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National consulting group Appleseed Strategy has released the results of their 2021 Financial & Economic Survey, a U.S. business study of AEC firms to gauge the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector. 43 individuals and 39 companies in architecture, engineering, landscape... View full entry
Museums in Denmark and the Netherlands will close as part of new coronavirus lockdown measures being imposed in both countries in reaction to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the disease. The announcements have been met with resignation and disappointment as it will mean further strain on the already stretched museum sector after nearly two years of sporadic closures and reduced capacity. — Artnet News
In London, the Natural History Museum is closed until December 27th due to staffing shortages caused by Covid. The Wellcome Collection and the Foundling Museum in London have also decided to shut down amid the surge. These closures come without the UK government declaring any mandates for these... View full entry
The third edition of AIA’s Small Firm Compensation Report has been released detailing how sole proprietorships and firms with fewer than three architectural staff employees fared during the tumultuous period between 2019 and 2021. The report includes data on compensation trends, employee... View full entry
The transit agency that oversees New York City’s subway, buses and two regional commuter rails will postpone fare increases for at least six months and defer drastic service cuts now that it anticipates receiving billions of dollars from the federal infrastructure bill, officials said on Monday. — The New York TImes
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that the newly-enacted $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Biden today would allow the state and the MTA to avoid harmful price and service changes. The influx of money comes as the MTA is aggressively trying to lure back ridership, which... View full entry
According to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of the recently-released U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data, construction input prices increased 1.5% in October. Nonresidential construction input prices have increased by 1.4% in the month. ... View full entry
As part of a program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design, a cohort of students retrofitted twelve shipping containers to serve as private housing for homeless people during the pandemic. The project, located at Kansas’ Lawrence Community Shelter, is called... View full entry
At the Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Q2 Construction Economic Update and Forecast webinar, ABC chief economist Anirban Basu affirmed that the construction industry is on the path to normalcy. Enthusiastically, he claimed that high raw material prices will eventually go down, going... View full entry
Across New York City’s five boroughs, five new public art installations are on display, each made from salvaged plywood boards that were used for a much different purpose a year ago. Be Heard by Behin Ha Design Studio. Be Heard by Behin Ha Design Studio. The sculptural pieces were... 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
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
For the Fall The University of Kansas' School of Architecture & Design collaborated with the school's Institute for Health + Wellness Design to develop a series of lectures addressing health care design. Archinect's ongoing Get Lectured series features each school's lecture series... View full entry
Predicting the future of cities is risky, especially if one heeds the words of the American baseball legend, Yogi Berra, that “the future ain’t what it used to be”.
In the period since the start of the pandemic it might seem as if everything is different, but in the long term, I would suggest that rather than changing anything, it has merely hastened and magnified trends that were already apparent before the virus struck.
— The Guardian
In his opinion piece for The Guardian, architect Norman Foster ponders how current and past pandemics have influenced and will continue to shape the infrastructure, and subsequently culture, of our cities. Foster briefly touches on a number of trendy topics, including electric vehicles, ride... View full entry
Creating an entirely virtual museum is already one approach for the future, but it’s a slippery slope. Museums might be enticed by the idea of having their entire collections online in order to avoid the possible transmission of disease, but then what happens to the buildings...With everything online, a museum building would morph into something that’s more or less just storage. — The Smithsonian Magazine
With self-quarantining, social distancing, and the closure of businesses and public venues, what happens to institutions like museums and their relationship with the public? While exhibitions can be seen online, does that solution defeat the purpose of a museum itself? According to... View full entry
