Continuing Education – Distilled, Practical & Advanced Knowledge

MDC - Alberto Kalach: Architecture, Landscape and Urbanization

Watch one of Mexico’s most inspiring and famed architects in this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference. Alberto Kalach showcases the work of TAX—Taller de Arquitectura X and passionately illustrates the fragile relationship between nature and urban environments, from a $5,000 minimal house, to his housing developments to one of the largest project ever conceived for the Valley of Mexico Basin.

MDC - Mark Cavagnero: Simple Volumes, Unapologetic Forms

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, takes us on an exploration of his firm’s work, which is grounded in the belief of the power of collaboration and community buildings. His stunning buildings and reductive designs show his journey from his early exposure to Marcel Breuer and the use of architecture “as a foil to reach out and grab space” and to the long, low lines expressed by Edward Barnes.

MDC - Gregg Pasquarelli: Thinkers and Makers

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Gregg Pasquarelli, AIA, of SHoP Architects, captivates us with the art, mathematics, science and design behind his firm’s innovative portfolio. See how this cutting-edge interdisciplinary firm is proving—at sites around the world—that intelligent, evocative design can be made within real-world constraints. Gregg reveals the process behind the world's skinniest skyscraper and a pair of skyscrapers that feature copper cladding, bent silhouettes and a skybridge suspended more than 90 metres above the ground.

MDC - Yvonne Farrell: The EARTH as Client

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Yvonne Farrell, FRIAI, Hon. RIBA, shares what Grafton Architects has discovered through its widely acclaimed practice and how each project explores questions: What do we value? How do we invent? How do we create something that is useful, beautiful and meaningful? Yvonne takes us on journey through the silent language of space and inspires us to “treat EARTH as a client.” Her poetic delivery leaves no doubt about why her firm won the inaugural RIBA International Prize in 2016 and was recently awarded the RIBA 2020 Royal Gold Medal.

MDC - Bob Harris: RESONANCE--Nature, Place, Craft & Restraint

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Bob Harris, FAIA, LEED Fellow of Lake|Flato, shares his passion for environmental issues as he illustrates how his firm’s designs push sustainability in new directions. Starting with an overview of Lake|Flato’s practice and design approach, Bob leads us on a visual tour of some of his most innovative projects and explains how the firm’s wide body of scientific research helped produce high performance, ecologically responsive buildings.

MDC - Brian MacKay-Lyons: The Wind and the Moon

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s 2015 Gold Medalist Brian MacKay-Lyons captivates us with his spectacular buildings, storytelling and dry wit. Brian shows us how his designs draw on his inspiration from a rich local heritage of building types and how he reinterprets local vernacular to respond to harsh climates and exterior elements.

MDC - Lyndon Neri & Rossana Hu: Obsessions and Disappearing Villages

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu highlight their Shanghai-based interdisciplinary work. Through stunning visuals and a series of short movies, they share their design obsessions and how their architectural practice confronts some of China's most challenging urban issues, rapid development and demolition, disappearing villages and disgruntled population. Lyndon and Rosanna highlight some of their most provocative projects and share a glimpse of Chinese urban life that is seldom seen.

MDC - Paul Kephart and Marta Kephart: Lightened Footprints, Natural Landscapes

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2019 Monterey Design Conference, Paul and Marta Kephart deliver a beautifully orchestrated and compelling case for preserving delicate landscapes and illustrate how incorporating biophilic design and ecological engineering can preserve natural landscapes and lighten the footprint on natural habitats. From their innovative rooftop of the California Academy of Sciences to their solutions for restoring dune habitats, these pioneers of landscape design, ecology and horticulture inspire us to design for people in ways that promote sustainability and increase biological diversity.

MDC Emerging Talent
Chris Warren, AIA, WORD

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation from the 2019 MDC, Chris Warren, AIA, Principal of Los Angeles-based WORD, takes us on a tour of his firm's recent work and how their designs respond to the interface between architecture and the natural elements--light, sky and view. See why his designs have been described as confidently choreographed, experienced through ephemerality and as an intersection of the elemental and the phenomenal..

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Ed Ogosta, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Edward Ogosta Architecture

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation from the 2019 MDC, Ed Ogosta, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, of Los Angeles-based Edward Ogosta Architecture, showcases his firm's quiet architecture of sobriety, coherence, simplicity and atmosphere. Ed artfully illustrates how his firm’s designs emanate from two principles: ROOTEDNESS to site, context, culture and time, and CLARITY of concept, form, experience and execution.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Dan Spiegel, AIA, and Megumi Aihara, ASLA, PLA, SAW // Spiegel Aihara Workshop

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation from the 2019 MDC, Dan Spiegel, AIA, of SAW and Megumi Aihara, ASLA, PLA, of Spiegel Aihara Workshop start by walking us through and around their design for COURT, YARD, HOUSE in Palo Alto. Showcasing their love of storytelling, they then show us how their TRY-ON TRUCK transforms itself from a lingerie store to a meditation studio and present their prototypes of a variety of other building types.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Dan Weber, AIA, LEED AP, ANACAPA

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation from the 2019 MDC, Dan Weber, AIA, LEED AP, of Santa Barbara-based ANACAPA, takes us on a journey through his firm's experiential and award-winning hospitality, custom residential, creative office and urban infill mixed-use projects and, of course, his recent design for a marijuana dispensary.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Heather Roberge, AIA, MURMUR

