In the last two weeks we’ve seen many in the architecture and design community proposing solutions to some of the issues we are facing in this pandemic. Some looked at the present, while others to the future. IKEA and Perkins and Will both proposed their own versions of the at-home DIY fort for parents and kids to build together to provide some engagement while at home. We’ve also seen new solutions for office workstations post-pandemic and even virtual architectural backgrounds to add some fun to our Zoom meetings. A new episode of Archinect Sessions was also released in continuation of our conversations with the Archinect community.
This is a weekly updated article that will summarize the biggest and most important COVID-19-related articles and resources for our community of architectural professionals, designers, and academics. Think of it as a one-stop resource to stay up-to-date on the issues most important to our industry. Be sure to click "follow" at the top of this article to track updates here! To get notified about all new related articles, be sure to follow the "covid-19" tag for news and feature articles on this topic. And also check out our Guide to the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Architecture Firms.
Previous Updates:
May 6th, 2020: This week we introduce the first of six podcast episodes of conversations Archinect has had with architects, designers, and others in the architecture industry. The discussions cover a wide array of perspectives. This week features insights from three professionals. You won’t want to miss it. We also learned what many are doing with some of the extra time while at home in our discussion forum, some are still busy with work and managing kids, and others have found additional hours in the day to pursue hobbies ranging from gardening to riding electric unicycles. Firms have continued to use their expertise to help the community and universities are starting to prep for an unpredictable fall semester experience. In architectural photography, Archinect reached out to a number of photographers to learn how COVID-19 has affected their work.
April 29th, 2020: This week we hear critical insights from school of architecture deans regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on architectural education, end of the year activities, and overall institutional response to the issue. We also took a look at Los Angeles-based urban design nonprofit LA-Más to learn more about how the organization has put its project management, design, and community engagement skills to work to serve its community during this pandemic. Paul, Donna, and Ken got together for a “Quarantine Check-In” in our latest episode of Archinect Session. It’s an engaging discussion and the trio touch on many important topics to set up an insightful new series of podcast episodes we’ll be releasing later this week.
April 22nd, 2020: This week Archinect launched the Virtual Event Guide, a new feature we’ve introduced for our community. The Virtual Event Guide is a highly curated list of online events catered specifically for the architecture & design community. Check out our announcement to learn more. In other news, Carlo Ratti Associati completed the first functioning prototype of CURA, a medical pod project for COVID-19 patients that uses shipping containers for streamlined production and modular capability. Health professionals have already started treating patients using CURA in Italy. Meanwhile, the construction industry has begun to introduce extra measures to address maintained jobsite safety during this pandemic. Everything from video inspections to artificial intelligence to social distancing has been major points of development for contractors and builders across the industry.
April 15th, 2020: Building on the collective push of the architecture and design community last week in the development of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) has undertaken its own PPE manufacturing effort. Also in academia, art students at many universities are demanding reimbursement for tuition due to the lack of tactile ability in online instruction, we have yet to see if this trend will influence architectural education. While virtual environments may not be working well for art students, it has begun to increase in the events space. Burning Man 2020 has gone virtual with the cancellation of its physical build-out this year and its introduction of The Multiverse, an “engaging, connective, and fun” online experience that organizers are still developing. Meanwhile, here at Archinect, we are preparing to launch our own special virtual events offering. Stay tuned for more details on that soon.
April 8th, 2020: This week, we’ve seen a drastic surge in the production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), spearheaded by architects across the country. Just in Los Angeles, Mayor Garcetti charged the architecture community to continue its development of the growing #OperationPPE initiative that has taken root in the city. In our continued discourse with industry leaders, we connected with architect Evelyn Lee to discuss the importance of business continuity in architecture during a time of crisis. Evelyn’s insights speak to the deeper implications surrounding professional practice during this unprecedented time. “We are three recessions away from becoming extinct as a profession,” she says in the interview, but with a caveat firms can address to heighten their relevancy during this time.
April 3rd, 2020: This week, we've continued learning and reporting on how COVID-19 is impacting the architecture community. In this last week we've heard from the Dean of Boston Architectural College on earning an M.Arch degree entirely online. We also were able to discover insights from USC Architecture's faculty on virtual instruction in architecture. In the professional realm we connected with Scott Kelsey, FAIA of CO Architects to dive into how the 110+ person practice transition to a remote model in such a short amount of time. And beyond that, the ever-evolving news surrounding COVID-19 has been prevalent.
At Archinect, we value the knowledge and experience of our community. We encourage you to contribute to this discussion in the comments. What questions do you have that you haven't gotten answers to? Please post those in the comments, we may be able to use our resources to find an answer. Also, share any important links or insights that you think we could all learn and benefit from. We're in this together!
