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This is the first installment of a narrative survey of educators around the globe on the challenges of the massive move to online teaching. Some challenges are practical and logistical; others are more conceptual, political, and even philosophical, involving the importance of campus community, the role of schools in providing for the wellbeing of students, and passionate convictions about the nature of learning and the transmission of knowledge. — Places Journal
Places Journal, which recently took a hiatus from its regular publishing schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has gathered perspectives from leading architectural educators offering their takes on what some of the challenges and concerns are for the period moving forward as design... View full entry
As hundreds of universities across the US are forced to shift classes online and as arts studio programmes and workshops are compromised due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, students are mobilising to demand the full or partial reimbursement of their tuition. Few efforts, however, have yielded positive results, to the financial devastation of many students. — The Art Newspaper
According to The Art Newspaper, a letter containing the signatures of more than 80% percent of Boston University MFA students was "rebuked by school representatives last month." The school says that it believes its Zoom meetings are commensurate with a "studio education." Additionally... View full entry
Around the country, as the COVID-19 shut down enters its second month, cities have demonstrated a variety of responses with regards to access to open space as shelter-in-place initiatives have taken hold. Some cities, like Los Angeles, have opted to shut down parks and hiking trails for fear of... View full entry
New guidance from the Treasury Department appears to allow any U.S. firms with 500 or fewer employees to qualify for the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program regardless of revenue, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The initiative was created as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus rescue bill enacted late last month. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, President Donald Trump's administration released the new guidance April 7th after the AGC raised concerns that many small construction firms appeared to be excluded from the initially drafted program. View full entry
A new report published by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) indicates that architects who focus on residential projects are bracing for steep losses over the coming months as the COVID-19 economic shut down put in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus has dimmed what was... View full entry
With each of us now living in socially distanced self-isolation, with shops shuttered, offices abandoned and urban centres reduced to ghost towns, it’s hard not to wonder what kind of lasting impact Covid-19 will have on our cities. Will homes need to adapt to better accommodate work? Will pavements widen so we can keep our distance? Will we no longer want to live so densely packed together, working in open-plan offices and cramming into lifts? — The Guardian
Writing in The Guardian, Oliver Wainwright takes a long look at the ways, past and present, that architecture has been shaped by concerns over hygiene, sanitation, and disease. View full entry
With construction deemed essential during the citywide "Safer at Home," order, work has continued at many building sites across Los Angeles - though with new regulations to account for the outbreak of coronavirus...
Faced with a deluge of complaints about noise and vibration from Angelenos sheltering in place, 5th District Councilmember Paul Koretz has proposed temporary limits on construction hours during the COVID-19 emergency.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
According to Urbanize LA, Councilmember Koretz proposed a motion to shift construction hours in residential and multi-family residential zones from 7 am to 9 pm on Monday through Friday to 9 am to 9 pm during the week, from 8 am to 6 pm on Saturdays, and on holidays to 9 am to 6 pm, giving... View full entry
After much listening, discussion, and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to build Black Rock City in 2020. Given the painful reality of COVID-19, one of the greatest global challenges of our lifetimes, we believe this is the right thing to do. — Burning Man Journal
Burning Man is the latest physical event casualty resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The event organizers announced that they will be canceling the physical build-out of Black Rock City this year, for the safety of the participants and community, and will be building the city virtually... View full entry
The vast interior of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan stood empty on Monday, the thousands of chairs that normally sit beneath its soaring ceiling and stained-glass windows removed to make room for a more grim sight: a coronavirus field hospital. — The New York Times
Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City tells The New York Times, “Traditionally, in earlier centuries, cathedrals were always used this way, like during the plague. So this is not outside the experience of being a cathedral, it is just... View full entry
As design communities around the country come together to help fabricate new stockpiles of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), a team at Harvard University is undertaking its own PPE manufacturing operation. Representatives from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), John... View full entry
The latest unemployment figures reported by the federal government show staggering job losses across the country in the wake of the COVID-19-induced economic shutdown. The US Department of Labor reports that 6.6 million Americans filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending April... View full entry
As COVID-19 related news floods the media, its effects on world health and the economy have left many feeling shaken. With the influx of information and resources out there, it may be challenging to sift through content that can provide a bit of reassurance and hope. Here at Archinect, our... View full entry
We can see our cities for the first time without the choking traffic, dirty air and honking horns that have so often made them intolerable.
Throughout the world, the coronavirus has forced extreme changes in our behavior in just days. And we’re already seeing the impact of those changes: On Monday, for example, Los Angeles had the cleanest air of any major city in the world.
— The New York Times
In today's NYT Opinion piece, Allison Arieff attempts to look at the benefits of the global social distancing experiment, from the cleaner city air through unprecedented street access for pedestrians and cyclists to potentially lasting design interventions in the public urban space. "Covid... View full entry
In an effort to lessen the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and to take advantage of fewer vehicles on the road during a 30-day stay-at-home order, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered the state DOT to accelerate $2.1 billion of transportation projects. — Construction Dive
In an April 1 briefing, according to Construction Dive, the Florida Governor said the state is moving up construction on the $865M Howard Frankland Bridge project between Tampa and St. Petersburg by four weeks; a road widening project in Palm Beach County by three months; the $... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has published a preliminary “Preparedness Assessment Tool” to help architects and healthcare directors appropriately select existing buildings for reuse as Alternative Care Sites (ACS). The document brings together best practices for ACS... View full entry