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation, Los Angeles-based Heather Roberge, AIA, of murmur, explores the roles of computational and digital fabrication in shaping contemporary architecture, and illustrates how lightweight construction can defy structural expectations.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Alan Tse, Associate AIA, Alan Tse Design

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation, San Francisco-based Alan Tse, Associate AIA, captivates the audience with stunning images and a delightfully dry wit as he describes how he learned about budgets, his role as a designer, getting work and meeting client expectations. Alan's stunning restaurant, mixed-use, residential and work space projects combine a warm neutral palette, natural light and a welcoming modern style.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Laura Crescimano, AIA, SITELAB Urban Studio

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation, Laura Crescimano, AIA, of San Francisco-based SITELAB Urban Studio, deftly shows how extraordinary events in symbolic spaces or banal ones such as highways and roads can temporarily reveal and transform our image of the urban environment. Laura illustrates how placemaking can elevate the social practice of architecture and encourage inclusive decision making.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

MDC Emerging Talent
Jimenez Lai & Joanna Grant, Bureau Spectacular

Among the most inspirational events at the famed Monterey Design Conference are the 15-minute presentations by some of California’s finest emerging talent.

In this FREE presentation Jimenez Lai & Joanna Grant describe how their Los Angeles-based Bureau Spectacular began at the beginning of the Great Recession--through research, experimentation, teaching, publications, and exhibitions and competitions--and evolved into a group of avant-garde individuals who explore design through the lenses of art, culture and education. They conclude their presentation with a delightful Pool Party video created as part of a 2017 MoMA PS1 competition.

Don’t miss the Keynote Presentations from the Monterey Design Conference!

Density Done Right - Social Occupation

As architects, we have a responsibility to cities and the people who occupy them. In this 75-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, Lorcan O’Herhily, FAIA, passionately illustrates how his projects serve as a social act--a tool for engaging in politics, economics, aesthetics, and smart, sustainable growth. Lorcan shows how his firm’s recent work creating affordable, high-density housing promotes equity, human interaction and cultural evolution.

After watching this presentation, you will fully appreciate why Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects was recognized in 2018 as the #1 Design firm in the country by Architect magazine’s Architect 50.

Density Done Right - Minneapolis 2040: Race, Place and Equity

In this 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, Paul Mogush and Heather Worthington discuss their work with the City of Minneapolis creating more affordable and accessible housing and creating living-wage jobs through zoning changes. The Minneapolis 2040 plan is one of the nation’s most progressive planning strategies for creating higher density transit-oriented districts and lowering traffic congestion.

Learn from two accomplished city planners how to create cities more resilient to the effect of climate change and diminishing natural resources, and how to create affordable strategies for improving access to healthy living activities and environments.

Density Done Right - The Roost: Micro Housing, Community and Cultural Space

In this 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, David Neiman discusses his firm’s innovative designs that focus on livability, affordability, community, and access to housing for all. David then presents a case study of The Roost, an affordable micro-housing development that supports and strengthens Seattle's arts community, on which he served as both architect and developer. David illustrates how to overcome market constraints and achieve a 5-Star Built Green certification in this remarkably energy-efficient congregate housing development.

Density Done Right - Pax Futura: A High-Performance Community

In this 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, designer and developer Sloan Ritchie of Cascade Built and designer Brittany Porter of Weber Thompson (formerly NK Architects) present Pax Futura, Seattle’s first certified multifamily passive house building. Learn how this 35-unit complex builds caters to music lovers, environmentally minded and socially conscious residents while building on the concepts of Passive Houses. This case study shows how to provide thermal comfort, energy-efficiency and lower moisture penetration through heat pumps, heat recovery systems, thermal bridging, computerized shading models and air barrier details.

Density Done Right - Othello Square

In this 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, architect Carey Dagliano, LEED AP BD+C and landscape architect Rachael Meyer, GRP, LEED AP of Weber Thompson and Faduma Ahmed, MPA, of HomeSight present a fascinating case study of the community-based planning and design process of Othello Square, one Seattle’s most recent affordable housing projects. They discuss how this highly inspirational project helps restore the local ecology and provide healthier living to lower income residents.

By watching this course, you will learn how proactive community engagement empowers community stakeholders to inform, consult and collaborate to design more affordable and sustainable housing.

Density Done Right - Granny Pad & Big Mouth House

In this 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, Ian Butcher, AIA, and Kailin Gregga, AIA, of Best Practice present case studies of affordable accessory dwelling units. The fun designs for Granny Pad, Big Mouth House, and DadPad illustration how micro units and accessory dwelling units can increase housing density, provide much needed affordable housing options, decrease carbon footprints and better accommodate the needs of an aging family member.

Density Done Right - Lightning Talks

In this series of “lightning talks” filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2019 Housing Forum, seven planners, designers, architects and builders provide distinct strategies for creating more sustainable, livable and affordable urban residential developments and safe pedestrian corridors. This course includes lightning fast talks about:

Accessibility 2019: Accessibility and Historic Buildings - San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building

In this 90-minute course, Steven Winkel, FAIA, PE, CASp, walks us through the historic San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building and the inspiring Herbst Theatre. He provides guidance on how to both preserve a building's historic fabric and navigate between the requirements of the State Historical Building Code and the California Existing Building Code.

