The Opening by Design Boston
Eighteen accredited courses in one day, organized by the buildings you design.
A day built around what architects asked to know
Every session on the program began as a question from a design professional. Over the past year, architects, interior designers and specifiers told us where the opening gives them trouble: the closer that has to hold a rated door and still open for everyone, the classroom door that has to secure and release in the same minute, the electrified lock that three trades claim and nobody owns.
The Opening by Design Boston answers those questions in one place, taught to the code and the standard by the specification consultants who write the section. Eighteen accredited courses run in three rooms, six in each, following the buildings you design: schools, multifamily, healthcare, higher education, hospitality and government, with courses for interior designers and a sustainability program alongside. Come for the full day or the half day and earn up to six credits before 5:00. Lunch is provided, and the day ends with closing remarks, a prize drawing and a happy hour at the hotel.
Registration opens December 1, with the schedule for the day and the presenters alongside it.
- When
- Thursday, March 11, 2027. A single day of classes for design professionals from greater Boston and across New England, full day or half day.
- Where
- Aloft Boston Seaport District, a Marriott hotel. 401-403 D Street, Boston, MA 02210, next to the Convention Center, about a mile from South Station and a short ride from Logan.
- Who
- Architects, interior designers, specifiers and firm principals.
- Credit
- Up to six credits in a day, filed with AIA, GBCI, IDCEC and IIDA where each course qualifies.
- Registration
- Opens December 1, 2026. The registration page will be linked here the day it opens, with the course list alongside it.
The program
Eighteen courses, organized by the buildings you design. Three rooms run side by side, each following one building type through the morning and another through the afternoon. Every course is accredited, sixty minutes, and taught to the code and the standard by an independent specification consultant.
School security
Three courses on the K-12 opening, where security and egress have to hold at the same time.
Multifamily
Three courses on the residential-at-scale opening, from the unit entry to the amenity door.
Healthcare and VA
Three courses on the clinical opening, where patient safety, staff access and accessibility meet at the door.
Higher education
Three courses on the campus opening, from the classroom and the residence hall to the lab.
Hospitality
Three courses on the hotel opening, where the design intent and the code have to arrive together.
Government
Three courses on the public building, where durability, security and open access share one hardware set.
The day
- 7:30
- Doors open. Check in on the meeting level, with coffee and a morning spread before the first class.
- 8:00 to 11:40
- Three morning classes, sixty minutes each in three rooms, with a twenty-minute break between.
- 11:40
- Lunch and the sustainability panel. An eighty-minute lunch, provided, with every attendee together for the panel.
- 1:00 to 4:40
- Three afternoon classes, the second half of the slate, with an afternoon snack at the break.
- 4:40
- Closing remarks and the prize drawing. A short close from SPC Alliance leadership and the drawing before the room moves to the bar.
- 5:00 to 7:00
- Happy hour. Two hours at the hotel, light bites and no program, where the day's conversations finish.
Tracks and times shown are the working plan. The course titles, the rooms and the presenters are published when registration opens on December 1.
Registration and tickets
Registration opens December 1, 2026, with a full-day ticket and a half-day ticket for those who can only give the morning or the afternoon. The registration page will be linked here the day it opens, with the course list alongside it.
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