Continuing Education

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We are committed to offering valuable educational content that offers a convenient way to maintain your credentials and stay current on the latest shade fabric innovations.”

Lauren Jensen, AIA CES Provider Point of Contact faq background

Shades need to be evaluated as early as possible—ideally alongside glazing— in order to deliver on the design intent for a building.”

Colin Blackford, Director of Strategy & Innovation, Mermet USA faq background

In The Lab - Exploring the & Material Considerations Shade Fabric

In The Lab - Exploring the Performance and Material Considerations of Shade Fabric

Shading is an important piece of any sustainably-designed project. It is a necessary safeguard that enables a building to provide that critical connection with the outdoors, providing views and access to daylight, while protecting occupants and building performance from the discomfort and energy waste that can occur from glare and solar heat gain. Understanding the basic material compositions of the majority of shading products in the market and comparing and contrasting how those materials perform in terms of view-through, dimensional stability, recyclability, and fire retardancy will help designers select a shade fabric that meets the sustainable demands of a project. This course seeks to educate attendees on these points while challenging them to consider the energy that was used in the production of the shade materials found in their buildings, as well as the impact those materials will have inside the built environment.

Click here to arrange a presentation, and earn the following learning units:

AIA Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours HSW

GBCI Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours

IDCEC Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours

A Holistic Approach to Shade Fabric Selection

A Holistic Approach to Shade Fabric Selection seeks to elevate the importance of shade fabrics from that of just a window covering, to instead, a necessary architectural asset. By doing so, the course teaches attendees how to specify architectural glass and solar control solutions together as a complete complex glazing system. Through a unified fenestration design approach, participants will understand how different combinations of materials ultimately affect façade aesthetics, occupant comfort, and the thermal performance of a building. Project case studies from the shade industry will be analyzed from all three perspectives, approaching each with the initial question, “What is the primary design intent?” By digging into the needs of each project application, participants will identify how various fabric choices can evolve building ecosystems, as well as know how to apply this knowledge in the future to meet occupant needs, building codes and design requirements.

Click here to arrange a presentation, and earn the following learning units:

AIA Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours HSW

GBCI Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours

IDCEC Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours

Unifying Aesthetics & Performance with Commercial Shades & Glass

This course will explain the evolution of fenestration specification strategies from performance, aesthetic, and occupant comfort angles. The presentation will focus on the importance of specifying shades from a project’s initial planning in order to exceed code, save costs and maintain building design intent. New research, ratings and standards from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and the Department of Energy’s Attachment Energy Rating Council, will be explained, and more specifically, we will establish how it will change the complete fenestration specification process.

Click here to download course information PDF

aesthetics performance

Click here to arrange a presentation, and earn the following learning units:

AIA Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours HSW

GBCI Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours

IDCEC Learning Units | 1.0 CES Hours

Advancing FenestrationEfficiency

Advancing Fenestration Efficiency

Join leaders from across the fenestration industry for insights into the past, present and future of fenestration specification strategies—and how solar shading will help to revolutionize the industry.

In addition to covering the history of fenestration and its impacts on the building envelope, this course will delve into new research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and the Department of Energy's Attachment Energy Rating Council (AERC), including a behind-the-scenes look at the development of a new standard for attachments ratings and certifications.

Click here to download course information PDF