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Education

Interested in learning more about sustainable design trends, standards, or rating systems? Check out our offering below! Presentations range from how to make an extremely durable surface out of paper to understanding how interior acoustics affect our health. With LEED Accredited Professionals (AP) on staff, we strive to be at the forefront of education in the sustainable building industry.

CaraGreen is an AIA CES Registered Provider.

Contact your local rep or info@caragreen.com to schedule an AIA lunch and learn or product knowledge session.

Product Specific Presentations

A 15-, 30-, or 45-minute presentation on Arbor Wood thermally modified wood.

Arbor Wood Co. provides durable, natural wood products for architectural specifications for flooring, interior wall cladding, exterior siding, furniture and custom millwork.

A 15-, 30-, or 45-minute presentation on Durat solid surface.

Durat is a unique solid surface material that can be used to create seamless surfaces for any custom project including countertops, desks, tables, integrated sinks, bathtubs, shower trays and stools. Durat is made from 30-50% recycled hard plastics. Easy maintenance and hard-wearing properties make it an ideal material for various kinds of interiors including bathrooms and public spaces.

Durat is 100% recyclable.

A 15-, 30-, or 45-minute presentation on Koskisen.

KoskiDecor Eco Transparent is made of Finnish birch plywood. Both sides are coated with colored translucent. The translucent coating emphasizes the wood’s natural grain and is protected by an overlaid transparent durable film.

KoskiDecor Eco Transparent is an ideal material for the furniture and millwork. Thanks to the hardwearing and crack resistant clear melamine surface, its features provide smooth and superior surfaces, ready for interior use.

A 15-, 30-, or 45-minute presentation on Lapitec, the next generation of surfacing.

Lapitec® is a unique product defined as sintered stone, made of 100% minerals with no resins or petroleum derivatives. Lapitec® provides the most suitable and diverse solutions for construction and furnishing, with the dimensions required by designers. Being a “full bodied” material, it is easy to work and can be utilized in countless applications: from internal and external cladding to pavements, from indoor or outdoor kitchen countertops to ventilated façades. It is non-porous, making it stain-resistant, mold-resistant, and bacteria-resistant. Lapitec®’s resistance to these factors means it is also easily cleaned, featuring an integral technology called Bio-Care which breaks down pollutants in the air and supplements the natural work of trees. Lapitec® is a product that is long lasting and completely weather-proof. Every slab is acid-resistant, alkali-resistant, resistant to deep abrasions, heat-resistant, and frost-resistant, and is unaffected by UV rays. It is also resistant to graffiti. One of the most durable building materials, Lapitec® is perfect for any application.

A 15- or 30-minute presentation on Organoid.

Organoid produces beautiful natural surfaces out of alpine hay, flower petals, wool, moss, and other raw materials found in Austria. Depending on the carrier selected for the surface, the product can be used for wall coverings, furniture accents, flooring, acoustic panels, packaging, and much more. Learn about standard and custom offerings.

A 15-, 30-, or 45-minute presentation on PaperStone.

PaperStone® is committed to innovative green products that contribute to a wholistic lifestyle that is smart, elegant, and responsible. Made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. PaperStone® has no added urea formaldehyde resins and has been thoroughly tested and certified as VOC-free.

AIA CE Courses

Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW

Description: The way we solve problems, the way we create, has had lasting consequences on our environment. Pollution, waste, struggling to find the right solution. How can we design better? Nature has solved problems and perfected the solution over 4 billion years, since the Earth’s creation. Adapting and evolving to fit current needs has created designs beyond our imagination. This course delves into how to utilize these designs for our needs, as shapes, as functions, and even as whole systems. This is the future of design.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand what biomimicry is
  • Learn why biomimicry is imperative in sustainable design
  • Learn how to utilize biomimicry
  • Define the different types of biomimicry

Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW

Learn about the latest trend in interior design: Biophilic Design, which is the incorporation of natural elements using design techniques to improve the environment, employee well-being and productivity. This presentation is more than just theory, it offers case studies and data that back up this type of design and shows how retail, commercial, school, health and hospital buildings and employees can benefit substantially by incorporating the principles of biophilic design. From water features, daylighting, acoustic treatments, sounds and natural imagery to analogs of nature and elevated visual planes, the techniques and materials to invoke them are available for the next generation of design.

Learning Objectives:

  • Define Biophilic Design
  • Discover how Biophilic Design impacts the interior environment
  • Understand how businesses can benefit from incorporating this type of design
  • Consider which product options contribute to Biophilic Design

Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW

In the simplest of terms, a circular economy is an economic framework that is restorative and regenerative by nature. Also referred to as a closed-loop system, circular economies seek to cut out the single-use, waste-creating aspects of our current economic system and instead replace them with practices that not only reduce waste but also find ways to keep products and materials in use while regenerating natural systems. So instead of a system that depletes our resources and jeopardizes the health of the planet, circular economy systems work to create a system in which the things we buy are created out of resources we already have, and, once we are finished with them, can be put back into the system of commerce (rather than a landfill).

