1 to 40 of 3441
Topics
Publishers
Standard Views
PostcardsAll Topics
Sustainability
Products and Materials
Future Trends
Project Types
Technology
Transportation
Leadership and Talent
Practice and Business
Services
Postcards
The Architects' Journal 2020-04-01
Foster + PartnersFoster + Partners is seeking permission to split up its residential building at the ÂŁ9 billion Battersea Power Station redevelopment to create a standalone office
The developers behind the overhaul of the Grade II*-listed south London landmark have submitted a Section 73 planning application to Wandsworth Council, seeking to revise the original plans for 1,300 homes.
The regeneration of Giles Gilbert Scott’s power station, which has been masterplanned by Rafael Viñoly, is midway through construction, though work is currently on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The planned changes include slicing off the southern section of Fosters’ distinctive undulating block along the river – which together with Frank Gehry’s buildings comprises phase 3 – and turning it into an â€iconic office building’.
Fosters’ building sits opposite Gehry’s titanium-clad building, called The Flower, which remains unchanged in the new plans.
The catalyst for revising the scheme was the demand for offices in the scheme following the letting of space in WilkinsonEyre’s refurbished power station to tech giant Apple.
Battersea Power Station Development Company chief executive Simon Murphy said: â€This situation has given us cause to rethink our delivery strategy and meet this new demand for offices by bringing forward a portion of floorspace previously earmarked for Phase 4.’
Viñoly’s vision for the riverside site has been divided into phases. SimpsonHaugh and dRMM’s mixed-use first phase, Circus West Village, opened in 2017 while WilkinsonEyre’s phase two refurb of the power station is due to complete in 2021.
A Battersea Power Station Development Company spokesperson said: â€As part of the phased approach to delivering this project, we continually assess the best mix of uses for each phase to ensure we are complementing the wider local area.
â€We believe that delivering much-needed, high-quality office space earlier than planned, alongside a great selection of shops, cafĂ©s, restaurants and the 1,600 new homes already being lived in or under construction will bring further vibrancy to this exciting new neighbourhood.’
The developers behind the overhaul of the Grade II*-listed south London landmark have submitted a Section 73 planning application to Wandsworth Council, seeking to revise the original plans for 1,300 homes.
The regeneration of Giles Gilbert Scott’s power station, which has been masterplanned by Rafael Viñoly, is midway through construction, though work is currently on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The planned changes include slicing off the southern section of Fosters’ distinctive undulating block along the river – which together with Frank Gehry’s buildings comprises phase 3 – and turning it into an â€iconic office building’.
Fosters’ building sits opposite Gehry’s titanium-clad building, called The Flower, which remains unchanged in the new plans.
The catalyst for revising the scheme was the demand for offices in the scheme following the letting of space in WilkinsonEyre’s refurbished power station to tech giant Apple.
Battersea Power Station Development Company chief executive Simon Murphy said: â€This situation has given us cause to rethink our delivery strategy and meet this new demand for offices by bringing forward a portion of floorspace previously earmarked for Phase 4.’
Viñoly’s vision for the riverside site has been divided into phases. SimpsonHaugh and dRMM’s mixed-use first phase, Circus West Village, opened in 2017 while WilkinsonEyre’s phase two refurb of the power station is due to complete in 2021.
A Battersea Power Station Development Company spokesperson said: â€As part of the phased approach to delivering this project, we continually assess the best mix of uses for each phase to ensure we are complementing the wider local area.
â€We believe that delivering much-needed, high-quality office space earlier than planned, alongside a great selection of shops, cafĂ©s, restaurants and the 1,600 new homes already being lived in or under construction will bring further vibrancy to this exciting new neighbourhood.’
Builder Online 2020-04-01
Hanley WoodStay tuned here to understand, address, and deal with local, state, regional, and national challenges to business, operational, and job-site continuation through the Covid-19 crisis.
There are no playbooks for now.
The ceo of a top-five ranked home builder told me as much, saying, "I hate to say it, but [as a leader], you don't want practice at dealing with what's going on." Unprecedented, sometimes, is actually so.
Leaders in construction and real estate--residential and otherwise--are making the hardest kinds of decisions these days. They're contending with extraordinary, fast-changing conditions on a real-time triage basis--seeing first and foremost to the health and safety of team members, customers, and their complex of partners. At the same time, they must plan. The viability of their firms including their stakeholders' interests faces unprecedented pressure.
