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The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) recently announced new measures they aim to achieve after the COVID-19 pandemic ceases. CLC has published its "Roadmap to Recovery" plan, which it intends to execute in three phases in order to help the construction industry "reinvent itself within... View full entry
A groundbreaking ceremony has just taken place for the Monument to Freedom and Unity, in central Berlin. The 50m-long (164ft) bowl will move gently up and down when enough people stand on it, and it should be completed by the end of next year.
In a guide to the design, architects Milla & Partner, who won a competition called "Citizens in Motion", say "freedom and unity aren't static conditions, they require participation and interaction".
— BBC
The monument, nicknamed "unity seesaw" by Berliners, is conceived as an enormous bowl-shaped kinetic platform that invites people to interact with each other. Image courtesy of Milla & Partner Stuttgart-based practice Milla & Partner in collaboration with choreographer Sasha Waltz created the... View full entry
Construction workers across America have suffered staggering job losses in recent weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and in many cases shut down, construction sites around the US. A recent report from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nearly one million... View full entry
Construction work just resumed at the Shanghai site for the new Cofco Cultural and Health Center designed by Steven Holl Architects. The 80,944-sf facility combines medical spaces, a pharmacy and nursery with cultural functions, including a library, gym, exhibition area, cafe, and community areas... View full entry
The construction industry, an engine that has helped power New York City’s tremendous growth in recent years, is slowly starting to reawaken, offering one of the first optimistic economic glimmers as the city struggles to recover.
And it also provides a glimpse of how the coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed the workplace in the nation’s largest city and the epicenter of the outbreak.
— The New York Times
For the New York Times, Matthew Haag reports on the recent reopening of several thousand NYC construction projects and how the ongoing COVID-19 crisis calls for new social distancing and hygiene measures on job sites: "Roughly 5,200 construction projects were operating again as of Tuesday, from... View full entry
After previous studies showed that patients in healthcare facilities were becoming ill due to dust generated by construction activity researchers from Washington State University and Clemson University asked 129 construction managers and field supervisors from the top healthcare contractors in the... View full entry
Notre Dame's construction site is to reopen Monday (27 April) to allow a management team to start planning the return of employees in early May...The move begins ahead of France's gradual easing of lockdown, amid the coronavirus pandemic, from 11 May.
Barriers surrounding the cathedral will be removed to allow around ten people, including the lead architect Philippe Villeneuve and company representatives involved in the restoration, to enter its base camp.
— The Art Newspaper
According to The Art Newspaper, the team will begin organizing the return of about 50 construction workers beginning May 4th with the goal of having all cranes removed by that day. Workers will return to dismantling the structure's expansive scaffolding also, a job that was stopped in March... View full entry
The study, commissioned by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, found that keeping the city’s jobsites open without any special safety precautions could triple the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the general population — from 10,000 to 30,000 — and raise construction workers’ risk of hospitalization eightfold by the middle of August. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, the study found that the risk of increased hospitalizations and worker illness can be significantly diminished through measures such as temperature screenings, use of personal protective equipment, tool disinfection, hand washing stations, and rotating shifts... View full entry
During a webinar this week hosted by the International Code Council, building officials from around the country shared their experiences with remote inspections as the coronavirus outbreak forces them to keep doing their jobs while still abiding by social distancing requirements. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, building inspectors from Ohio, Nevada and Florida found common benefits to performing inspections using inexpensive tools like Facetime, Skype, Google Duo and Microsoft Teams. The general consensus, reports Construction Dive, was that as long as the... View full entry
Despite many construction projects being put on hold across the U.S., some regions, including Los Angeles, have continued on with business as usual. Word of the LACMA demolition came to light during the second week of April, while a neighboring project is also making progress. In the weeks... View full entry
A new economic report from the United States Commerce Department indicates that housing construction has been massively impacted by the COVID-19-related economic crisis that is currently gripping the country. According to the department, the number of construction groundbreakings that... View full entry
Computer vision paired with artificial intelligence is already in use on construction sites, analyzing photos and video of a site to spot safety hazards and identify possible construction errors. But an idea pitched from a construction contractor has spurred A.I. vendor Smartvid.io to add social distancing monitoring to its feature set. — Engineering News-Record
According to ENR, Smartvid.io, a company whose AI is already able to spot workers and PPE use from video and still images, received a client request to also monitor social distancing on construction jobsites in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Since the technology could already track people on... 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 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
