Continuing Education

This course explores how Professional Services Firms (PSFs) in North American metropolises are facing challenges in doing business in a fast-paced global society, with environments which require them to cope with increasing size, complexity, and conflict management, to shape and coordinate the right culture that meets their strategic goals and creates sustainability with legacy. This requires addressing retaining and developing leaders and emerging leaders and pursuing their commitment to a long and productive career in their organizations. Thus, this course is an exercise of depth that reflects the uniqueness in the lives of leaders in PSFs to help them in fostering a culture that develops and retains good leaders with authentic, servant, and transformational leadership characteristics. It is based on scholarly research in PSFs where leaders understand desirable leadership characteristics to be a continuous process, to improve their own desirable leadership characteristics and practical approaches and implications when relating with all the stakeholders in their organizations, thus a testimony to leaders who want to build the right culture in PSFs. The recommendations and conclusion provide insightful information to help professional services firms’ leaders, university students, and practitioners with valuable insights in knowledge to promote desirable leadership characteristics in PSFs, thus fostering the development and retention of leaders for sustainability with legacy. (1 LU)

This presentation will discuss the top resilient design strategies for buildings, lessons learned and how to create buildings that last and continue to function even in the most extreme circumstances. The presentation will identify how resilient designs begin with strategies for identification of risks, then design of building elements that minimize those risks. The presentation will also present some interesting items learned from critical building structures such as hospitals in the wake of catastrophic hurricances, as well as other major events around the nation. The presentation will discuss how the "built to last" design strategies coincide with high level sustainable design, as well as highlight some of the most resilient and sustainable buildings in the world.

Distributed Antenna Systems address two very important needs for a facility. First, they improve the quality of cell phone signals inside the facility which increase patient, family and staff satisfaction and productivity. Secondly, they improve the radio reception for first responders during an emergency.

This introductory course will explain what commissioning is while defining the of roles and responsibilities of the design team in the commissioning process, as well as the benefits and costs. *(1 LU)

With the increased reliance on network based systems for everything from EHR to physical security to facility systems, the disruptive effects of the loss of that network are significant. While this session is intended to address the real and challenging specifics that may occur due to a cyber event (and have been experienced by others), these vulnerabilities can arise just as readily due to an errant trenching machine or water leak in the wrong place. Having a plan and testing your ability to overcome this type of event should be a facility priority. *(1LU)

As the climate change impacts of building construction and operation become clearer and clearer, building designers, architects and engineers, need to take immediate action. This course provides designers with information about the key issues of decarbonizing the building sector, as well as specific steps to be taken to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the building industry.

Architects have a design and leadership role in the decarbonization of new construction, and the renovation and/or adaptive reuse of existing buildings. This presentation seeks to explore both the design elements an architect can use in creating a low carbon building, while also emphasizing what can be expected from subconsultants in this process. Many design professionals play key roles in embodied carbon minimization and in minimizing operational carbon. There are elements that bleed across all disciplines. Delivering a successful project involves being able to communicate decarbonization concepts to the owner, operator, design and construction teams in their respective languages. This presentation breaks down lessons learned into the stages of the initial schematic design, development of the construction documents, permitting, construction and operation – as the unexpected is encountered. Creativity is crucial to success, as this presentation will demonstrate through the use of case studies, since every building project is unique and requires attention to detail.

Presentation of the current issues around reducing carbon emissions in licensed healthcare facilities’ design, construction and operations. The presentation also discusses the Biden Administration’s Pledge to Reduce Health Sector Carbon Emissions 50% by 2030, as well as the opportunities for funding through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act federal legislation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into stark view how indoor environments can affect the transmission of infectious diseases. This presentation examines how improving ventilation can contribute to this effort. The presentation provides attendees with details about fresh air circulation and increased filtration efficiency, as well as alternative technologies that are rapidly proliferating. Examples of applications in commercial and institutional building types, including offices, retail, education, and healthcare delivery are provided.

