Building Knowledge and Connections
Health, Safety, and Welfare
All courses identified as HSW, cover Health, Safety, and Welfare topics and have been approved by the AIA (American Institute of Architects) as an HSW Learning Unit (LU/HSW).
Displaying 1 - 25 of 576 results.
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https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s8769/www.aecdaily.com/course/1000167
Architectural railing systems offer safety, durability, strength, and design flexibility for a variety of indoor and outdoor applications. This course provides an overview of the important factors that need to be considered when selecting and specifying a railing system for a commercial or residential building project. Topics include materials and finishes, fabrication and installation, and relevant building codes and standards.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s1055159/www.aecdaily.com/course/1089605
Noise pollution is excessive environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human life. As urban environments have become increasingly dense, the noise problem has magnified, negatively impacting mental and physical health. Sound is everywhere, but it can be controlled with architectural solutions. This course provides a refresher on the basic science of acoustics and how sound interacts with our surroundings. From there, the course explores various architectural solutions, the technology behind them, and how they are successfully integrated into buildings to reduce noise. Discussion of installation applications addresses sound control options for retrofits and new construction.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s921773/www.aecdaily.com/course/962287
Metals are ubiquitous in today’s hardscape and are used in a variety of applications. This course reviews the important considerations related to the proper material, finish, and manufacturing technique to meet the function, aesthetic, and budget of metal designs for hardscape applications.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s1131176/www.aecdaily.com/course/1148652
This course explores insulating concrete forms (ICFs) as part of a sustainable construction system by covering their benefits, applications, and design considerations. The course delves into the structural properties, energy efficiency, and environmental impact of ICFs. Also presented are best practices for integrating ICFs into various architectural projects and a concise overview of installation steps.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s624574/www.aecdaily.com/course/1056832
Typically, all the brick selected for a given project will be either full bed depth (anchored) or thin brick (adhered); however, situations may benefit from combining the two types of masonry veneer on a project. The intent of this course is to differentiate between the types of brick masonry veneer, discuss the unique detailing required when combining veneer types, and provide project examples demonstrating where both types of masonry veneer have been successfully integrated. This course will focus on exterior applications of anchored and adhered masonry veneer.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s7816/www.aecdaily.com/course/1073772
With the global rise in natural disasters and the increasing need for sustainable environments, resiliency has become a necessity in the design and building industries. This course provides an overview of resilient design, how it relates to building codes and standards, and the role it plays in ensuring the safety and sustainability of the built environment. It examines the role masonry construction plays in meeting resilient design goals and the inherent properties of masonry that make it resilient and provides examples and case studies of resilient design strategies.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s652237/www.aecdaily.com/course/854915
Artificial turf is essentially a flooring fabric made from a variety of materials and layers. Since its creation, the artificial turf industry has studied the behavior of natural grass and the safety and sustainability of artificial grass. This course examines today’s artificial grass systems and discusses how they are carefully planned, designed, and built to suit the specific needs of an outdoor residential or commercial landscape.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s13254/www.aecdaily.com/course/935532
The design community has become increasingly focused on ensuring that the products and places they create suit the diverse needs and differing abilities of everyone. This course explores how universal design principles and products can inform design to create places that are safer, more comfortable, visually appealing, and usable and that provide a richer experience for all users. This exploration utilizes the examples of door hardware and the needs of a diverse group of users including senior citizens and others to explain some of these principles and provides a detailed examination of a universally designed door latch.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s20642/www.aecdaily.com/course/1187815
This course explores the critical role of shade in urban design, public health, and climate resilience. It examines how natural, built, and combined shading systems reduce heat exposure, support thermal comfort, and enhance the usability of outdoor spaces. Through case studies, technical analysis, and planning frameworks, participants will learn how to evaluate shade needs, select appropriate solutions, and integrate shade into parks, plazas, transit stops, and other public environments.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s18525/www.aecdaily.com/course/1097698
“Good” lighting is more than photometric performance: it is an art and a science that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. It must meet the visual needs of many and satisfy a myriad of individuals’ subjective perceptions. Architectural lighting design is a series of planned experiences involving people and spaces that we create by modulating and delivering light. This course discusses a conceptual framework for lighting design that specifiers can use to bring an architectural vision to life with the most powerful medium available to enrich the built environment and enhance the end-user experience: light!