Viewers will gain a better understanding of the amount of latitude they have in applying elements of the State Historical Code, even in buildings listed only in a smaller community’s register of local landmarks.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2019: Design Beyond ADA & Compliance

In this 60-minute course, Peter Slatin, AIA, draws on his experience navigating as a blind person around New York City and discusses how our environment needs to respond to a growing number of people with a variety of disabilities and impairments: vision, hearing, mobility, awareness and memory. Peter also discusses the Elements of Service he created, which consists of Observe, Ask, Listen, Respond and Follow Through, and reminds us that compliance should be the floor, not the ceiling, for addressing accessibility in design.

With his guide dog by his side, Peter addresses some social misconceptions. “It’s important to remember that a person with a disability, for the most part, isn’t feeling afflicted. They are dealing with their challenges, they do it every day.”

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2019: Accessibility for Persons with Visual Impairments - The New San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind

In this 75-minute course, Gilda Puente-Peters, CASp sheds light on designing accessible spaces for persons with vision impairments. After illustrating how visually-impaired people experience environments and demonstrating how people with canes avoid objects, Gilda presents a case study of the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, designed by Mark Cavagnero Associates with consultation from blind architect Chris Downey.

Viewers will gain a better understanding of how to incorporate wayfinding tools within buildings, including color, contrast, acoustic treatment, lighting and visual and tactile/Braille signage.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2019: Persuading Clients - Where Life Safety & Accessibility Overlap

In this 75-minute course, Dawn Anderson, AIA, CSI, describes how best to educate clients about accessibility requirements and to gain their strong support for creating an expressive design, art and aesthetic that is based on accessibility, inclusion and equality.

This course is interspersed with diagrams from Chapter 11B of the California Building Code.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2017: Accessibility in the Public Realm -- Spend a Day in My Wheelchair

In this 60-minute course, Letrice Sherrillo, AIA, a recent wheelchair user, takes us through downtown San Francisco as she navigates hospitality, retail and public spaces. Viewers will gain a better understanding about how accessible spaces in the public realm often fall short of servicing the requirements of people with different levels of abilities.

As Letrice suggests, “Rent a wheelchair for just one day and your perspective will change, the way you design, not only for accessible design to meet ADA codes, but for overall Universal Design.”

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2017: Observations From an Accessibility Inspector

In this 90-minute course, Stephen Dolim brings his extensive experience as an architect and accessibility inspector to enlighten us about the most common and frequently misunderstood accessibility violations. After viewing this course, design professionals will better understand how they and building owners can apply an accessibility quality assurance process to eliminate most common oversights and improve accessible design outcomes.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2017: Universal Design in Single-Family Homes

In this 60-minute course, Erick Mikiten, AIA, a lifelong wheelchair user, takes us on a tour of his award-winning design of the universally accessible wine country residence, and shows us how the seven principles of Universal Design can be seamlessly incorporated into any small or large scale, low or high budget, single-family, multi-family or commercial project.

Viewers will also gain a better understanding of how sustainable design, specifically as it pertains to the indoor environment, overlaps with the goals of Universal Design.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2017: Universal Design in Multi-Family Homes

In this 90-minute course, Erick Mikiten, AIA, wheels us through this 39-unit affordable housing project for people with a wide range of abilities. Erick describes the seven principles of Universal Design and then shows us how he incorporated these into this award-winning projects.

Viewers will gain an appreciation for how to make spaces, furniture and outdoor equipment widely usable to people of different ages and abilities while creating rich and rewarding experiences.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2015: Designing for All

This 90-minute course provides insights into how Universal Design creates innovative environments that welcome everyone, regardless of their abilities, and creates accessible spaces that are inviting, engaging and that celebrate the rich diversity of the human condition.

Based on his firm’s innovative design for The Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, California, Bill Leddy, FAIA, LEED AP discusses how Universal Design profoundly influences us and our sense of confidence, comfort, and control. Bill deftly illustrates how accessible design must address different levels of mobility, vision and hearing, and different emotional, chemical and thermal tolerances.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2015: Architecture Beyond Sight

Taught by an architect who lost his sight in 2008, this 90-minute video course provides an overview of the range and types of visual impairments that affect users of the built environment. The course explores the significant role design plays in access for those with visual impairments, reviews the limits of ADA standards for architectural guidelines and CBC requirements for those with visual impairments, describes strategies beyond code requirements to increase visual and non-visual accessibility, and discusses sustainability principles for those with visual impairments.

Viewers will develop a better appreciation for why protruding objects, leaning walls, muted colors and hazardous transitions pose strong challenges to the visually impaired, and why “head smack” is part of the daily lexicon for those with visually impairments.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2015: Universal Design is Good Design - Part 1

In June of 2014, the AIA California Council and aecKnowledge released a Call for Submissions for examples of solutions that illustrate the innovative potential of Universal Design and that address specific accessibility code issues. This 60-minute video course features the most innovative submissions of both built and unbuilt work.

