The American Institute of Architects (AIA), in partnership with Architecture 2030 and AIA Seattle, launched the first course in the new AIA+2030 Online Series, an educational program aimed at providing AIA members and other design professionals with the high-performance building knowledge necessary to meet the 2030 Challenge targets.

Sponsored by Autodesk and delivered through AIAU, AIA’s online education portal, the 10 one-hour courses of the series are based on the highly successful AIA+2030 Professional Series that has been offered to over 30% of AIA's membership in 25 markets throughout the U.S.

An AIA and Architecture 2030 co-production, the AIA+2030 Online Series helps design professionals create buildings that meet the energy efficiency targets of Architecture 2030’s 2030 Challenge, offering strategies to reach a minimum of a 70% reduction in building energy consumption and fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions today, ramping up to new buildings using no greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuel energy by 2030.

These energy consumption reductions results in significant savings in energy costs, and the ability to design such high-performing buildings provide firms with capabilities that set them apart in the marketplace, according to the association.

The AIA+2030 Online Series goes beyond theory-based education by providing practitioners with actionable tools and methodologies that directly impact building design and performance.

“This is the first comprehensive program in the U.S. that educates the architectural profession in specific design and technology applications to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions,” said Edward Mazria, Architecture 2030 founder and CEO. “As we move towards the necessary phase out of greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment by 2050, the AIA+2030 Online Series is a great way for the design community, wherever they might be, to learn the key skills that they need to design next-generation buildings,” he continued.

The second and third courses of the AIA+2030 Online Series are slated for release this fall and the remaining courses will be released incrementally, with the full series available by the summer of 2016.

For more information, visit architecture2030.org.