Where Magic Happens: Designing Third Places
GreenCE’s mission is to support the necessary transition to a sustainable built environment by empowering design professionals to address the environmental, economic, and social impacts of buildings. GreenCE’s course catalog includes LEED exam preparation, continuing education to maintain your AIA or LEED credential, as well as specialty education focused on topics such as ADA/Barrier-Free requirements. We are committed to designing the highest quality continuing education programs in the construction industry.
Ready to design spaces that transform communities? This course reveals how the world's most successful gathering places—from Parisian cafés to modern co-working hubs—create the social magic that turns strangers into neighbors and neighborhoods into thriving communities. You'll discover the hidden design principles behind spaces people can't resist visiting, master sustainable strategies that reduce operating costs while boosting occupant wellbeing and learn implementation tactics that ensure your third place projects actually serve their communities long-term. Whether you're designing a coffee shop, library renovation, or mixed-use development, you'll leave with a proven framework for creating places where community naturally flourishes.
- Explore the historical development of third places from European coffeehouses to modern co-working hubs, then review the eight essential characteristics that create spaces promoting occupant wellbeing and community connection.
- Learn how biophilic design, natural ventilation, and sustainable materials improve both environmental performance and user wellbeing while reducing stress and supporting mental health in community spaces.
- Review stakeholder engagement, zoning strategies, and funding approaches that ensure third places serve diverse populations and enhance neighborhood social health and resilience.
- Develop metrics that capture environmental performance, occupant wellbeing outcomes, and community health indicators, ensuring your third places deliver lasting value to both users and neighborhoods.
