Archinect - News

'Future of Construction' report forecasts construction growth to outpace the manufacturing and services sectors this decade

2021-10-12T11:43:00-04:00

Construction will be an engine of global economic growth in the decade to 2030, with output expected to be 35% higher than in the ten years to 2020, according to a new global forecast.

The report, titled Future of Construction, by Oxford Economics and Marsh McLennan subsidiaries March and Guy Carpenter projects that growth in construction output will average 3.6% per year from now until 2030, outpacing that of the manufacturing and services sectors. According to the study, this is driven by swift recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and stimulus support from governments. The spending of accumulated excess household savings and demand for residential space is also credited as a factor behind this growth.

Growth will be concentrated in China, India, the United States, and Indonesia, which will account for 58.3% of estimated global expansion. Infrastructure is expected to be the fastest growth sector for construction over the decade, driven by government stimulus plans fueling global infrastructure projects, such as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill in the U.S.

Someone just created a tool to browse all the architecture firms that received PPP loans

2020-07-07T16:46:00-04:00

A recently published interface pulls together data on what architecture firms received approval for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding from the United States Small Business Administration (SBA). The interface collects publicly available information published by SBA that has been sorted according to the North American Industry Classification System code for the architecture industry, based on filings under NAICS CODE: 541310 for “Architectural Services.”

The interface, powered by Google’s Data Studio, shows 3,504 architecture-related companies that were approved to receive PPP funding from the SBA, resulting in the potential retention of over 100,000 employees.

The PPP program was included in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act economic aid package, passed in late March 2020, which was created to stem economic losses sustained by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing businesses to keep employees during this time of hardship. According to SBA, over $520 billion in loans has been dispersed o...

Construction firms top list of PPP loan recipients

2020-07-06T13:50:00-04:00

Industries getting the largest share of net PPP dollars were health and social assistance, professional, scientific and technical services, construction and manufacturing.

CNBC breaks down newly published data from the federal government highlighting the distribution of Paycheck Protection Program loans extended to American businesses in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously on Archinect:"Architecture Firm Owners Share Their PPP Woes"

According to CNBC, the construction industry took in over $60 billion in PPP loans during the initial funding rounds.

Applications for additional PPP funds are open through August 8, 2020.

A potential future for the School of Architecture at Taliesin begins to take shape

2020-05-06T18:59:00-04:00

Back in early March, it was announced that the Board of Directors of the School of Architecture at Taliesin (SOAT) had turned back a decision it made in January to shut down following a protracted tenancy dispute with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

In a press release announcing the initial plan to close down, the school wrote: "[SOAT] will cease operations after this semester, after a gut-wrenching decision by its Governing Board [...] The School of Architecture at Taliesin was not able to reach an agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to keep the school open."

Previously on Archinect: "Taliesin School of Architecture Board votes to rescind planned closure." What will be the fate of Frank Lloyd Wright's Beloved School of Architecture at Taliesin? Image © Flickr user Christopher Michel.

The school's initial decision to close down came as SOAT struggled to raise additional funds to keep its operations going, a circumstance that changed following the groundswell of sympa...

"Hygiene ventilation" and the case for Green Stimulus

2020-05-04T13:29:00-04:00

As society plans its transition out of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic response and into a new era of social distanced, post-quarantine life, the gradual re-inhabitation of existing buildings will necessitate that many aspects of daily life be re-examined, both in terms of social custom and functional layout.

Lecture halls and performance spaces that once held hundreds will now accommodate dozens; High-rise office buildings will see their capacities drastically reduced, as well; Grocery aisles will be redesigned to allow for more space between shoppers; Restaurants could see their dining rooms transported outdoors; Banks, post offices, government buildings, and all sorts of commercial, cultural, and entertainment facilities will likely, either periodically or for a period of time moving forward, will be impacted by this shift.

Previously on Archinect: "MASS Design Group brings pandemic design expertise to American hospital wards." A diagram showing interventions that the ...

Los Angeles County is planning a COVID-19 small business support program

2020-04-17T14:06:00-04:00

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has agreed to launch a new small business financial support program to help L.A.’s most vulnerable businesses survive the COVID-19 crisis.

The fund will include “bridge funding for small businesses likely to receive federal disaster assistance,” according to the text of the initiative, which was crafted by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. In addition, it will bring “low-cost working capital loans to maintain small businesses who may not qualify for federal disaster assistance,” as well as “working capital loans to nonprofit organizations and small businesses who are providing essential services, or transitioning from an existing model to provide essential services, that directly address the health or economic impacts of COVID-19.”

Further, the effort would bring “cash grants to microentrepreneurs and other highly vulnerable populations who will not qualify for federal disaster relief. The programmatic model should incorporate community dev...

Has your small business been funded yet? COVID-19 economic relief programs are off to a rough start

2020-04-16T12:02:00-04:00

Although the federal government has embraced a significant economic and fiscal response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the roll-out of the small business relief support programs created to help keep Americans paid through the crisis has so far left business owners (and their employees) wanting.

A recent The Wall Street Journal report finds that “small-business owners who have applied for federally guaranteed loans to keep them afloat during the coronavirus pandemic are still largely waiting for the money.” WSJ adds that even as the scope of the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has expanded to include people who are self-employed and those who operate as independent contractors, many of the businesses that initially applied for the funds when the program launched last week have yet to receive any money. It appears, according to various reports, that many banks have been slow...