Steve Castellanos, FAIA, the Executive Director for the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) and a former California State Architect, narrates and provides insightful commentary on how each solution addresses the needs of people with a wide range of ability levels, how the solution can improve people’s abilities to navigate and effectively function in the built environment, and how building owners, design professionals and people with disabilities can apply the solution to improve the built environment for everyone.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Accessibility 2015: Universal Design is Good Design - Part 2

In June of 2014, the AIA California Council and aecKnowledge released a Call for Submissions for examples of solutions that illustrate the innovative potential of Universal Design and that address specific accessibility code issues. This 60-minute video course features the most innovative submissions of both built and unbuilt work.

Steve Castellanos, FAIA, the Executive Director for the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) and a former California State Architect, narrates and provides insightful commentary on how each solution addresses the needs of people with a wide range of ability levels, how the solution can improve people’s abilities to navigate and effectively function in the built environment, and how building owners, design professionals and people with disabilities can apply the solution to improve the built environment for everyone.

This course complies with California licensure requirements for accessibility (SB 1608 and California Business and Professions Code Section 5600.05),the Texas BOE requirement related to barrier-free design, and provides essential information about accessibility requirements applicable in most states.

Design Excellence and Climate Change – Bay Area Case Studies from AIA San Francisco COTE

Course release date: April, 2019.

Climate change is one of the fundamental design problems of our time, and architects need the skills to help create attractive, resilient, high- performing buildings. In this engaging 75-minute course, presenters discuss the recently released AIA COTE® Top Ten Toolkit, their firms’ integrative design approaches, and how architects can persuade clients to incorporate strategies that achieve both design excellence and exceptional building performance.

The course starts with architects from three Bay Area COTE ® Top Ten award winners (LMS Architects, EHDD, and Siegel & Strain Architects) presenting short case studies that include a variety of high-impact, low-cost building performance strategies. Marsha Maytum, FAIA, LEED AP, of LMS Architects and the 2019 Chair of AIA National AIA COTE® then moderates an informative panel discussion with Tate Walker, AIA, LEED Fellow of OPN Architects, Corey Squire, AIA, of Lake | Flato Architects, Brad Jacobson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C of EHDD, and Susi Marzuola, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, of Siegel & Strain Architects about applying the AIA COTE® Top Ten Toolkit to projects of various scales.

Includes a download link to AIA's free COTE® Top Ten Toolkit "Super Spreadsheet"

Sustainable High Density Affordable Housing

This 60-minute video explores innovative approaches to sustainable, high density, affordable housing through a case study in New York City. Fortune Society's Castle Gardens, a new 113-unit mixed-use supportive and affordable housing development in Harlem, is an innovative response to urgent social needs for affordable housing and for re-integration of the formerly incarcerated into society. Castle Gardens is the result of a partnership between private and non-profit developers, with public funding, which are key elements in the revitalization of low-income urban neighborhoods. Mark Ginsberg, FAIA, LEED AP, discusses how Fortune Society dealt with “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) issues and how the integration of sustainability increased the support of the project within the community. Castle Gardens was one of the first projects approved under the new New York City Building Code and is designed to achieve LEED-NC Gold certification.

Commissioning of Sustainable Buildings

This 60-minute video course reviews the building commissioning process, its value and integration into building projects; including a step-by-step review of the tasks needed to meet LEED Building Commissioning credits.

Designing Net Zero Energy Buildings

This course begins with a succinct and practical overview of the strategies and tactics for designing net zero energy buildings. It provides a detailed examination that demystifies technical terms, cites building science and uses specific examples from practice.

Other topics covered in the course include building commissioning as a quality control method applied throughout a project and sustainable lighting design, specifically low-energy lighting strategies.

Net Zero Energy and Future Challenges

This 60-minute, two-part video course provides viewers with an overview of recent efforts, processes, opportunities and constraints related to net zero energy buildings. A detailed case study of the first net zero energy classroom building in North America reinforces these lessons.

Retrofitting Existing Buildings to Improve Energy Efficiency

This 60-minute two-part video course delves into cost-effective HVAC, lighting, steam, and compressed air retrofit strategies to improve energy efficiency. An in-depth case study provides concrete examples on how to achieve positive results in less time and with faster payback.

Climate Action Part 1: Overview

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

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.

MDC - Sou Fujimoto: Between Nature and Architecture

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, renowned Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto inspires us with soft lighting effects, visually arresting geometric forms, an interplay between nature and architecture, and with his desire to "question everything."

With a gentle presence and soft wit, Sou describes his ethereal installation at London's Serpentine Gallery, the infinite forest of books that comprises one of Japan's most distinguished libraries, his magical tree-inspired high-rise residential tower in southern France and, of course, his toilet in nature.

MDC - Marion Weiss, FAIA, and Michael Manfredi, FAIA: Expanded Territories

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, Marion Weiss, FAIA, and Michael Manfredi, FAIA, illustrate how movement, light and materiality actively shape how participants perceive and experience environments.

Through their museums, visitor centers, colleges, embassies, technology centers and waterfront parks, Marion and Michael describe how they push the boundaries of design to shape contemporary culture and to create buildings and open spaces that serve as models for urban ecology.

MDC - Julie Eizenberg, FAIA: Urban Hallucinations

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, Julie Eizenberg, FAIA, examines placemaking and community building in Los Angeles and how architecture can address regional issues of sustainability, responsible growth, affordability, and housing shortages.

Showcasing recent affordable housing, apartments, libraries, public spaces and places of worship projects, Julie illustrates strategies for creating informal social interaction within, and between, buildings. And through her firm’s urban research and a personal account of life and work in the Los Angeles region, Julie deftly walks us through her "urban hallucinations."