Daily war-room style command centers in organizations of all sizes deal with the bi-modal challenges of the coronavirus health threat and the economic, business, and financial turbulence, each of those a shifting ground beneath us, each of them barreling ahead, relentlessly.
Huddles, specifically scheduled to allow home-bound team members ventilate about what they're afraid of, frustrated with, angry at, and confused by, are--we hear--part of the no-longer-virtual connective reality of worklife. We know far more personally about colleagues than ever, we share foxhole prayers, we learn about a different side of so many people we'd been professionally acquainted with for ages. We see their kids, their pets, their interior decorating, their sanctuary at a level we may never before have given one random thought to.
Roiling beneath the dynamics of the moment--a perhaps inevitable accompaniment with high levels of fear--is a big challenge for all. The challenge comes packaged as a four-letter word. Them.
We have two epidemics right now--one, the still-rapidly-spreading novel coronavirus and the other, the volatile fever-chart deterioration of the financial investment markets.
A third contagion, one that sets in motion a new avalanche of "us versus them" feuds, legal battles, and a breakdown of good faith among partners, is one none of us can afford right now. Self-preservation and self-interest and selfishness--at the expense of the greater good--is a very thin line right now, and leadership is the last-best defense against the emergence of this third contagion--an Us Vs. Them battle royal.
We can see it brewing on the "essential services" front--where local, regional, and state jurisdictions declare one policy and national policy may or may not be consistent. We want business continuation and the ability of construction's infrastructure to support the vital stream of activity necessary to sustain existing sheltered space and add new home units into a housing market that sorely needs it, especially now. We also want hard, tangible evidence that owners and supervisors and corporate interests are going to the greatest lengths to ensure the health and safety of not just their own team members but the entire value chain and building lifecycle.
Have a look at our interactive heat-map tracking state and local and national overlays in the "construction as an essential service" conversation. We're hosting a virtual Construction Town Hall that will explore what "essential" means to different people, firms, and stakeholders in construction's lifecycle, what decision-makers need to know, and why it matters so vitally to their businesses as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend operations, job sites, supply chains, flow of funding, and viability.
This will take place Monday, April 6, at 4:30 pm.
I bring it up because I've already been picking up intensifying vibrations among executives--particularly in the lending, borrowing, investment, and investee dynamics. Forbearance, restraint, tolerance, and patience--these tactics need to bind players--those who owe money, those who lend money, those who invest money, those who live hand-to-mouth on today's money, those who've spent tomorrow's money, and those who can continue to make payments.
"What people need to do at their companies is to be true to their promises right now," said one executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We can't have everybody at once stop paying their bills right now, and stop abiding by their commitments, or everything will get a whole lot worse."
We're hearing about stress, not just on the health and finance front, but to trust.
Margin calls, loan
There are no playbooks for now.
The ceo of a top-five ranked home builder told me as much, saying, "I hate to say it, but [as a leader], you don't want practice at dealing with what's going on." Unprecedented, sometimes, is actually so.
Leaders in construction and real estate--residential and otherwise--are making the hardest kinds of decisions these days. They're contending with extraordinary, fast-changing conditions on a real-time triage basis--seeing first and foremost to the health and safety of team members, customers, and their complex of partners. At the same time, they must plan. The viability of their firms including their stakeholders' interests faces unprecedented pressure.
Daily war-room style command centers in organizations of all sizes deal with the bi-modal challenges of the coronavirus health threat and the economic, business, and financial turbulence, each of those a shifting ground beneath us, each of them barreling ahead, relentlessly.
Huddles, specifically scheduled to allow home-bound team members ventilate about what they're afraid of, frustrated with, angry at, and confused by, are--we hear--part of the no-longer-virtual connective reality of worklife. We know far more personally about colleagues than ever, we share foxhole prayers, we learn about a different side of so many people we'd been professionally acquainted with for ages. We see their kids, their pets, their interior decorating, their sanctuary at a level we may never before have given one random thought to.
Roiling beneath the dynamics of the moment--a perhaps inevitable accompaniment with high levels of fear--is a big challenge for all. The challenge comes packaged as a four-letter word. Them.
