Product-specific Presentations
Arbor Wood - Thermally-Modified, Domestically-Sourced Wood Decking, Siding, and more.
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.
Durat - Modern 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.
Koskisen - Decorative High-Grade Plywood
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.
Organoid - Natural Surfaces
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.
PaperStone - Recycled Paper Composite, Surfacing and Cladding
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.
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AIA CE Courses
Beyond Certification: Navigating Sustainable Building Rating Systems
Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW
Description:
This course examines the most prominent sustainable building rating systems in the U.S., including LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge, and Green Globes. Participants will compare the intent, structure, and requirements of each program while exploring the environmental, human health, and economic benefits of building to these standards. The course also highlights how product selection can contribute to certification goals, create healthier spaces, and reduce environmental impact.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the core principles, goals, and certification pathways of LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge, and Green Globes.
- Compare the similarities and differences among these systems in terms of environmental impact, human health focus, and economic considerations.
- Evaluate the environmental, human health, and economic benefits of designing and certifying projects to sustainable building standards.
- Determine how specific building products and materials can contribute to achieving credits, improving occupant well-being, and lowering environmental impact.
Biomimicry in Building Materials
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
Biophilic Design
Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW | IDCEC
Description:
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
Download: Benefits of Biophilic Design
Circularity in the Built Environment
Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW
Description:
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
Crystalline Silica Free Surfacing
Length: 60 Minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW | IDCEC
Description:
Crystalline Silica is a compound found in many common engineered and natural stones. Fabricators and manufacturers are experiencing health implications from inhaling the dust produced in the creation and fabrication of these materials. Learn how silica is affecting the building industry and what alternatives are available.
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
Download: Crystalline Silica-Free Surfacing Guide
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LEED v5 Materials and Resources Updates
Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW | IDCEC | GBCI
Description:
This one-hour course provides a comprehensive overview of the updated Materials and Resources (MR) Credits in LEED v5. Participants will explore new criteria and strategies for specifying building materials that align with the evolving green building standards. LEED v5 emphasizes circular economy principles, greater transparency, and product optimization, pushing material manufacturers to meet higher performance benchmarks. Architects, designers, and building professionals will gain valuable insights into how to select and document materials that contribute to achieving MR Credits, making the specification process more straightforward and effective.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the LEED building rating system and how has it evolved.
- Understand materials and resources credits in LEED v5 BD+C.
- Optimize material selection for LEED credits and reduced environmental impact.
- Understand the impact of material selection when designing sustainable spaces.
Download: LEED v5 Materials & Resources Updates
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Noise and Modern Spaces
Length: 60 minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU | HSW
Description:
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
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Understanding Thermally Modified Wood
Length: 60 Minutes with Q&A
AIA Credit: 1 LU
Description:
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
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