This course explores how Professional Services Firms (PSFs) in North American metropolises are facing challenges in doing business in a fast pace global society, with environments which require them to cope with increasing size, complexity and conflict management, to shape and coordinate the right culture that meets their strategic goals, and creates sustainability with legacy. This requires to address retaining and developing leaders and emerging leaders, and pursue their commitment to a long and productive career, in their organizations. Thus, this course is an exercise of depth that reflects the uniqueness in the lives of leaders in PSFs to help them in fostering a culture that develops and retains good leaders with authentic, servant, and transformational leadership characteristics. It is based on scholarly research in PSFs where leaders understand desirable leadership characteristics to be a continuous process, to improve their own desirable leadership characteristics and practical approaches and implications when relating with all the stakeholders in their organizations, thus a testimony to leaders who want to build the right culture in PSFs. The recommendations and conclusion provide insightful information to help professional services firms’ leaders, university students, and practitioners with valuable insights in knowledge to promote desirable leadership characteristics in PSFs, thus fostering the development and retention of leaders for sustainability with legacy. (1 LU)

Healthcare is a technology-based industry. How do healthcare systems deal with changes in technology, understand their applications, and make good investment decisions? As consultants, we strive to educate our clients on emerging technologies, trends, and processes. Helping facilities incorporate these into the design process improves outcomes by capturing proper clinical workflow, real infrastructure needs and space requirements is essential. Exposing our healthcare clients to current trends/options helps them think beyond how they are currently delivering care providing informed decisions and comprehensive designs. This session will discuss the concept of a real-time health system, emerging technologies, processes for technology planning, and design considerations.  (1 LU|HSW)

The AIA’s Framework includes for Design Excellence includes 10 different measures, including “Designing for Energy”. These 10 measures were formerly known as the COTE Top Ten. The Designing for Energy measure organizes our thinking, facilitates conversations with our clients, and sets meaningful goals and targets for climate action and building performance. This presentation focuses on engaging the participants in energy benchmarking, goal-setting and energy modeling during design. Benchmarks and goals are shared with the design team and owner, and are a basis for a deeper conversation about how the building is intended to work. Energy modeling is a fundamental design tool to help projects meet their goals – it is key to understanding conceptual design choices, and essential to the design team for meeting its energy goals. As with many decisions made during design, the earlier the project team uses benchmarking, goal-setting and energy modeling as a design tool, the lower the cost, and the greater the benefit to the building owner.

Science & Technology and acute care Healthcare projects have specific energy signatures that separate them from other project types. These projects often have enough internal, process-related loads (equipment of laboratory support and diagnostic and treatment) that they are largely self-heating, even at very low outside temperatures. These projects are also characterized by health and safety concerns that mandate air exchange rates that are well in excess of that required to handle the peak thermal loads of the spaces, leading to a simultaneous heating and cooling approach to space temperature and humidity control. This continuing education offering provides the architectural audience insight into these unique characteristics and information on how to reduce the energy consumption and system sizes to serve these project types.

Advancing healthcare technologies and integrated building systems are constantly changing clinical operations and the spaces we design. Frequently the impact of technology is missed during master planning, space planning and design. Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, 3D Printing, Remote Monitoring, and Virtual Care are just a few technologies driving operational changes in healthcare that improve patient safety and healthcare outcomes. Developing master plans, space programs, designs, and project budgets that are capable of addressing evolving technologies are key to the success of long-term facility planning. This session will challenge our traditional planning techniques to incorporate the unpredictable technical elements of advanced technologies improving patient care.

Review of the Health & Wellness ratings that are available for buildings, the processes and costs involved in pursuing the ratings and case studies.

Frequently hospital technology implementations don’t meet functional requirements and clinical needs. Issues include improper device locations, misunderstood technology utilization, scope issues, technology changes, necessary adaptable spaces, and even systems duplication. These challenges dramatically impact clinical workflows and patient safety. A new approach to technology implementation is required by design teams. One that embraces a full understanding of hospital technology operational utilization integrated into the design process beyond just cabling needs.

Hospitals have extremely high energy use intensity, often twice to four times that of a typical office building. This certainly reflects their 24/7/365 operation, but there are many opportunities to reduce energy use, particularly the practice of widespread simultaneous heating and cooling. This presentation provides the audience with industry-specific tools and approaches to creating Best in Class inpatient healthcare energy performance.