Learning Objectives:

  • Define circular economy
  • Understand the role of building materials in circularity
  • Learn the role of product manufacturers in circularity
  • Understand take-back programs and how they work
  • Learn how to design for circularity

Length: 60 Minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW 

Learning Objectives:

    • Learn what silica is and how it is used
    • Understand the risk associated with crystalline silica
    • Discover healthier options and best practices for working with materials that contain crystalline silica
    • Understand what role YOU can play in keeping the surfacing industry safe

Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW | GBCI 0920024360

This one-hour course breaks down the Materials and Resources Credits in LEED v4.1 (as of April 2021). We will discuss the newest changes and what you should be paying attention to when it comes to specifying building materials according to LEEDs latest standard. As green building evolves to include more than just energy efficiency and recycling, material manufacturers are asked to up their standards as well. Transparency and optimization are key to understanding what products will help projects achieve points under the Materials and Resources credit category. CaraGreen offers this course in hopes of simplifying the specification process for LEED projects for architects and designers, as well as to help building product manufacturers understand what documentation their products need to qualify.

Learning objectives:

  • Define the LEED Building Standard and how has it evolved
  • Understand Materials and Resources Credits overhaul in LEED v4.1
  • Optimize material selection for LEED Credits and reduced environmental impact
  • Understand the impact of material selection when designing sustainable spaces

Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW

Trends in surfacing are constantly shifting over time, but there are a few more reasons why. Quartz fatigue is setting in- its colors and patterns are endlessly mimicked, it is starting to look tacky in an effort to expand, and it is becoming a commodity. On top of that, tariffs and taxes are rising the prices of foreign-made quartz. A new group of surfacing materials are coming into play: sintered stone, next generation of solid surface, and composite surfaces. This is influencing other shifts, such as the affinity for nature (biophilic design), nature-inspired design (biomimicry) and sustainability (using waste as a resource).

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand how we interact with surfaces in our daily lives
  • Review changes in surfacing industry trends over time
  • Identify challenges with traditional surfacing materials and healthy, sustainable alternatives
  • Understand the benefits of using modern surfacing materials
  • Identify criteria to help find and choose the best modern surface for your space

Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW

This course will demonstrate the need for acoustic treatments by discussing the changes in design and layout that have dictated today’s spaces, the critical noise issues affecting occupants and how acoustics work with design to address these issues.

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain how acoustic treatments can increase occupant comfort, health, and productivity
  • Understand acoustics, rating, frequently used terms and how uncontrolled sound can adversely affect a building’s occupants
  • Identify how the use of acoustic materials can help a building project achieve LEED certification
  • Review industries and applications where acoustic materials have successfully solved noise pollution

Length: 60 Minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW

This course will dive into the definition, manufacturing process, characteristics, and applications of sintered stone. Sintered stone is a unique material made of minerals with no binders. The surface has a unique composition and performance characteristics. It also has to be processed in a specific way. There is a lot to learn about sintered stone and this course covers a lot of it.

Learning Objectives:

  • Define Sintered Surface and compare its characteristics with similar materials such as porcelain, quartz surface, and granite.
  • Learn about the manufacturing process and how fabrication techniques differ from traditional materials.
  • See examples of sintered surface installed in various applications.
  • Find out the proper care and maintenance procedures for common sintered surface applications.

Length: 60 Minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU

This course will provide the attendee a basic understanding of the components of a wood cell wall and how wood can be modified. This course will cover the differences between thermally modified wood (TMW) and other modification methods as well as the results of thermal modification of the structure, performance, and appearance of the wood. It will also dive into the history and development of the ThermoWood process and applications of TMW.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify many types of wood modification with an emphasis on TMW
  • Discuss the ThermoWood process and the features and benefits realized
  • Understand applications for TMW
  • Display an understanding of how TMW can contribute to LEED objectives
  • Gain knowledge of CSI standard specification for thermally modified wood products

Length: 60 Minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW 

This course covers the history and basics of the WELL building standard.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the basics of the WELL Building Standard

  • Understand differences between WELL and other systems

  • Consider how WELL can be applied/modified to a specific project type

  • Briefly cover the components of the standard

Downloadable Resources

A quick cheat sheet on Biophilic Design- what it is, how to implement it, some relevant images

A quick cheat sheet on Circularity in the built environment. Understand the concept of circularity as it applies to buildings and building materials. Learn the role of product manufacturers in circularity. Understand take-back programs and how they work. Learn how to design for circularity.

A sheet detailing LEEDv4.1 updates on materials and resources- applicable credits, ways to choose better materials, and the importance of materials.

A sheet detailing what biomimicry is. Understand why biomimicry is imperative in sustainable design. Learn how to utilize biomimicry, and define different types of biomimicry.