MDC - Shohei Shigematsu, OMA

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu leads us through a diverse portfolio of museums, university buildings, high-rise buildings and cultural venues that highlight the interplay of light, movement and shadow.

Shohei captivates his audience with his wit, incisive analogies and over 500 stunning images of his remarkable projects and collaborations with artists.

MDC - Dominique Jakob: Jakob + MacFarlane

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, Parisian architect Dominique Jakob of Jakob+MacFarlane illustrates how her firm uses digital technology as both a conceptual design and a production tool for internationally acclaimed projects in Paris, Lyon, Orleans, Boulogne and Belgium.

Dominique describes how the structure, shapes and cladding of her museums, libraries, office buildings and housing projects were digitally conceived and executed through collaborations with artists and fabricators. She concludes her keynote with a fascinating short video “Augmenting the Invisible” that animates and brings to life a simple sketch.

MDC - Jeff Goldstein: Building Walls: Meaning + Mass

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, Jeff Goldstein, AIA, of DIGSAU explores how to involve end users in using indigenous materials, how existing materials and structures can be re-used and re-purposed to create stunning community buildings, and how the use of form, space, light, and material convey potent ideas and connect to the human spirit.

With passion and a bit of social commentary, Jeff highlights six of his recent projects to illustrate how to create meaningful places that empower and inspire people to be more creative, productive, and fulfilled.

MDC - Dorte Mandrup: Buildings and Conditions

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, Danish architect Dorte Mandrup illustrates the playful, innovative and poetic projects created by her “team of die-hard overachievers.” Dorte showcases her transformations of existing buildings, infills and urban planning to entirely new works, always anchored in location and landscape.

Among the projects Dorte presents are the expressive cantilever of the steel Salling Tower, the wooden truss of the Icefjord Center that bridges the rugged landscape, and the thatched roof of the Wadden Sea Centre that interprets the local building tradition and rural farmhouse typology of the region.

MDC - Gere Kavanaugh: A Unique Multi-Dimensional Design Firm

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2017 Monterey Design Conference, architect Pierluigi Serraino interviews the acclaimed American textile, industrial, and interior designer Gere Kavanaugh about her influence as a designer in the 1960s, the use of color and how interior design relates to the overall architectural design impact of a building.

Gere discusses her work on the Nixon Library and her numerous exhibitions and collections, her collaboration with Victor Gruen and Frank Gehry, and her unabashed opinion about architects.

MDC - Rand Elliott, FAIA: Stray Dogs

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Rand Elliott, FAIA, shares his insights on designing for the environment and discusses the experiences that influence his work.

Rand’s mesmerizing poetry, stunning visuals and provocative videos capture his deep respect for the land, the sun and the wind. His dramatic parking garage, iconic gas station, rhythmic boathouse and small-town house sited in a spare landscape enchant us with how light flows into a building. In his own words, Rand shows us "space that can only be heard by a stray dog."

MDC - Clive Wilkinson, FAIA: The Theatre of Work

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Clive Wilkinson, FAIA, illustrates how architecture can be elevated beyond the pragmatic needs of the people a building accommodates to a level of theater. Clive explores how this theater of architecture can serve as an amplification of human life, a re-energizing of memory and experience, and a reawakening of passion. Drawing upon his diverse portfolio, he illustrates how building designs must address cultural models, community structures, knowledge sharing, diversity, the human scale, and "tribal" organization and connectivity.

MDC - The Work of Carme Pinós

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Carme Pinos illustrates how understanding a site’s context enabled her to express buildings’ structures and create site-responsive and sculptural building designs. With her passionate Spanish accent and command of the stage, Carme becomes part of her own slide show, magically revealing how "rules of design" can be formed by client needs, climate and structural necessity and result in bold buildings in both urban and rural environments.

MDC - Junya Ishigami: How Small? How Vast?

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Japanese architect Junya Ishigama introduces us to an entirely different style of architecture. Is it biophilia? Or magical props?

His designs facilitate the movement of nature along with the movement of people, inviting trees and clouds and rain inside. In varied projects, from house to university hall to port buildings, an unlikely collaboration can be seen -- habitats for the elements as well as for people. Here are materials that fool the eye, and structures so light and airy that they disappear before your eyes.

MDC - Frank Barkow: Spielraum

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Frank Barkow explores his deep interest in craftsmanship, structure and new technologies, and demonstrates how architectural ideas and materials are intertwined in projects that include easy-to-assemble tents, low-cost housing, advanced factory buildings and eye-catching high-rises.

Barkow illustrates how his firm, Barkow Leibinger, begins each project by first examining a particular material, then choosing the tools and software needed to turn it into a final formed product. With a deep knowledge of today’s cutting edge fabrication techniques, extensive research, and traditional model making, surprising new forms and structures arise.

MDC - Insights from Bernard Tschumi, FAIA

A legend goes live!

In this 60-minute course filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, Bernard Tschumi, FAIA, examines some of his best known designs through concepts of space, event and movement.

Tschumi's early theoretical interests were in understanding and notating movement through space. He takes us through his design process, beginning with the concept, which evolves into form. In his varied museums, concert halls and other projects, Tschumi illustrates how structure and materials determine the form as much as the activities and movements within the space. Whether forms of movement or using a concept of "no form," his architecture is suffused with meaning.

