Zonda - Resource Library

While most kitchens do have ventilation systems, homeowners often don’t use them properly and aren’t aware of how quickly cooking can negatively impact a home’s indoor air quality. This course discusses that impact and how proper specification of ventilation systems can significantly improve indoor air quality to protect occupant health and safeguard a home’s fixtures and furnishings from detrimental grease and odors. We will cover how to achieve proper sizing and positioning of a ventilation system, design and customization options, as well as projects where ventilation systems were used to maximize style and safety in residential kitchens.

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).

Hear how some in the industry are working to advance impartiality in their firms, and what we should be doing collectively to promote social equity in the built environment.

Western red cedar is a wood prized for its beautiful color and grain, natural insect and moisture resistance, and durability. It is an extremely versatile building product that can be used both indoors and out and can be finished in myriad ways to complement a building’s aesthetic.

This course will discuss best practices for finishing, care, and maintenance of western red cedar that will ensure a long-lasting finish in both exterior and interior applications.

Resilience has become a central idea for assessing how our social, economic, technical, constructed, engineered, and ecological systems can withstand and bounce back from a man-made or weather- and climate-related disaster. Globally, wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, high winds, hail, coastal and valley flooding, sea level rise, heat waves, seismic activity, extreme cold, ice storms, and snow melt have destroyed ecosystems, caused loss of life, damaged property, disrupted healthcare and financial networks, and in some cases, brought essential services to a halt. During this presentation, we’ll discuss the composition, performance, and application of engineered polymer siding and trim and capped polymer cladding to illustrate the benefits to home and building owners when construction materials are selected with resilience and sustainability in mind.

In this course, you’ll learn about the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) changes related to tall wood construction, including three new building types that allow for wood buildings up to 18 stories and even taller using an Alternate Materials and Methods Requests (AMMR). Rigorous fire testing was conducted as part of these code changes to validate the safety of tall mass timber construction. Along with advancements in tall mass timber construction, the course explores design tactics and relevant code applications used to boost the density of light-frame wood construction.

Finally, this course will review the science related to wood’s embodied carbon and life cycle assessment in the context of curbing a building's impact on climate change, including a growing body of research demonstrating how building with timber represents an opportunity to increase the long-term storage of carbon in today’s built environment.

Wood polymer composite fenestration products are next-generation composites that offer slimmer sightlines, architecturally correct design, and co-extruded pigment to meet the high demand for contemporary, sustainable, and durable windows and patio doors. This course will compare wood polymer composite to alternative materials and will discuss the performance benefits of composite windows and doors, including thermal and energy efficiency, water resistance, and recyclability. The course will also cover style, glazing, and finish options, as well as maintenance and installation considerations.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Rain is one of the most important things to control in wall construction for both a building’s structural integrity and the occupants’ health. Join us in this one-hour course as we discuss the aesthetic, performance, and sustainable attributes of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) for use in rainscreen applications. Participants will gain a new understanding of how WPC cladding should be applied and fastened in rainscreen systems.

Aluminum clad-wood windows and doors offer the beauty and warmth of wood in the interior, coupled with aluminum's durability and weather resistance on the exterior. Versatile aluminum clad-wood windows and doors have various applications in all types of commercial and residential projects. Restaurants, offices, mixed-use projects, and multifamily and single-family residential are examples of good uses for aluminum clad-wood windows and doors. This course will discuss expanded, specialized applications for aluminum clad-wood windows and doors in commercial and residential markets, including coastal, mountain, and historic projects.

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.