If the concept of universal design brings to mind images of a slab-on-grade house with medical-grade adaptations, a peek inside the 2021 Southern Living Showcase Home might surprise you.
This discussion covers how the rise of multigenerational homes and the desire to age in place are prompting the design & build community to meet growing demand for accessible homes - plus how to integrate these features into aesthetically pleasing designs.
Create natural connections and health benefits within the built environment through thoughtfully-designed custom fireplaces. By including fire features within a biophilic-centered design approach, there are opportunities for infusing a space with natural elements that are visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile. Custom fire features not only deliver ambiance, social centering, and visual captivation - but also create an element of relaxation and harmony that is essential to biophilic design.
Achieve dynamic multisensory features of light, color, heat, and sound through fire which promotes physical and mental wellness. A fire feature crafted to be harmonious with the overall design intention offers comfort, calm, and security in the built environment. For your clients and projects striving for interior spaces that support a wellness mission, the sensory principles of a fire can help deliver the overall impression and provide the health-inducing benefits they desire.
To make their homes more comfortable, functional and aesthetically pleasing homeowners are willing to spend more. Here are the trends and product innovations that are shaping what is important today.
Kai-Uwe Bergmann, a partner at BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), discusses the innovation behind the SMILE building in New York’s East Harlem neighborhood. Hear how reinterpreting the NY building code allowed them to create a design winning mixed use space that appeals to renters while investing in the good of the community.
A collaboration between Masonite, Yale and Ring has created the next generation front door. This short video shows you why these doors will change the future of residential building.
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.
Achieving optimal comfort requires focusing on design principles and selecting materials that address acoustics, indoor air quality, daylighting, cleanability and more — everything occupants see, hear, and feel. Some of the most significant contributors to the aesthetics and performance of interior spaces are ceilings and walls. Today’s architectural ceiling and wall solutions are sophisticated products that play an enormous role in occupant comfort. This course will explore how architects and designers can improve occupant health and well-being through the use of acoustic ceiling and wall systems in the built environment (more specifically in offices, classrooms, and healthcare facilities, where people spend a great deal of time).
Zero net energy (ZNE) construction represents a vast opportunity for builders and contractors. So what is a zero net energy home? In the simplest terms, a ZNE home produces as much energy as it uses, most commonly using efficient construction methods. Achieving ZNE performance involves a whole-building design approach to consider all of a home's systems — the building envelope, mechanical systems, and lighting and appliances — in an integrated way.
This e-book collects our most valuable resources on ZNE projects to help you define what ZNE means for you and examine factors such as energy prices, net metering policies, solar resources, incentives, and budget. You’ll see that getting to zero doesn’t mean giving up desirable and high-performance gas systems.
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Collaboration in architecture is nothing new. However, collaboration between architects and manufacturers is a relatively modern partnership, beginning largely in the early 20th century as new forms of architecture demanded material innovation and new construction technologies. Contemporary trends like Art Deco, Art Moderne, and International style embraced principles of industrialization, and some architects, perhaps most prominently Walter Gropius, espoused the need for the “rationalization, systemization, and standardization” of architecture in an effort to emulate assembly line production without sacrificing individualism. This course will look at some of the history of collaboration between architects and manufacturers and examine the concepts of interchangeable parts manufacturing, collaborative alliances, and mass production and customization. It will also assess several case studies as well as provide tips for creating effective collaborations that can lead to innovation.