What Architects Want: Insights from 750 Living Walls CEU Attendees

Continuing education means more than ticking a box; it’s about empowering design professionals to elevate their practice. Over the last few years, we've delivered our Advanced Living Walls With Case Studies CEU course to more than 750 architects and designers. While post-class reflections and typical evaluation metrics are always insightful, one question sparked particularly rich insights:

“What other topics would interest you?”

Not everyone submitted a response to this question, however, the responses we did get revealed strong, clear trends.

Top 5 Topics Architects Want Next 

From hundreds of responses, five themes rose to the top:

1. Technical Design & Installation – 31% of suggestions focused on wanting deeper, hands-on knowledge: system mechanics, irrigation design, structural integration, and install methods.
2. Plant Selection & Species – 26% expressed interest in expanding their horticultural know-how—particularly about plant palettes, moss systems, and which species thrive in various conditions.
3. Biophilic Design & Certification (WELL, LEED, Air Quality) – 15% cited sustainability, wellness certifications, and environmental benefits (e.g. improved air quality or WELL credits) as prime areas for demand.
4. Green Roofs – 14% asked specifically about green roofs, showing a broadening curiosity beyond walls into other green infrastructure.
5. Maintenance & Irrigation – 14% wanted strategies for long-term care—from watering systems to system lifespan and seasonal upkeep.

(These percentages are based on the subset of attendees who listed additional topics.)

What's Missing—And That's Telling

Just as revealing as what was mentioned is what wasn’t:

• Fire Safety & Code Compliance – Not a single attendee asked about fire-related regulations, even though irrigation systems and plant mass can present code challenges. This suggests a critical knowledge gap.
• Cost / ROI Analysis – Very few asked about budgeting or economic justification, yet this is often the deciding factor in real-world projects.
• Acoustic Benefits – Greenwalls can meaningfully reduce noise levels. But almost no one flagged acoustics as a learning interest.
• Design Trends & Aesthetics – While living walls are inherently aesthetic, there were almost no requests for creative or stylistic design applications beyond the technical.
• Smart / IoT Integration – Only a few mentioned sensors or automation in living wall systems, despite the growing tech interest in building design.

Why This Matters

For architects and designers, every continuing education course should not only fulfill professional CEU credit requirements but also deliver knowledge that directly supports current and future projects.

The feedback highlights key priorities within the design community: mastering the technical aspects of greenwalls, expanding plant knowledge, and aligning projects with sustainability frameworks such as WELL and LEED. These areas of focus provide skills and insights that enable more confident specification of greenwalls, seamless integration into design plans, and assurance that projects meet high performance and sustainability goals.

By shaping future CEU offerings around these high-demand topics, the program can deliver courses that are not only credit-worthy but also immediately applicable in practice—bridging the gap between design vision and real-world execution.

Wrap Up: Making Learning Matter

The CEU training feedback provides clear guidance on the topics and delivery methods that will offer the greatest value to the design community. By focusing on areas such as greenwall system design, plant selection, and sustainability integration, future sessions can better support the professional growth of architects and designers while meeting CEU requirements.

As the demand for biophilic and sustainable design solutions continues to grow, well-targeted CEU courses serve as both a source of inspiration and a practical resource—equipping professionals with the expertise needed to bring innovative, performance-driven spaces to life.

Exciting News! 

GrowUp will be offering several new CEU courses on a variety of topics. Take a look at our training page to see what's on offer.