Continuing Education – Distilled, Practical & Advanced Knowledge

Carbon Accounting Part 1: Terminology and Metrics

This course, the first in a 3-part series in partnership with the Carbon Leadership Forum, guides viewers through core concepts of carbon analysis and defines commonly used and often misunderstood terms such as embodied carbon, whole-life carbon, and zero carbon. Course takers will develop a foundational understanding of the built environment’s contribution to global climate change, increase their carbon literacy, and be better positioned to embody carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated over the full life cycle of a building.

Carbon Accounting Part 2: Measurements and Tools

In this second session of this three-part series, the presenters set the groundwork for a rapidly growing ecosystem of tools and strategies available for designers to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of their projects. This session focuses on methods and processes for assessing the whole building life cycle of buildings. Course takers will learn the core concepts of conducting whole building life cycle assessment and build an awareness of the different tools, data, and resources that can be used throughout the design process.

Material Selection: Embodied Carbon + Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment

This course focuses on how embodied carbon impacts our environment, the urgency or reducing carbon emissions associated with buildings, how to assess the amount of embodied carbon early in the design process, and strategies for reducing carbon emissions. Moderator Frank Bostrom, AIA, is joined by Laura Karnath, AIA, and Dirk Kestner, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, ENV SP, both from Walter P Moore. The course is divided into four parts:

• Embodied Carbon as a Performance Metric
• Embodied Carbon and Structure: Whole Building LCA
• Embodied Carbon and Enclosure: System LCA and Optioneering
• Resources

Understanding Carbon Analysis for Existing Building Renovation

Simone Barth, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C of Mithun moderates panelists from Syska Hennessy, Omgivnign and Skanska as they share zero carbon strategies that reduce embodied and operational carbon through reusing and renovating existing buildings. Viewers will gain an appreciation for the carbon advantages of adaptive reuse and learn how to employ research tools and steps for tracking data to analyze a building’s energy efficiencies and deficiencies.

Justin DiPalo, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, of Syska Hennessy, Sergio Cuculiza of Omgivning, and Mark Chen and Tolga Tutar, LEED AP, of Skanska present a series of case studies highlighting how Adaptive Reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the operational and commercial performance of built assets.

Design for Decarbonization: New Materials / Old Buildings

This course focuses on how both operational and embodied carbon must be considered to achieve rapid, Statewide decarbonization in the building sector. Avideh Haghighi, AIA, LFA, LEED GA discusses the time value of carbon emissions associated with construction, why we need to reduce embodied carbon in the next decade, and design strategies and tools for measuring and reducing embodied carbon.

Larry Strain, FAIA, LEED AP, then delves deeper into operational carbon and discusses reuse and renovation in the context of reducing both embodied and operational carbon. Course takers will develop a better understanding of how building renovation and reuse, coupled with reducing embodied and operational carbon, strengthens neighborhoods, maintains diversity, builds equity, increases resilience, and improves thermal comfort and health.

Introduction to Zero Net Carbon Design: Transforming Design Culture

Given the acceleration of climate change and its effects experienced by California communities today and in the decades to come, architects are increasingly responsible for designing buildings that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining literacy in low carbon design. This course provides an overview of Zero Net Carbon Design (ZNCD) design and how to incorporate best practices to reach aggressive sustainability goals in our built environment. This course also explores examples of how high-performance design intrinsic to design excellence.

Re-Designing Design Excellence

Bill Leddy, FAIA, principal of Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and AIA California’s Vice President of Climate Action, moderates presentations with three other award-winning architects who have integrated decarbonization and social equity within their nationally known practices for decades present.

Angela Brooks of Brooks+Scarpa discusses the triple thread of design, density and decarbonization. Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg Architects illustrates the benefits of creative adaptive reuse for harvesting the embodied carbon of existing buildings. Christiana Moss of Studio MA illustrates strategies for achieving zero net carbon at various building scales. A lively panel discussion then tackles why design professionals must re-define our concepts of “design excellence” in the Zero Carbon Age to enrich the quality of life within urban and suburban settings.

Designing for Zero Carbon - Three Case Studies of All-Electric Buildings

Edward Dean, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, , PhD, presentss case studies of three common building types that are designed as all-electric buildings and that will operate with zero-carbon emissions once the California electric grid has been 100% decarbonized, currently scheduled for 2045. Each of these case study buildings have been designed to achieve zero-net-energy (ZNE) performance through the use of on-site renewable energy systems and energy-efficient design strategies.

