Zonda - Resource Library

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Architects are uniquely positioned to innovate and lead, yet they often find themselves bogged down by their day-to-day demands. In a world where the traditional work model is becoming obsolete, it's time to rethink how you approach your professional life. This webinar is designed to empower architects by introducing them to innovative strategies and tools that can revolutionize their work habits, increase productivity, and enhance overall job satisfaction.

Inspired by Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek, this session will focus on practical applications within the AE industry, highlighting how to optimize workflows, delegate effectively, leverage technology, and create a more balanced, fulfilling professional life. Applying these principles will enable you to “work smarter, not harder,” transforming your firm into a well-oiled machine that runs efficiently and profitably, freeing you up to focus on your passion.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. In the bestselling book Atomic Habits, James Clear illustrates that the key to unlocking significant improvements in our lives lies in small, incremental changes, emphasizing systems over goals for sustained progress. This webinar explores how integrating technologies into our daily routines, guided by Clear's four laws of behavior change (make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying), can transform our work processes and architecture firm’s culture. By adopting a mindset shift towards seeing ourselves not just as design professionals, but as innovators, we align technology with our identity, ensuring its seamless adoption.

Join the founder of The Well-Designed Firm and former Chief Creative Officer of BQE Software, Steven Burns, FAIA, as he shares actionable insights on fostering a culture that embraces experimentation and learning, illustrating how these atomic habits can compound to achieve remarkable growth. Discover how to leverage these principles to propel your firm forward by letting automation and technology handle the heavy lifting, saving you hours per week!

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. The proposal is the pivotal part in the client onboarding process, a gateway that holds the power to set the stage for a successful project journey. However, in the world of architecture and engineering, there's no one-size-fits-all proposal. Join Founder of Teiger Consulting and architectural entrepreneur Douglas Teiger, FAIA, in this comprehensive course where he’ll dive deep into the art of crafting compelling proposals that resonate with each unique project and client.

Explore the anatomy of a proposal, unravel the nuanced differences between proposals and contracts, and gain mastery in sculpting terms and conditions that seamlessly transform your proposal into a rock-solid contract. Discover the invaluable benefits of leveraging AIA agreements, setting the standard for professional excellence.

Join Douglas as he guides you through the critical link between your proposal and project setup, illuminating the path to seamless project execution and embarks with you on a journey to craft winning proposals and contracts that lay the foundation for client success. By the end of this session, you'll possess the knowledge and tools to navigate the intricate realm of client onboarding with confidence and excellence.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Design professionals have always addressed issues of performance, budgets, and aesthetics. Now they are also being asked to evaluate the environmental burdens of their material choices. Every design decision can have an impact on the environment. The methods used to evaluate those decisions can often be misunderstood. This presentation examines the process of quantifying the true global warming potential (GWP) to accurately inform the true impacts of building material choices.

Tools like the web based NRMCA Concrete Carbon Calculator help concrete producers, contractors and design teams to collaborate on setting carbon budgets on projects and compares baseline projects to proposed projects to exceed embodied carbon reduction goals. Step-by-step details will demonstrate how to use the tool to set a carbon budget and write a specification that allows for the lowest possible carbon footprint for the ready mixed concrete proposed for various projects.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Zero-energy school construction is a growing trend across the country. A combination of advanced energy-efficiency strategies, affordable solar power, combined with innovative concrete exterior wall assemblies is making it possible. Systems like insulating concrete forms and tilt-up construction combine strength and durability of reinforced concrete with the energy efficiency of continuous rigid insulation.

This presentation describes zero-energy strategies along with details on how to take advantage of the high R-value, thermal mass, with lower air infiltration concrete envelopes can provide, to offer school districts both lower first costs and long-term operating savings. Project examples are shared to demonstrate the proven performance benefits now being realized nationwide.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Concrete masonry is commonly used for structural and architectural walls in buildings. Knowing the full extent of its applications and capabilities is import for designers to make resilient, sustainable, and cost-effective buildings.

The intent of this course is to provide a general overview of the properties and performance characteristics of concrete masonry walls. Attendees will learn about how to take advantage of and maximize the features and capabilities of concrete masonry units.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. For many architecture and engineering firms, the business is not just a career, but a lifestyle. However, when the time comes to retire or slow down, the most important investment you can rely on might not be your 401(k), IRA, or real estate portfolio—but your firm. Succession planning is not just about ensuring your practice can continue without you; it’s about building a valuable asset that can provide significant financial security and wealth, potentially making your firm your most significant retirement asset.

Presented by Steve Burns, FAIA, Founder of The Well-Designed Firm, this session is an essential webinar on the best practices for succession planning and leadership transition designed specifically for firm owners who may not have considered the long-term financial benefits of planning ahead. Steve will show you how to strategically grow your firm’s value, preparing it for a successful transition that can offer you the financial freedom to step back when you are ready.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Our instructors will take you through an in-depth explanation of the science behind terra cotta wall cladding and rainscreen technology. You will learn about the benefits of utilizing terra cotta as cladding as well as how they are manufactured and installed.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Explore the fundamentals of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology and discover how it enhances energy efficiency, design flexibility, and sustainability in various architectural projects.

Learn practical applications, design considerations, and installation best practices for VRF systems.