Architectural Polymers: Best Practices for Architectural Specifications

Presented by Fernando Pages, this presentation serves as a resource and primer for product specification and complements the book Architectural Design for Traditional Neighborhoods published by the Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) in 2019.


This course aims to provide design professionals full control of the design’s aesthetic outcome with polymeric sidings, trim, and ornamentation, respecting the architectural style, target market, and project budget. These specifications will refer to traditional architectural features in the language of art.


This effort aims to put the power of good design details and recommended installation practices within the architectural designer’s easy reach.

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Steel - Timber Hybrid High-Rise Buildings: Trends, Drivers, Challenges

This presentation will examine the recent trend toward steel-timber hybrids – as a subset of the wider trend toward mass timber – in high rise buildings.

It will overview where this is happening, and what the advantages and challenges are, focusing on some of the key case studies employing such systems.

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Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) Benefits and Advantages in a Sustainable World

Learn how vacuum insulating class (VIG) units are different from typical architectural insulating glass units (IGUs) and how VIG technologies can meet a vast range of needs, ranging from energy savings and occupant comfort to acoustic improvement.

This course also examines the energy performance of VIG units compared to traditional product options and reviews specific code requirements that VIG products can meet and exceed.

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Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in Building Product Manufacturing and the A/E/C Industry

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.

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Sustainability and Design Benefits of Composite Cladding

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. This course will explore the versatility of wood plastic composites, with a specific focus on composite rainscreen cladding. It will cover the sustainability of wood plastic composites from manufacturing, performance, and life cycle perspectives. We will also discuss color and design options for composite cladding, as well as applications in the residential and commercial sectors.

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Beauty and Strength: An Examination of Western Red Cedar Finishes as a Complement to Mass Timber Systems (Print Course)

This course will explore mass timber construction, including the different types of mass timber products that are manufactured from Douglas fir, spruce-pine-fir, and Southern pine species; their performance and environmental benefits; and applications for this type of construction.

The course will also examine the importance of Western red cedar as a sustainable building product that introduces biophilic design into a space, and how it can be used to complement mass timber construction in both interior and exterior applications.

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A Discussion on the Top 10 Ways to Reduce Concrete’s Carbon Footprint

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Concrete is the building block of modern society and the most widely used building material. Nearly every structure built today, including buildings, bridges, homes, and infrastructure uses concrete in some way. It provides us with shelter along with places to work, learn and play. It connects us through roads and rapid transit and airports. Water is delivered and treated in concrete structures. Concrete is economical, available everywhere, durable, and versatile.

As demand for building construction continues to increase, it is likely the demand for concrete will also increase. Like all building products, however, concrete has a carbon footprint. This presentation will analyze the top ten strategies to take advantage of concrete’s benefits while ensuring the lowest possible carbon footprint.

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Designing Sustainable, Prefabricated Wood Buildings (Print Course)

In this course, you’ll explore foundational concepts of prefabricated construction, along with its potential advantages. Materials cover the unique benefits of prefabricated light wood-frame and mass timber construction, including types of prefabricated timber systems, assemblies, and wood products used in offsite manufacturing.

Case studies throughout demonstrate a wide range of sustainable prefabricated building examples using advanced light-frame and mass timber construction.

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7 Exterior Trends in 2022

See what changes 2022 brought to the table for building pros. From exterior revitalization to outdoor living, here is what is hot this year.

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Treehouse vs. Greenhouse: Five Sustainable Eco Homes Built With Style

The role of the construction industry in combating climate change is a relatively new consideration, but one that is gaining prominence on sustainability agendas at a global scale. Individual home owners, contractors, and developers each have a role to play in reducing carbon emissions at the residential scale. Here are five project examples that illustrate how you can build single-family housing sustainably, with style.

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