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For decades, ordinary residents have been pushed out of cities like London and New York to make room for offices and luxury apartments. But the pandemic has massively reduced demand for these same locations — turning city centers into ghost towns, full of shiny new buildings that no one needs. — Jacobin Magazine
Writing for Jacobin, Glyn Robbins dissects the pandemic's lasting effect on cities around the world where new luxury developments — too often favored over affordable housing solutions for the broader local community — are now faced with a sudden drop in demand. Related on Archinect... View full entry
Following a move from Purple to Red in California's tiered safety classification structure, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will again open its doors to the public on Thursday after a year of lockdown that left the 60-year-old museum critically and financially uncertain as it looks to... View full entry
Museums have lain dormant while pandemic restrictions aimed to keep the spread of COVID-19 low. However, with vaccine rollouts and cities entering new tier levels, museums are preparing to welcome back visitors in-person. On March 10th, the completion of Renzo Piano's long-awaited Academy Museum... View full entry
COVID-19 forced many companies, including architecture firms, to lay off staff, resulting in several professionals out of the workforce with few prospects. But, as job opportunities increase and more people receive vaccinations, reentry into the workforce could become a greater reality for some... View full entry
Ever since the transition of many offices to remote work, plans and strategies on returning to the physical office have been developing. Archinect is reaching out to the community to learn about various plans on reopening the office. Previously on Archinect: Architects share their biggest... View full entry
Pvilion, a Brooklyn-based manufacturer of rapidly deployable robotic structures, is working with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on a project to use computer automation to improve its manufacturing process. The partnership comes in response to the growing need for rapidly deployable temporary... View full entry
A new report details how construction costs have changed across 12 U.S. cities since the coronavirus pandemic began. Broken down by market, all of the U.S. cities in the Rider Levett Bucknall report saw at least small gains, except for Chicago, which experienced a 1.29% decrease in comparative costs from October 2019 to October 2020. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, the new report by construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall signals a 2.03% increase of the national average for construction costs. The survey tracks the RLB Comparative Cost Index for major cities across the United States and found the biggest cost... View full entry
More than 50 countries are racing to vaccinate their populations to fend off the rising death toll of a third wave of infections. To supplement the existing network of hospitals, medical clinics, pharmacies and other healthcare facilities, many are establishing mass vaccination sites capable of processing crowds — often sports arenas, convention centers and stadiums, but also parking lots and deserted shopping malls. — Bloomberg CityLab
Bloomberg CityLab takes a look at how large sports, cultural, and civic facilities are being converted into mass vaccination sites in cities around the world. View full entry
The pandemic has underlined how broken the UK’s model for urban development is. [...]
It is hard to see now amid the depression and anger, but the pandemic did briefly show cities acting on the basis of general human need: rough sleepers being housed, mutual aid groups being set up, evictions being suspended. Yet the possibility of any long-term change is rapidly being lost.
— The Guardian
Tribune culture editor Owen Hatherly's new housing opinion piece for The Guardian. View full entry
As California hits a bleak coronavirus milestone this month, with nearly 10% of the population infected, organizers of Desert X in the Coachella Valley have announced that the forthcoming edition of the outdoor sculpture exhibition will be postponed until lockdown restrictions have been lifted in the state. — The Art Newspaper
Desert X would have opened for its third edition on February 6th, offering both digital and in-person experiences. "In light of the urgent health crisis and surge in cases of Covid-19, the only responsible way forward to protect our community, health care system, artists, visitors and all those... View full entry
While the news cycle in October was mostly dominated by the upcoming elections and ongoing pandemic, other aspects of life continued. In the world of architecture, these were the stories that captured our collective attention... The Challenges of Academia Lesley Lokko resigns as Dean of CCNY's... View full entry
The much-heralded opening of the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles has been rescheduled from 30 April until 30 September of next year [...]
Los Angeles is in the grip of restrictions imposed by the state as coronavirus cases soar, making it difficult to envision greeting visitors as museums currently are closed due to pandemic concerns.
— The Art Newspaper
"We are putting the final touches on our stunning exhibitions and public spaces, and while we were ready and eager to welcome visitors in the spring, with the current surge of COVID-19, it would be irresponsible to maintain an April opening," said Bill Kramer, Director and President of the Academy... View full entry
...architects have been working with the International WELL Building Institute, an organization that’s developing standards for healthy buildings and is now run by Hodgdon. Since the pandemic, the Institute has been registering more than a million square feet of real estate a day in its certification program, putting buildings on the path to wellness. — WIRED
A new article by WIRED's Sonner Kehrt explores the long term effects of 'healthy' design. "Over the past several months, the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a surge of interest in the role that indoor environments—where we spend 90 percent of our time, even in a normal... View full entry
A new study tracking the results of more than 730,000 COVID-19 tests found that construction workers had the highest positivity rates for asymptomatic cases of any occupation, including healthcare staff, first responders, correctional personnel, elderly care workers, grocery store workers and food service employees. — Construction Dive
Access the complete study High Frequency and Prevalence of Community-Based Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection here. View full entry
The pandemic accelerated a need for digital menu boards, artificial intelligence, expanding drive-thrus into dual lanes and adding drive-thru only units where available. Many other fast food restaurants like Wendy's, Taco Bell, Del Taco, Burger King, KFC and McDonald's have also shown interest in developing many of these concepts. — Construction Dive
With indoor dining areas closed in many, if not most, restaurants since the beginning of the pandemic, the nation's fast food and fast casual franchises are rethinking fundamental design concepts of their operations that will likely become part of the American vernacular for decades to come, such... View full entry