MDC - Marlon Blackwell, FAIA: Transmutations

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, discusses how his architecture and design process is based in design strategies that draw upon vernaculars and building typologies, upon contradictions of place, and upon strategies that transgress conventional boundaries for architecture.

Marlon skillfully demonstrates how resilient architecture can be achieved as an interplay between details, form and place and how responding to the specificities of site and sustainable design principles can result in architecture that can be felt as much as it is understood and be as immediate and tactile as it is legible, all while contributing to the fundamental civic dignity of communities.

MDC - Art Installations by Pae White

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2015 Monterey Design Conference, artist and collaborator Pae White shows her early projects, multi-media art and site-specific installations, which defy easy categorization.

White “listens” to space and uses her art to create a story that amplifies and alters the surroundings, whether a reflective curtain for Snøhetta's Opera House or a hall for pigeons at the Venice Biennale complete with birdseed chandeliers. The inventiveness of the many projects shown, their uniqueness and unexpected variety are inspiring proof of art’s ability to transform place.

MDC - Odile Decq: Horizons

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, Odile Decq, one of Europe's most provocative architects, reviews her award-winning and highly experimental work in architecture, art and design products.

With her passionate French accent, Odile demonstrates how a strong vision and a bit of persuasion translates concepts into stunning restaurants, museums, glass houses, galleries, yachts, furniture and, yes, even dog houses. She generously weaves her signature shade of red throughout her sensual designs to infuse them with energy, passion and wit.

MDC - Kengo Kuma, Hon. FAIA: Age of Locations

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, Kengo Kuma, Hon. FAIA, shows over 360 mesmerizing images of his projects throughout Japan, China, Italy, France, Germany and England, poetically describing how architecture should place location, climate and environmental harmony above all else.

Kengo describes his “regionalism” as a movement aimed at true independence of each town, starting with reliance on local materials and skilled craftspeople. From museums and train stations, to an “umbrella house” to a Starbucks assembled with local timber in Fukuoka, Japan, Kengo’s mastery of details will inspire and delight

MDC - Marcio Kogan, Hon. FAIA: What Makes Your Heart Beat?

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at the AIA California Council's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, Marcio Kogan, Hon. FAIA, Director of studioMK27 in San Paulo Brazil asks "What Makes Your Heart Beat?"

Known for his special attention to details and finishes, and his own interpretation of Brazilian Modernism, Marcio and his co-presenter Diana Radomysler mix images and film in this creative presentation. Marcio and Diana brilliantly showcase their work with humor, passion and with the help of an inquisitive cat.

MDC - Jennifer Yoos, FAIA: Material / Immaterial

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, Jennifer Yoos, FAIA, illustrates how VJAA’s research-based design approach is applied to diverse building programs, locations, and scales.

Jennifer illustrates the idea of “materiality” that emphasizes craftsmanship and research into new material systems and structure. She then discusses “immateriality” by illustrating how buildings interact with climate and changing uses over time. Jennifer weaves these ideas together with her firm’s sensitive and striking designs of museums, libraries, hotels, exhibits and a rowing club.

MDC - Anne Fougeron, FAIA: A Decade

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, San Francisco-based Anne Fougeron, FAIA, showcases a decade of her award-winning work.

With humor and wit, Anne describes how her body of work embraces architectural opportunities and responds to political forces to create buildings that redefine program, reinvent historical building types, and reinvigorate civic centers. Each project is a careful consideration of context, light and structure.

MDC - Thomas Phifer, FAIA: Outside In - Architecture, Landscape

In this 75-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2013 Monterey Design Conference, Thomas Phifer, FAIA, discuss aesthetic and environmental principles guiding the design of recent buildings and their landscapes. He poetically illustrates how technical innovations can be used to express structural lightness and architectural transparency.

Thomas presents six recent projects showing how incorporating high levels of controlled natural light and views of nature increases human comfort and health and how utilizing sustainable design features grounds a building in its place.

MDC - Jeanne Gang, FAIA: Fish, Sticks, Birds and Bricks

How do the migration patterns of birds relate to the design of city towers? How can innovative community planning spur economic recovery in suburbs? Find out by stepping into the mind of 2011 MacArthur Genius Grant winner Jeanne Gang, FAIA, Founder and Principal of Studio Gang Architects. This 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, offers fascinating insight into the creative process and thematic undertones that shape the work of one of America’s most visionary architects.

MDC - Tom Kundig, FAIA: Landscape, Community and Craft

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, Tom Kundig, FAIA, takes us through a vast body of his past and current work. Filled with wonderfully imaginative designs, inspiring solutions and more than a little subversion, Kundig's brilliance is on display as he discusses the aspects of architecture that are most personal and meaningful to him and have continued to resonate with him since he began working as an architect. Tom's inspirational lecture discusses four key aspects of his work: Craft and Making, Site, Hot-Rodding and Reuse, and Community.

MDC - Borja Ferrater: Architecture and Geometry

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, Borja Ferrater, a part of the family team at the innovative firm, Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB), demonstrates his and the company's unique work. Ferrater delivers an engaging, entertaining and often amusing lecture, packed with fascinating projects incorporating techniques utilizing light, geometry and materials in ways that have only recently been possible. The projects themselves span a variety of different scales, budgets and purposes. Yet, given Ferrater's interest in buildings as systems, the projects form a cohesive and narratively-driven portfolio, populated by some work from one of the most exciting and innovative international firms.