Case Study of All-Electric Buildings – UCI Medical Campus

Moderated by Suyama Bodhinayake, Assoc. AIA, AIA Orange County, this program examines the process and decision making that led to an all-electric approach at the new University of California, Irvine Medical Center design-build project.

The project, located on a pristine site adjacent to a large wetland marsh, includes a 144-bed hospital, an ambulatory care center, a shared surgery suite and outdoor venues. Core design principles include strong commitments to sustainability, a connection to nature, and a belief that these connections lead to wellness and better patient outcomes.

Induction Cooking: The All-Electric Kitchen of Today and ZNCD for Food Service

This course illustrates how all-electric kitchens are instrumental in meeting California’s net-zero-carbon goals and, properly designed, can also save labor, reduce maintenance, increase kitchen comfort, and reduce utility costs. Moderated by Miranda Gardiner, Assoc. AIA, LEED Fellow, this course focuses on applying ZNCD principals to commercial kitchen design; however, viewers can adapt these principles for residential kitchens.

Case Study: California Air Resources Board Headquarters Building

Situated in the historic City of Riverside, the new headquarters of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has now become the largest true net-zero energy facility in the nation—producing more energy than it uses. The project is designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification and meets all CALGreen Tier 2 building standards. This facility symbolizes the transition of transportation in California to zero-emission technologies.

Presented by leaders of ZGF Architects and Affiliated Engineers, Inc., this program illustrates strategies that contribute to achieving net-zero performance for a dynamic and energy-intensive campus including active and passive energy-efficiency strategies for storing surplus energy and for reducing operational and embodied carbon.

Climate Action Standard for ZNCD All-Electric ADUs and Residential Projects

Great things come in small packages, especially all-electric homes and ADUs. Moderated by Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate, ADU owner Nick Brown, CEA, CABEC, AEA, CABEC, of Build Smart Group and architect Tim Kohut, AIA, Director of Sustainable Design at National CORE, describe a new 1-bedroom all-electric ADU built above an existing garage in Long Beach. They discuss how all-electric ADUs can achieve zero net carbon and discusses the energy efficiencies of heat pump HVAC systems, heat pump water heaters, induction ranges, electric washers, heat pump clothes dryers, Heat Recovery Ventilators, 12-panel PV systems, and SIPS insulated panels.

Nick and Tim also discuss how energy modeling and project cost considerations shaped decisions around building envelope, systems and equipment, and affected T-24 Part 6 compliance.

Zero Net Carbon Design and Wildfire Resilience

Wildfire has become one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases in California and the world, potentially jeopardizing our ability to reach our carbon reduction targets. In this course, an interdisciplinary team of experts discuss the inter-relatedness of zero net carbon design and wildfire resilience and share best practice design solutions, explore the effects of wildfires on carbon emissions and air quality, offer advice regarding hardening of buildings to wildfire ignition, and discuss the importance of landscape design in the prevention of building ignition.

Free New Tools for Planning Low-Carbon Buildings

New tools allow for actionable carbon reduction strategies and goals to be set at the beginning of a project when data is scarce but the potential for carbon emissions reduction is high. This session reviews how architects can use these tools during pre-design to chart a course to decarbonization, present the most impactful low-carbon design strategies to clients, and carry these strategies through the project life cycle. Presenters demonstrate the open access Early Phase Integrated Carbon (EPIC) assessment to model buildings and discuss the results. The session also reviews methods and assumptions for early-phase carbon modeling to understand the model results in greater detail while illustrating the finer points of planning low-carbon buildings.

Climate Action Part 1: Overview

This course is offered FREE courtesy of AIA California

Part 1 of this day-long workshop, hosted by the AIA California Board of Directors, provides an overview on climate change policies and opportunities in the areas of Water, Carbon and Energy.

Presentations include a “State of the State” on California’s ambitious Zero Net Energy goals, an impassioned “Climate Emergency” warning by Ed Mazria, and presentations about preserving water resources and reducing embodied carbon. The presenters than gather for an insightful panel discussion about how the architectural profession can take action in response to the changing climate and its impact on the built environment.

Climate Action Part 2: Implementation Strategies

This course is offered FREE courtesy of AIA California

Part 2 of this day-long workshop, hosted by the AIA California Board of Directors, provides more in-depth insights into the ZERO Code and opportunities for architects to engage in policy discussions and the code development process, strategies for reducing embedded carbon in our built environment, and examples of zero net carbon buildings.

The course concludes with an overview of opportunities and impediments that attendees identified for adopting the Zero Code and how individual architects, firms and AIA chapters can proactively respond to climate change.