"AWA Lighting Designers are an approved AIA CES Provider.

Please email us at [email protected] to learn more or schedule a group class.

We offer the following courses:

1. The Unspoken Relationship Between Light and Health

Course #: AWAHEALTH01

Credit: 1 LU l HSW

Course Description: Light triggers critical physiological and psychological responses within human beings- the level and quality of light within the built environment has real implications on our health and wellness. As we become more aware of light’s implications on our health, and as technology affords us a greater range of options, this course will help us develop a larger repertoire of design tools with which to positively impact our health.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Become familiar with the current research on light and health.

2. Understand the impact of electric light on the human body

3. Understand the therapeutical properties of color in light.

4. Implement knowledge of the physiological and the psychological effects of light to architectural projects

2. LED Lighting for Architecture: Creating a Sense of Place

Course #: AWAPLACE01

Credit: 1 LU

Course Description: Changes in lighting technologies have sprouted new design paradigms in the lighting industry. This course will examine the technologies that currently impact lighting trends. We will also discuss how we can use LED lighting fixtures and systems to create a sense of place in the built environment – especially public spaces, offices, mixed use projects and healthcare facilities. Future implications of these lighting trends for the architecture and design industry will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand the paradigm shift in lighting that LED technology brings.

2. Discuss emerging lighting technologies.

3. Understand the current state of the lighting industry.

4. Become familiar with built examples that utilize some of these technologies currently.

3. The Impact of Culture and Climate on Lighting Design Solutions

Course #: AWACULTURE01

Credit: 1 LU l HSW

Course Description: A given culture’s position in the global economic development cycle is often reflected in its use of lighting in urban, night environments. In this world that becomes flatter by the day, one could find similar looking buildings in Song Do, Saigon, Salalah and Shanghai. However, striking a balance between regional differences of culture and climate, and globalization is often a challenge. This course will examine the variations in lighting concepts that respond to the local culture and climate.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand the relationship that light has to different cultures.

2. Recognize that the climate in different regions has different effects and connotations on light sources and systems.

3. Successfully implement new lighting systems in their own architectural design projects that respect the local culture

4. Specify climatically appropriate light fixtures.

4. Out of Shadows: Darkness in a New Light

Course #: AWASHADOW01

Credit: 1 LU

Course Description: Positive visual environments require a healthy balance between bright and dark, light and shadow. In a world where the success of a lighting design solution in a project or a space is often measured by the footcandles achieved, uniformity ratios and wattage consumed, are we losing the plot here? Can light truly be appreciated without shadows and darkness? Lack of a better understanding of darkness and shadows can lead to an altogether lopsided relationship with light and light alone. The absence of its contrasting partners in darkness and shadows can have a diminishing effect on the true beauty of light. Light and darkness are opposites; darkness being the absence of light, while shadow is a comparative darkness located in the land between light and darkness. Different project types and architectural styles demand different levels of electric light. We should understand how to control shadows and darkness, thereby creating opportunities for evocative visual experiences while avoiding unwanted darkness, within the design requirements of the project. In this course, we will study the various new lighting paradigms that utilize these perspectives, and explore the various philosophical and cultural connects on shadow and darkness in architecture.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Have a better understanding of the impact of shadows and darkness on our response to a space.

2. Understand the philosophical and cultural connections of darkness and shadows.

3. Learn how to integrate shadows and darkness as an aesthetic design component in architectural projects through case-studies of projects.

4. Expand awareness of the work of prominent shadow seekers such as Tadao Ando, Jean Nouvel, Shigeo Fukuda, Larry Kagan and others.

5. Trends in the Lighting Industry: What Will 2020 bring?

Course #: AWATRENDS01

Credit: 1 LU

Course Description: Changes in lighting technologies have sprouted new design paradigms in the lighting industry that must be addressed in order to stay relevant. This course will examine the technologies that currently impact lighting trends. Future implications of these lighting trends for the architecture and design industry will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand the current state of the lighting industry.

2. Understand the paradigm shift in lighting that 2020 will bring.

3. Become familiar with built examples that utilize some of these technologies currently.

4. Apply trends in current and future lighting technologies to projects.

6. LED Lighting Systems for Infrastructural Projects

Course #: AWALED01

Credit: 1 LU l HSW

Course Description: LED fixtures provide an energy efficient, mercury-free solution that delivers flexible and longer lasting lighting than traditional lighting technologies. However, there is still confusion and inconsistency among lighting engineers, luminaire manufacturers, and LED suppliers concerning characteristics of LED performance and specification. This course will bring attention to how to identify the important inconsistencies, and show how the confusion can be cleared to provide your client with the intended design.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand the current lighting challenges for infrastructural projects.

2. Use and understand the new standards and metrics of measurement that have been developed for solid-state technologies, especially for infrastructural projects.

3. Apply the practical advantages that solid-state systems provide, including life-cycle, energy efficiency, and maintenance costs, to infrastructural developments.

4. Specify quality LED fixtures for infrastructural solutions.

7. Light Masterplanning: Illumination Strategies for Large Scale Urban Developments

Course #: AWAMASTERP01

Credit: 1 LU

Course Description: This course will introduce participants to the concepts and challenges in designing lighting systems for urban masterplans. Creating patterns of light and dark affect both our perceptions of the world and our emotional and physiological responses. Understanding scale in lighting while developing the lighting design for a masterplan is critical. Good quality lighting can support visual performance and interpersonal communication, and improve our feelings of well-being. Poor-quality lighting can be uncomfortable and confusing and can inhibit usage of spaces at night.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand how a lighting masterplan can enhance the identity of a large-scale civic development.

2. Understand how lighting systems can be designed for open spaces, streetscapes, and infrastructural buildings.

3. Apply the principles learned in order to design projects that improve the experience of the user, from the pedestrian level to the overall city scale.

4. Develop the ability to design public spaces that make the user feel safe while remaining engaged to the urban surroundings.