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s5654/www.aecdaily.com/course/1091501
Concrete is a key construction material in modern society. As the foundation for much of what we make, it has a substantial environmental impact, mainly reflected in its carbon footprint. This course introduces best practices to make concrete more sustainable and lower the embodied carbon in concrete with its use and application.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s1042490/www.aecdaily.com/course/1060032
Vinyl has long been a material of choice for construction products for interiors and exteriors because of its durability, cleanability, affordability, and suitability for a vast range of applications. This course furthers the conversation by discussing vinyl’s recyclability and sustainability and the attributes of laminated rigid PVC exterior and interior wall panels and siding and soffit products.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s17282/www.aecdaily.com/course/782582
Aluminum Full View (AFV) doors are a fast growing segment within the building product industry. They have a wide range of applications in a variety of building types. This course will look at potential applications and building types, options for installation, and custom options in design when specifying AFV doors.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s14798/www.aecdaily.com/course/1185276
Acoustical doors are vital in managing sound transmission in various architectural and industrial settings. This course discusses evaluating, specifying, and integrating acoustical doors into projects that demand effective noise control, speech privacy, and occupant comfort. It also examines how acoustical doors may help meet credit requirements in the LEED® v5 Building Design and Construction rating system and the WELL Building Standard™ version 2. Compliance with fire safety codes and SCIF specifications is also discussed.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s1158080/www.aecdaily.com/course/1167954
This course examines threats to window and door integrity in buildings, including forced entry, ballistic impact, storm debris, and blast pressure. It covers retrofit and replacement approaches that strengthen glazing systems, explains relevant testing protocols, and addresses misleading performance claims. The course concludes with guidance on how to assess existing conditions and specify solutions that support occupant safety, risk mitigation, and building resilience.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s795432/www.aecdaily.com/course/957482
Contemporary drinking fountains, water coolers, and water bottle refilling stations provide communities with access to safe, clean drinking water. This course recounts the history of the drinking fountain and addresses regulations surrounding drinking water distribution and treatment. It introduces touchless activation, compares the use of bottled water to bottle refillers, and provides guidelines for specifying commercial water delivery systems.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s993236/www.aecdaily.com/course/1139798
Embodied carbon represents a significant portion of the building industry’s carbon footprint; it is essential to utilize low-carbon construction processes and materials now, before the tipping point of the climate crisis is reached. This course discusses the use of LCAs and EPDs as tools to measure the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of building products and how architects and designers can utilize them to make sustainable choices in the design stages of a project. The course also looks at the growing relevance of EPDs in policies and green building standards, such as the Building Design and Construction rating systems of LEED® v4.1 and the upcoming LEED v5.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s6403/www.aecdaily.com/course/1045555
Prefabrication, in whole or in part, is a rapidly growing construction trend that has influenced how buildings and their components are being designed and assembled on- or off-site. This course provides an overview of the various prefabrication approaches, focusing on prefabricated bathrooms. It explores how designers can identify the prefabricated bathroom products and suppliers that best integrate with building prefabrication to optimize product and building benefits, economies, performance, and quality.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s1124494/www.aecdaily.com/course/1138490
This course provides a comprehensive overview of quartz surfacing as a sustainable material in contemporary design. It examines the environmental impact, safety standards, and wide-ranging applications of quartz surfacing. The course focuses on manufacturing processes, performance characteristics, and the material’s contribution to sustainability, equipping participants with the knowledge to effectively utilize quartz surfacing in residential and commercial projects.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s2580/www.aecdaily.com/course/1048719
Beyond aesthetics, ventilated façades and cladding systems provide added wind load absorption, moisture protection, and insulation properties, resulting in prolonged building durability and sustainability. This course examines how these systems benefit occupant well-being by mitigating exterior noise transmission, offer significant building operating energy savings from decreased HVAC demands, and increase occupant comfort by regulating interior temperatures. Mechanical and chemical adhesive attachment is also examined, focusing on the adhesive’s ability to absorb wind-induced vibration as well as expansion and contraction from temperature and humidity changes. Several case studies are also discussed.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s19871/www.aecdaily.com/course/699542
As we become more aware of the levels of toxins in our environment, we are realizing that the quality of air inside our homes is just as important as the quality of air outside our homes. This course outlines why indoor air quality is so important to our health and describes how to improve indoor air quality by using a balanced ventilation system.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s504914/www.aecdaily.com/course/611973
Falls are responsible for more open wounds, fractures, and brain injuries than any other cause of injury. Photoluminescent (PL) exit path markers have proven to provide safe and quick egress in all light conditions for occupants and fail-safe guidance to first responders entering unfamiliar surroundings in the event of an emergency. This course discusses the benefits of PL safety products and the codes and testing standards related to PL way-finding systems.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s18122/www.aecdaily.com/course/983367
Policies targeting the reduction of carbon emissions associated with building products require the disclosure of embodied carbon data to inform those policies and verify whether reduction targets or incentive requirements have been met. This course aims to provide a guide to collecting high-quality embodied carbon data.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s17445/www.aecdaily.com/course/1053011
The choice of flooring is an important consideration in museums; their popularity brings a high volume of foot traffic, and museum spaces have a wide range of flooring needs. This course discusses how recycled rubber flooring is a good choice for museums because of its sustainability, durability, low maintenance requirements, performance attributes, and wide variety of design options.
https://redirect.aecdaily.com/s3515/www.aecdaily.com/course/1080227
Water is one of our most valuable resources, yet many states suffer water shortages due to preventable problems such as overuse and leakages. This course discusses the increased need for water conservation and examines the requirements in CALGreen and the LEED® v4.1, Green Globes®, and BREEAM In-Use green building rating systems. The EPA’s WaterSense® initiative is also discussed, along with case studies explaining the benefits of concealed toilet systems and their contribution to water conservation. This course is one of two identical courses titled Water Conservation: Initiatives and Standards . You will receive credit for taking only one of these courses.
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