MDC - Michael Maltzan, FAIA: No More Play

How can architecture convince people to live, work and play in a single community? How can public housing be as beautiful as it is efficient? In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, Michael Maltzan, FAIA, draws on his significant architectural experience to offer new ideas for transforming the way we design, build and think about public structures and the cities they help to define.

MDC - Peter Walker, FASLA: 9/11 Memorial and Its Precedents

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, Peter Walker, FASLA, reviews his landscape architecture work on one of the most significant new projects in the United States: the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. Walker puts the Memorial's design in the context of his firm's previous work on several notable projects and examines the special techniques he helped to develop in order to implement his vision. Peter also provides a detailed account of how the Memorial came to exist in its current form: what challenges were overcome, what concepts changed, and how he helped to create a unique and somber landmark.

MDC - Brigitte Shim, Hon. FAIA: Linking Light & Landscape

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, Brigitte Shim, Hon. FAIA, of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and the University of Toronto, illustrates how she exploits seasonal changes to light, water and landscape to intertwine with her building designs. Shim's engaging lecture is filled with examples from her firm's earlier and recent cutting-edge work, significant not just for the buildings’ construction but also for the way they are integrated with their surroundings.

MDC - Dr. Dickson Despommier: The Vertical Farm

In this 60-minute course, filmed live at AIACC's 2011 Monterey Design Conference, Dickson Despommier, PhD, demonstrates the concept of vertical farming, a unique way of using technology to change how we grow food, treat the earth, and form our urban spaces. In a simultaneously heart-wrenching and uplifting lecture, packed with astounding facts, statistics and anecdotes, Dr. Despommier illustrates that humanity's future can easily be a bright one, but only if we act now.

Twelve Years, Seven Houses, a Thousand Experiments

In this 75-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2018 Housing Forum, Stephen Kieran, FAIA, LEED Fellow, shows his firm’s artistry in six inspiring residential projects, including prefabricated high-performance solutions that are proving to be instrumental in changing the way the industry models, constructs and delivers housing.

In the final segment of this course, Stephen discusses his firm’s research and involvement in Living Choices Homes and its quest to create affordable, solid and renewable housing to meet the demand projected for India’s emerging middle class.

Housing Inspiration: Sawmill House and Karuna House

This 60-minute course, filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2018 Housing Forum, includes case studies on two inspirational residential projects.

First, Elizabeth Bianchi Conklin and Vikgram Sami of Olson Kundig present the Sawmill House, a net-zero, off-the-grid family retreat embedded in the tough, scrubby landscape in the harsh high desert of California. Sawmill harnesses the challenges and opportunities of its remote site, emphasizing sustainable strategies and reclaimed materials. The design was driven by a scavenger mentality, seeking always to do more with less, including using salvaged and recycled materials whenever possible.

Second, Cory Hawbecker of Holst Architecture presents the stunning Karuna House, an ambitious residential project designed to meet a combination of the world’s most demanding green building certifications. Built on a south facing slope overlooking the Willamette Valley’s rich agricultural land, Karuna House is the first MINERGIE-certified building in North America.

This course generously sponsored by Westeck Windows (www.WesteckWindows.com).

Housing Innovation: Case Studies

This three-part, 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2018 Housing Forum, showcases a series of highly innovative approaches to the housing industry.

First, Craig Curtis, FAIA, LEED AP, presents how Katerra is redefining the $1.3 trillion housing industry through offsite manufacturing and by optimizing every aspect of building design, materials supply and construction.

Susan Jones, FAIA, LEED BD+C, of atelierjones then showcases her high-performance CLT House, a modest 1,500 SF single-family home washed in light and full of the textures and smells of natural materials.

Elizabeth Golden and Rick Mohler of the University of Washington, along with Yasaman Esmali of modular housing start-up blokable, then showcase innovative multi-family solutions that can be integrated into single-family housing zones.

Making Room: Housing for a Changing America

In this 60-minute course filmed live at AIA Seattle’s 2018 Housing Forum, Chrysanthe Broikos, an architectural historian and curator, leads us through the Making Room: Housing for a Changing America exhibit at the National Building Museum and makes a compelling argument for a wider menu of housing options to respond to the diversity of households across the country.

Through images of the exhibit, Chrysanthe educates us about demographic trends, micro-units, shared housing and other concepts that appeal to multi-generational families.

Inspiration, Innovation, Impact: The Future of Residential Design

Eric Drivdahl (right) moderates a lively panel discussion with Craig Curtis, (Chief Architect, Katerra), Susan Jones, FAIA (Atelierjones), Stephen Kieran, FAIA, LEED Fellow (KieranTimberlake). Chrysanthe Broikos (Architectural Historian & Curator National Building Museum) and Rob Johnson (Seattle City Councilmember).

Among the topics: artificial intelligence, responding to rapid social change, housing prototypes, regional affordable housing policies, managing risk while embracing innovations, and lessons learned. Stephen Kieran ends the panel discussion with a moving story about how his own house has accommodated life-changes in his family.

