladding contributes to resilient building design.

Focusing on the future, GE has worked for two decades to advance green building initiatives. Hear what they are working on now and what they offer to help pros advance sustainable building practices.

This video explains the functions, benefits and the technology that makes induction cooktops a safer, more efficient alternative to traditional gas and electric models.

Resilience has become a central idea for assessing how our social, economic, technical, constructed, engineered, and ecological systems can withstand and bounce back from a man-made or weather- and climate-related disaster. Globally, wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, high winds, hail, coastal and valley flooding, sea level rise, heat waves, seismic activity, extreme cold, ice storms, and snow melt have destroyed ecosystems, caused loss of life, damaged property, disrupted healthcare and financial networks, and in some cases, brought essential services to a halt. During this presentation, we’ll discuss the composition, performance, and application of engineered polymer siding and trim and capped polymer cladding to illustrate the benefits to home and building owners when construction materials are selected with resilience and sustainability in mind.

Wood, in its natural state, is a highly sustainable material. But there are many factors that can either diminish or improve its sustainability, including how and where it’s harvested, how end products are treated and finished, and the lifecycle of the material.

This course will explore the sustainability of wood wall and ceiling systems, and considerations for specifying wood products that are sustainably sourced. We will cover different manufacturing and treatment processes, and environmental factors affecting wood, its lifecycle, reuse, and salvageability. We will also discuss applications for wood ceilings and walls, certifications available for projects specifying these materials, and insight into the world of sustainable wood systems.

Consumers are increasingly interested in understanding the environmental impact of the products they use. This course will help you understand how the choice of building materials can have profound impacts on local and global ecosystems, as well as on consumer preferences. “Green building” practices have expanded beyond operational energy efficiency to include factors such as minimizing the embodied carbon impact of a built structure along the supply chain.

As a result, wood’s role as a sustainable building material has become increasingly important. Compared to nonrenewable materials such as steel and concrete, wood is renewable and stores carbon throughout the lifetime of the material. Wood also uses less fossil fuel than substitutable materials (e.g., steel and concrete) across the supply chain, from harvest to manufacturing, transport, installation, maintenance, and disposal or recycling. Procurement of wood building materials from sustainably managed forests creates a sustainably built environment and also supports forest biodiversity, soil and water health, wildlife habitat, social and economic goals, etc.

This course will demonstrate how using wood as a building material contributes to forest sustainability, especially in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The internet has given American consumers unfettered access to the global market, which is greatly influencing our design choices, from clothing and furniture to home and even kitchen design. Whether it’s an indoor/outdoor connection with a breezy island feel, architectural details reminiscent of French bistros, or the functional minimalism of Scandinavia, kitchens play a significant role in expressing the style of a home and its homeowners, which is more global than ever. This course will take a closer look at these global influences, including forward-thinking design ideas from abroad that will impact the sustainability, safety, and accessibility of kitchens. The course will also discuss innovative kitchen appliances that complement many kitchen styles and will explore several case studies that allowed designers to integrate global influences, wellness, and sustainability into their designs.