Design teams are missing opportunities to incorporate technologies and building systems solutions that improve patient care and save lives. Predictive fall prevention systems, building systems integrations, infection control dashboards, predictive analytics, remote monitoring, mobile healthcare units, wearable technologies, and virtual care are often viewed outside of the design process in many projects as an owner furnished IT/Biomed issues. Helping facilities incorporate these into the design process improves outcomes by capturing proper clinical workflow, real infrastructure needs and space requirements that are often missed. Exposing our healthcare clients to current trends/options helps them think beyond how they are currently delivering care, making informed decisions, and providing comprehensive designs. This session will evaluate varied technologies and building systems being utilized in many facilities that design teams can implement to dramatically improve patient outcomes.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, significantly increases energy tax deductions and credits. The presentation focuses on the portions of the IRA that relate specifically to energy credits and incentives that can be incorporated in design to increase residential, public, and commercial buildings’ energy efficiency, with a focus on electrification and full building retrofits. (1 LU|HSW)

This course covers the updates to the Florida Building Code - Energy Conservation that went into effect December 31, 2020. This course is directed at architects, building owners, contractors, etc. about how these changes impact building design and architecture.

2018 IECC was a quantum leap forward in building energy performance and will have a significant impact on how architects and engineers work together to design high-energy efficient, high-performance buildings. The course will educate design teams on compliance, use of energy modeling to achieve performance path and lessons learned.

Active shooters, domestic violence, terrorism, gangs, behavioral patient issues, theft, workplace violence, and abductions are unfortunate realities hospitals must be prepared to face. Virtual fencing, biometrics, video analytics, visitor management systems, access control, emergency notification systems, duress systems, and video surveillance can reduce these risks but must be carefully designed with the built environment as a front line defense. Embracing a holistic design approach that integrates these technologies along with physical barriers, structural resiliency, strategic lighting, incident command centers, and operation needs is a must to address today’s hospital security risks.

Space the final frontier, or is it? Building occupants are demanding new and innovative ways to create efficiencies and opportunities in the work place. During our presentation we will discuss some of the aspects. Cities are also focused on the future and how to be smarter. Smart city principles will be discussed, as well as how they relate to sustainability and how the two correlate.

This presentation discusses not only the basic principles of structural engineering that contribute to public safety but also the considerations that ensure occupant comfort and criteria that ensure the long-term usefulness of a building or other structure. Code compliance is discussed on multiple levels, as are the more owner- or developer-driven criteria that enable a design team to deliver a successful, safe, and functional project.

Energy modeling has become an important function that influences the design choices for many projects, both LEED and otherwise. Owners are starting to see the value of energy-efficient design, whether they plan to pass the property onto tenants or occupy the building themselves. It is a lively and interactive demonstration of how architects can integrate energy modeling into their design process to inform their schematic phase design decisions. The presenter divides the audience into competitive teams and engages them as participants in the design process, demonstrating how software can influence building geometry, orientation, daylighting, insulation, glazing, etc. and lay the foundation for truly low energy intensity, high-performance green buildings. The winning team will almost certainly conclude the session with a design that exceeds today's codes by at least 20 percent before ever modifying any of the mechanical systems.

The presentation will help those unfamiliar with the concept of Building Performance Standards develop a working knowledge. As more municipalities adopt BPS, there is a risk to the design community when a building doesn’t meet the BPS, and the owner is fined. Just designing to code, may or may not address this properly since many jurisdictions lack the staff and expertise to review project designs for energy efficiency. Understand what BPS is and is not, understand how to coach a prospective client/owner in the responsibilities a compliant strategy will require, and offer strategies to work with the design and operation teams to provide a successful project to the owner.

LED lighting has taken the design world by storm and if an existing building does not have it, it soon will. LEDs are more economical and longer lasting which makes their integration a no-brainer. Although they help in energy consumption, maintenance cost and provide more uniform and bright spaces, they do come with some caveats. The LEDs can be specified in a variety of color temperatures, intensity options and nowadays a plethora of control options to meet and exceed the requirements of IECC. Understanding how these options affect the spaces and the users occupying the space is a key concern to ensure the wellbeing and comfort of the individuals working and living in our designs.

This presentation will review the process of Integrated Systems Testing, associated standards and code requirements such as the International Energy Conservation Code, FGI Guidelines, NFPA 3, NFPA 4, NFPA 99, and NFPA 110. We will use a real project case study of a recently completed patient tower addition to an existing hospital, a high rise Class A office building, and a new community hospital to demonstrate the process, benefits, and what to watch out for on your next project. (1 LU|HSW)

This course will provide a review of the motivation and requirements of WELL Building v2. Practical examples of meeting the air quality and light quality concepts will be discussed in a case study of the TLC HQ WELL certification in Orlando, FL.

Overview of smart buildings, discussion of architectural elements, MEP systems, and technology working together to result in buildings that have achieved various third party certification in this area.