Zonda - Resource Library

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.

A new high performance architectural steel siding is giving builders and developers the opportunity to deliver an authentic wood look - without the maintenance.

Read more about these siding options and how one luxury condominium project achieved this aesthetic.

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.

How to make your fireplace design ideas come to life. Fireplaces have long been a focal point of homes and gathering places. With advances in technology, the fireplaces of today can fit just about any space.

In this expert panel discussion with ARCHITECT's Editor-in-Chief, dive into the possibilities of modern fireplace design. Examine case studies and ideas for hospitality, commercial, and residential spaces; including fireplace types and fuels, specification considerations, and how to bring your vision to life.

Designers have a plethora of options when specifying interior surface materials, but one stands out among the crowd, despite being an age-old material: veneer. This course will explore the evolution of veneering from ancient times to today and how factory-crafted veneer cabinetry remains a handcrafted art. We will also discuss design options and performance benefits that this sustainable material of choice offers.

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.

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.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Being a brilliant architect rarely translates into having a successful business. With all the years of education and training to make us experts in our profession, the skills needed to have a successful business were conveniently overlooked. This webinar will fill the void and provide you with the business management highlights that every firm needs to apply to achieve their full potential.

In this session, we will learn the fundamentals of all successful AE firms and provide the basis for making well-grounded business decisions. We will learn how firms can transition from being professionals providing services, to highly tuned businesses that can identify the needs of the marketplace and create services and products that are appropriately priced and yield consistent and greater profits.

Rather than seeking out new projects that merely build upon your current skills, you will start from a business-thinking mindset, where processes that are critical to building a thriving firm are examined and constituted in your firm. We will explore the importance of data within an architect firm and demonstrate how careful collection and interpretation can lead your firm into more exciting and profitable territory.

Using creative design solutions and subtle interventions, see how these design professionals are taking on issues such as aging in place and intergenerational living and making a difference for people, place and planet.

Architectural stone veneer has long been used to elevate the design of building facades, but more recently, it’s found its way indoors and is becoming a mainstay of interior design. “There’s been a real upswing in the number of projects on both residential and commercial when it comes to accentuating a space or an environment with stone,” says Sarah Lograsso, director of marketing for Eldorado Stone.

Hear about what’s behind this trend and the exciting options stone veneer can open up for architects and designers.