A Planning Guide for Accessible Restrooms

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.

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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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The WELL Building Standard and Electric Fireplaces (Print Course)

Wellness is a growing trend in many industries, including building design. This is especially true since the COVID-19 pandemic markedly disrupted how we work, learn, live, and play in the spaces we inhabit.

This course will analyze the growth of the wellness industry as it relates to the built environment and will introduce the learner to the WELL Building Standard, which is a rating system to help buildings and organizations deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces. Concurrently, we will explore how hearth products such as electric fireplaces can be incorporated into commercial and residential design to enhance occupant health and well-being.

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Innovations in Wood: Understanding the Latest Advances in Wood Research and Design

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation with ARCHITECT's Editor in Chief. Specifying wood in building design has a multitude of benefits, including elevating the design of the project, enhancing sustainable initiatives, and incorporating mixed materials for innovative buildings.

In this session, ARCHITECT explores the work and research of several firms using wood for innovative designs.

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Resilient Design and the Evolving Standard of Care

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. At the conclusion of this program attendees will be able to identify, analyze, and determine the need for alternative design approaches to account for more dynamic weather and climate-related events that pose an increasing risk to the health and safety of the public by identifying likely hazards and project site-specific exposures. Attendees will learn how the standard of care for design professionals is constantly evolving and will change more rapidly as extreme weather and climate-related events pose a greater risk to human life and infrastructure. By understanding how the standard of care evolves, design professionals will be encouraged to develop more innovative resilient designs that better protect people and property.

After completing this program, attendees will learn how to better identify opportunities to assist clients in adopting more progressive resilient design approaches by focusing on the long-term impacts on human health as well as project life-cycle costs. During this workshop attendees will learn how to better communicate and document resilient design alternatives that serve to better safeguard the public and allow society to recover quicker from a natural catastrophe.

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Building Community through Housing, Sustainability, and Design

Housing represents one of the greatest challenges we face within the architectural profession and society as a whole. Innovative design is essential to the evolution of the multi-family housing market. Architects and designers are a major part of the solution—designing new and reimagining existing buildings in beautiful, sustainable, and cost-effective ways.

In this session, we discuss a range of projects that exemplify architectural ingenuity in affordable housing. One of the highlighted projects features modular sunscreen/rainscreen walls, an architectural solution which enhances both the projects' aesthetics and residents' sense of community.

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Succession Planning and Leadership Transition: Securing Your AE Firm’s Future

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.

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Using Data to Design Great Cities

Learn how the latest geographic information systems (GIS) technology can help create happier, healthier, more prosperous cities. Research has always played an important role in what architects, designers, and urban planners do.

As we more closely examine equity and sustainability—and how to make our cities better places for everyone to live, work, play—research is especially important. In this Session ARCHITECT's Editor-in-Chief discusses projects driven in part by research using tech tools, including GIS.

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The Future Space: What’s Next?

Learn about the architecture of the future through examples from today. How will architects and designers think about crafting the spaces of the future?

In this discussion, ARCHITECT editor-in-chief Paul Makovsky and the expert panel examine case studies and forward-looking ideas that delve into what's coming for residential design.

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