New CPD Platform Provides Freely Accessible Professional Development Resources to Architects Worldwide, Featuring Leading Practitioners and Alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals
The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) today announced the launch of its comprehensive online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) platform, providing free, unrestricted access to high-quality learning resources for architectural professionals across the Commonwealth and beyond.
The platform addresses a critical need in the profession as the built environment sector accounts for over one-third of global energy demand and carbon emissions, and builds upon the findings of the CAA’s 2020 Survey of Built Environment Professionals. With architects playing a pivotal role in addressing climate change, rapid urbanisation, and social equity, the CAA’s initiative ensures practitioners worldwide have access to the knowledge and skills required to meet these urgent challenges.
“Professional development should never be a privilege limited by geography or resources,” said Immediate Past-President, Peter Oborn, who first spearheaded the CAA’s CPD programme in partnership with the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Initiative.
“By making this platform freely accessible, we’re democratising knowledge to empower architects across the Commonwealth to deliver safer, more sustainable, and more inclusive buildings and communities.”
Platform Features and Structure
The new learning platform offers recorded sessions from internationally recognised practitioners, policymakers, and academics, organised around ten core curriculum themes aligned with the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) CPD framework. This alignment ensures content meets global professional standards while addressing the unique challenges facing Commonwealth architects practicing across diverse climatic, cultural, and economic contexts.
Featured speakers include 2024 CAA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Prof Yasmeen Lari; Pakistan’s first female architect and pioneer of Barefoot Social Architecture, who has delivered transformative work building over 50,000 zero-carbon, disaster-resilient homes using local materials. Additionally, the platform also features Mina Hasman, CAA Vice President for Europe and one of TIME Magazine’s 2023 Top 100 Climate Leaders, sharing expertise on whole life carbon accounting and climate action strategies.
The ten core curriculum themes encompass:
- Sustainable Architecture
- Inclusive Environments
- Architecture for Social Purpose
- Health, Safety and Wellbeing
- Places, Planning and Communities
- Building Conservation and Heritage
- Design, Construction and Technology
- Legal, Regulatory and Statutory Compliance
- Business, Clients and Services
- Procurement and Contracts
Linking Professional Development to Global Impact
A distinguishing feature of the CAA CPD platform is the explicit connection between learning outcomes and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each session identifies which SDGs are addressed, enabling practitioners to understand how their professional decisions contribute to global objectives including sustainable cities, climate action, and responsible production.
“This alignment is particularly important for Commonwealth nations, many of which face acute challenges related to rapid urbanisation, climate vulnerability, and resource constraints,” added Peter.
“We’re empowering architects to be agents of positive change, creating built environments that support human flourishing, environmental stewardship, and equitable prosperity.”
Free Access and Flexible Learning
Reflecting the CAA’s commitment to open knowledge sharing and capacity building, all learning sessions are made freely available without subscriptions or paywalls. The platform’s on-demand format allows practitioners to access content at their own pace, accommodating busy professional schedules while maintaining the highest educational standards.
Whether emerging professionals building foundational knowledge or experienced practitioners seeking advanced insights, the platform offers relevant learning pathways across all ten competency areas, drawing on case studies and expertise from across the Commonwealth’s 56 member nations.
Call to Action
The CAA encourages architectural professionals, institutions, and organisations to explore the platform and share this resource widely within the professional community. The association believes that collective professional development strengthens the entire field and enhances the profession’s capacity to address the pressing challenges facing the built environment.
You can access the platform at anytime via: www.commonwealtharchitects.org/continuing-professional-development