Zonda - Resource Library

Consumers are increasingly interested in understanding the environmental impact of the products they use. This course will help you understand how the choice of building materials can have profound impacts on local and global ecosystems, as well as on consumer preferences. “Green building” practices have expanded beyond operational energy efficiency to include factors such as minimizing the embodied carbon impact of a built structure along the supply chain.

As a result, wood’s role as a sustainable building material has become increasingly important. Compared to nonrenewable materials such as steel and concrete, wood is renewable and stores carbon throughout the lifetime of the material. Wood also uses less fossil fuel than substitutable materials (e.g., steel and concrete) across the supply chain, from harvest to manufacturing, transport, installation, maintenance, and disposal or recycling. Procurement of wood building materials from sustainably managed forests creates a sustainably built environment and also supports forest biodiversity, soil and water health, wildlife habitat, social and economic goals, etc.

This course will demonstrate how using wood as a building material contributes to forest sustainability, especially in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The operation of multifamily and hospitality developments has drastically transformed over the past decade, and more recently since the pandemic. Residential developments are no longer just a place to hang your hat — they have come to represent a resident’s lifestyle and community. Developers have followed suit, offering numerous community-building and wellness amenities. Like in multifamily properties, hotels and resort guests are also seeking home-like and wellness amenities with a touch of luxury.

Restaurants, hotels, and resorts have had to overcome massive hurdles since the pandemic and have come out on the other side with expanded offerings, many centered around outdoor dining, lounges, and green spaces. This course will examine some of the amenities these developments are offering and the role propane can play in attracting new residents and guests with expanded amenities.

Resilience is a key component of building design when addressing both seismic and wind design. Properly designed and constructed wood structures that comply with building code requirements are resilient, performing with minimal damage while protecting occupants during both seismic and high wind events.

This course will look at how wood-frame Lateral Force Resisting Systems (LFRS), that resist wind and seismic loads, can contribute to resistance in the built environment.

Achieving carbon neutrality and protecting the world's water supply are vital to the AEC industry because of the significant impact buildings have on the environment and occupant health. The structures that we live, work, and commune in use a vast amount of the energy and water consumed on the planet for building operations and maintenance.

Over the past two decades more and more organizations, from private companies to federal governments, have taken steps to minimize their impact on the environment and, more recently, on society's wellbeing as a whole. This has been accomplished through sustainable building design, social accountability, and ethical economic practices. This course will discuss a Net Positive approach to design and business operations.

Floor trusses are the ideal structural system for single family, multi-family, and other commercial builds due to their inherent design flexibilities, optimized construction advantages, and exceptional strength. Each floor truss is designed and engineered for the unique and specific project. Open-web floor trusses create downstream value through faster and safer on-site installation, efficient MEP installations, and additional opportunities for reduced material costs.

This course will demonstrate project benefits when utilizing open web floor trusses and discuss how they can improve your next project.

There is a misconception that zero net energy (ZNE) means all-electric, but in fact, propane has the ability to provide a clean, efficient, and affordable energy solution for both builders and their customers. This course will discuss how ZNE fits into the country’s energy landscape and how mixed-fuel homes featuring propane can be leveraged to meet ZNE homeowners’ energy and lifestyle demands.

The course will explore design strategies architects can use to achieve zero net energy homes and case studies where propane’s versatility and low-carbon output were harnessed to achieve resiliency, sustainability, and performance in ZNE builds.

Gas appliances like ranges, fireplaces, and furnaces are important amenities that many home buyers want in a new home. However, in some residential developments, natural gas access may not be feasible and on-site propane storage may also have challenges. Community propane systems offer an innovative method for supplying propane to every home in a community through a centralized delivery system. Community propane systems allow developers to offer gas access to builders, who in turn can sell gas amenities to buyers. In the end, both benefit and homeowners reap the rewards of gas appliances and other desired technologies in their home.

This course discusses how community propane systems work; use cases for these systems; value propositions for developers, builders, and owners; and common propane applications for residences and community buildings.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Projects are the core of your architecture firm. Not only do they generate profits, but they are also at the center of your firm’s business operations. As such, doing everything you can to ensure their success should be one of your top priorities.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) track project success by measuring how your projects (or team, clients, and so on) are performing. Because each architecture firm has different goals and ways of working, your vital KPIs will vary from project to project.

Effective KPIs, regardless of project type, are:

*Well-defined and quantifiable
*Communicated thoroughly to every employee
*Crucial measurements for tracking the progress of your goals
*Applicable to your firm and industry

Within the world of project performance and finance, certain KPIs should always be used to monitor and improve your success.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. The impact of building materials on the environment continues to grow in importance within the construction industry. In addition to performance, budget and aesthetics, design professionals are now being asked to evaluate the environmental burdens of their design choices. Measuring the impacts of buildings, assemblies and products can be complex. Every design decision, from material and product selection to envelope design and construction can have an impact on the environment and the methods used to evaluate those decisions are still not widely understood.

This presentation will address critical issues the design professional should consider when evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials to maximize performance and deliver lasting value.

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.