Zonda - Resource Library

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.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. 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.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Reusing existing buildings is one of the most effective strategies architects have to reduce embodied carbon and structural steel plays a critical role in making reuse viable, adaptable, and measurable. This course examines how steel supports circular design strategies that extend building life, enable program change, and reduce carbon impacts beyond end-of-life recycling.

Using whole-building life-cycle assessment as a framework, the session explores how retaining and adapting steel structures compares to new construction. Case studies demonstrate how architects leveraged existing steel frames, selective reinforcement, and targeted interventions to achieve substantial embodied carbon savings while delivering new uses, density, and performance. The course emphasizes actionable design decisions architects can make early to preserve value, reduce waste, and document carbon outcomes.