The architecture and design community has been stepping up to help address this global pandemic:
Architecture schools are using digital fab labs to 3D print medical equipment
Virtual practice is "the new normal" these days, and many firms, large and small, have been forced to transition their teams to a work-from-home (WFH) model. In an industry so grounded in face-to-face collaboration, this can come as a hard shift for some. Nevertheless, there are industry leaders who have embraced virtual practice far before covid-19 and those who have tackled the challenge head on, seeing much success. This collection of pieces capture issues around remote work and WFH:
Running a Virtual Architecture Practice With Jennifer Kretschmer
Exploring Remote Work and 'Radical Flexibility' in Architecture With Diana Nicklaus
Architects share their biggest challenges transitioning to WFH
Tips for architects on balancing life while working from home
Schools across the country have had to shutter their doors and commence online instruction. As with professional practice, architectural education has been widely built around tactile discourse in the studio. How are schools navigating this dramatic change? These pieces offer an inside look:
Earning an M.Arch Online: Learning from Karen Nelson, Dean of Boston Architectural College
How architecture students and educators are handling the transition to online coursework
As we face the uncertainty of the future, stress, anxiety, and even fear can begin to creep in, influencing our mental state and overall emotional health. How are professionals, students, and educators doing emotionally and mentally during this time? And how might we combat some of the mind-centered challenges presented?
Architectural professionals share the emotional impacts of COVID-19
Turning obstacles into opportunities in architectural practice
How COVID-19 is affecting architecture students and educators on an emotional level
Virgil Abloh has created a playlist for us while working from home
Filmmaker Gary Hustwit is streaming his collection of design documentaries for free
Here we'll gather helpful and relevant links and resources specific to architects and designers. Check back regularly for our latest discoveries and please share any resources you feel would benefit the community:
The architecture industry has sadly experienced the loss of some respected colleagues due to COVID-19. News of these passings has shook our community and Archinect will continue to do it's best to celebrate the legacy of those lost to this pandemic:
Rifat Chadirji, father of Iraqi “international regionalism,” dies from COVID-19 at 93
Michael Sorkin, visionary and incisive architect, educator, critic, has passed away from COVID-19
Michael McKinnell, co-designer of Boston's Brutalist City Hall, dies from COVID-19
John LaPlante, engineer who helped fix Chicago’s “Z-Curve,” dies from COVID-19
Vittorio Gregotti, Italian Neo-Avant Garde architect, has died from COVID-19
Here we gather a list of general news concerning covid-19:
Interactive map illustrates the impact of coronavirus on global pollution
WeWork being pressured to close their locations as more members test positive for coronavirus
MTA suffers huge losses from COVID-19 pandemic as ridership declines sharply
Sean Joyner is a writer and essayist based in Los Angeles. His work explores themes spanning architecture, culture, and everyday life. Sean's essays and articles have been featured in The Architect's Newspaper, ARCHITECT Magazine, Dwell Magazine, and Archinect. He also works as an ...
14 Comments
Just putting it out there if anyone finds it useful.
Since most Hong Kong activists already own a 3M gas masks, some are using the gas masks with specially designed 3D-printed valves. The idea of these valves is to maximize the use of 1 facemask: each facemask can be cut into 9 portions, each portion to be used at one time.
stl file links: https://t.co/vpK7eC0oQZ?amp=1, https://t.co/rb0Uj8ITYj?amp=1, https://t.co/lRAJK4dn8b?amp=1
some are DIY-ing cloth masks: diymask.site
This article has been updated today, April 8th, with the latest COVID-19 news for the architecture community.
This article has been updated today, April 15th, with the latest COVID-19 news for the architecture community
I understand the need for masks in the healthcare field, however we need people to make masks for those in undeserved communities. Many in poorer communities can't shelter in place, and as we've seen, this b irus is hitting black communities harder, precisely due to the racism and economic disparities. We need the design community to produce for these Frontline communities, so that health-care workers can catch a break.
Good point. Bad as this is, my hope is it will make or social disparities to obvious to be ignored. I hope Joey's listening. Maybe he should pick Elizabeth Warren for VP cause we're going to need a lot of good plans to clean this mess up.
^ seconded!
This article has been updated today, April 22nd, with the latest COVID-19 news for the architecture community
This article has been updated today, April 29th, with the latest COVID-19 news for the architecture community
After COVID I think I won't be an architect anymore. I love doing architecture, but I don't want to sit in a computer for long hours.
ARCHITECTURE SHOULD CHANGE, we deny the fact we are also consume by the interest of capitalism and we are destroying ourselves and our community. We all architects try to encourage people to have bette lives and we create spaces for "better quality of life" and we dont realise we don't have quality of life for us. neither for our employees.
This article has been updated today, May 6th, with the latest COVID-19 news for the architecture community
This article has been updated today, May 21st, with the latest COVID-19 news for the architecture community
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