Active Design 1: Creating Active Cities Through Design

Can transformations in the built environment inspire people to be more physically active and make our communities healthier? According to a growing body of research, the answer is yes. New York City’s Active Design Guidelines translates this knowledge into concrete strategies for a healthier, more sustainable future. Architects, designers, planners, developers, and operations managers can adapt the Guidelines to their own projects to promote physical activity and help counteract the most pressing health epidemics of our time – obesity and its related chronic diseases. Active Design 101 is a 1-hour presentation that will provide an overview of the connections between health and design of the built environment; cover the urban design and building-scale strategies included in the Guidelines; and explore the synergies between Active Design, environmental sustainability and universal accessibility. More information, including a free electronic copy of the Active Design Guidelines, can be found at www.nyc.gov/adg.

Active Design 2: Creating Healthy Places Through Design

New York City’s award-winning Active Design Guidelines (www.nyc.gov/adg) offer a manual of strategies for creating healthier buildings, streets, and urban spaces, based on the latest academic research and best practices in the field. Active Design 201 is the second in a two-part series about how architects, designers, planners, developers, and other built environment professionals can encourage physical activity and improve access to healthy foods and beverages through design strategies. This one-hour session will cover in greater depth the Building Design chapter of the Active Design Guidelines, the new LEED Design for Health through Increased Physical Activity Innovation Credit, and several case studies of architecture projects that implemented the Guidelines’ strategies.

Aging in Place(s): Designs for Senior Living

As the baby boomers turn 65 and populations around the world continue to age, supportive living environments for seniors are receiving increased design attention. This presentaton shows how innovative examples of building designs for seniors from the United States, Europe and Asia enables seniors to lead productive and creative lives in environments that allow them to age in place with independence and dignity. This course also describes the aging-related issues that design professionals need to consider to enter a growing market sector.

Historic Preservation of Modern Architecture

The postwar period, 1945 through 1980, produced buildings that are now old enough and sufficiently significant to warrant thoughtful preservation. This 75-minute course offers insight into the unique challenges of preserving postwar modern architecture, differing significantly from preserving buildings from an earlier period. Viewers will gain an understanding of the philosophical and technical complexities of preservation efforts for the sheer number of buildings to be considered.

Master Architects: An Evening with Lorcan O'Herlihy

This 60-minute video course describes four innovative design perspectives: Ruthless Optimism, Contingent Patterning, Inflected Logic, and Reductive Thinking and how each leads to rational design outcomes and contextually-responsive designs. Lorcan O'Herlihy's descriptions, images and narrative motivate design professionals to experiment with building materials, reorganize interior spaces, and create buildings responsive to their urban context.

Insights from Art Gensler, FAIA

This course is provided FREE courtesy of Strogoff Consulting in exchange for you filling out a 60-second survey.

M. Arthur Gensler, Jr., (Art Gensler) is widely seen as one the world's foremost experts at helping clients see the value of good design while operating a consistently successful global firm. In this remarkably candid address to emerging professionals, Art Gensler shares Art Gensler shares his insights into:

• Starting, growing and operating a design firm
• Developing a highly collaborative culture within a multi-disciplinary firm
• Understanding a client’s business model and mission
• Running a multi-disciplinary design firm as a well-tuned business

This course is a must-see for design professionals who share Art Gensler’s passion for strong business practices and collaboration. Get decades of wisdom in 60 engaging minutes!

Starting Your Own Firm

Find out whether you have the skills, personality and stomach to start your own firm as you watch this 90-minute panel discussion featuring five principals of renowned architecture and design firms.

Filmed live at AIA San Francisco, each panelist provides insights and invaluable lessons from years filled with joy and anguish. This inspiring and eye-opening conversation offers candid advice and practical tips on everything from building a portfolio and branding a firm to managing cash flow, motivating staff and responding to relentless client demands. This course should be on the "essential viewing" list for anyone thinking about starting an architecture or design firm.

Financial Management: Introduction for Design Professionals

This distilled 60-minute course provides an overview of financial management for anyone involved in managing or leading an architecture, engineering or design firm. Course takers will learn basic accounting and financial management terminology and the difference between cash and accrual reporting, be able to dispel myths that keep firms from becoming more profitable, understand a Chart of Accounts and basic financial management reports, gain an overview of the financial management cycle, and set financial performance goals.

The presenters, Rena Klein, FAIA, and Steve Wintner, AIA Emeritus, consult with design professionals nationwide about financial management, and are skilled in distilling financial knowledge and concepts into bite-size pieces that position firm leaders to make strategic operational decisions.

This course dispels myths that have haunted design professionals since the days of Michelangelo.

Financial Management: Key Financial Performance Indicators (KPFIs)

The second course of this series takes a deeper dive into Key Financial Performance Indicators (KPFIs), which will enable anyone involved in managing or leading an architecture, engineering or design firm to track and act on key metrics. Course takers will learn how to calculate seven KPFIs and apply them to calculate net billing multipliers and hourly billing rates and quickly analyze how their firm is performing. Viewers will also learn how to develop project fee budgets and avoid common pitfalls.

The presenters, Rena Klein, FAIA, and Steve Wintner, AIA Emeritus, consult with design professionals nationwide about financial management, and are skilled in distilling financial knowledge and concepts into bite-size pieces that position firm leaders to make strategic operational decisions.

If you ever had any doubts about your firm’s Net Effective Multiplier, this course is a MUST SEE!.