We have two epidemics right now--one, the still-rapidly-spreading novel coronavirus and the other, the volatile fever-chart deterioration of the financial investment markets.
A third contagion, one that sets in motion a new avalanche of "us versus them" feuds, legal battles, and a breakdown of good faith among partners, is one none of us can afford right now. Self-preservation and self-interest and selfishness--at the expense of the greater good--is a very thin line right now, and leadership is the last-best defense against the emergence of this third contagion--an Us Vs. Them battle royal.
We can see it brewing on the "essential services" front--where local, regional, and state jurisdictions declare one policy and national policy may or may not be consistent. We want business continuation and the ability of construction's infrastructure to support the vital stream of activity necessary to sustain existing sheltered space and add new home units into a housing market that sorely needs it, especially now. We also want hard, tangible evidence that owners and supervisors and corporate interests are going to the greatest lengths to ensure the health and safety of not just their own team members but the entire value chain and building lifecycle.
Have a look at our interactive heat-map tracking state and local and national overlays in the "construction as an essential service" conversation. We're hosting a virtual Construction Town Hall that will explore what "essential" means to different people, firms, and stakeholders in construction's lifecycle, what decision-makers need to know, and why it matters so vitally to their businesses as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend operations, job sites, supply chains, flow of funding, and viability.
This will take place Monday, April 6, at 4:30 pm.
I bring it up because I've already been picking up intensifying vibrations among executives--particularly in the lending, borrowing, investment, and investee dynamics. Forbearance, restraint, tolerance, and patience--these tactics need to bind players--those who owe money, those who lend money, those who invest money, those who live hand-to-mouth on today's money, those who've spent tomorrow's money, and those who can continue to make payments.
"What people need to do at their companies is to be true to their promises right now," said one executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We can't have everybody at once stop paying their bills right now, and stop abiding by their commitments, or everything will get a whole lot worse."
We're hearing about stress, not just on the health and finance front, but to trust.
Margin calls, loan
Archinect 2020-04-01
Archinect'Bay Area health officials issued a sweeping new order on Tuesday banning a range of commercial and residential construction that had previously been exempt from stay-at-home mandates. The move could swell the record number of Californians seeking unemployment by putting some construction workers out of jobs." — San Francisco Chronicle
After issuing a shelter-in-place order for six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area on March 16, health officials now increased the measure by also restricting construction activity on market-rate housing projects which was exempt until now.
After issuing a shelter-in-place order for six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area on March 16, health officials now increased the measure by also restricting construction activity on market-rate housing projects which was exempt until now.
Construction Dive 2020-04-01
Construction DiveJust like their privately owned counterparts, publicly traded construction firms have scrambled in the past few weeks to react to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Because they perform work in locations across the world, they have been monitoring the virus since its inception in China late last year.
Now, several are taking the unusual step of freezing or even cutting executive pay and shareholder payouts, an unusual move during what had been a positive construction outlook for 2020. In addition, one public company, Fluor Corp., has taken stockholder-related measures to protect itself from the turbulent economic environment.
Balfour Beatty announced last week that its chairman, executive directors, non-executive directors and executive committee will take a 20% reduction in their salaries. It also postponed payout of its 2019 final dividend.​ The London-based firm has struggled in recent weeks to keep its construction sites open in the United Kingdom, which has been hard hit by COVID-19.
Senior executives and board members at Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering are taking a 10% reduction in salary, in part to help support charitable initiatives including a $1 million donation to help global organizations fighting the pandemic, the company said in a statement.
Sweden-based Skanska last week announced that it would not increase fees for its board of directors and would hold off on paying a dividend so that it can carry its 2019 profit plus retained earnings forward. CEO Anders Danielsson said the board would reconsider the dividend in the fall.
Tim Hynes, head of North American research for Debtwire, said many large corporations — such as Disney and United Airlines — are taking the same approach, cutting back on salaries for executives and board members as part of their reaction to the current market turmoil. While it's highly unusual to cut executive pay in what was a booming economy, other scenarios in the past that have led to salary cuts are material earnings misses, a failed company sale or a failed acquisition, Hynes said.
Fluor's poison pill
In a related move, Fluor Corp. leaders announced last week that the company has adopted a limited duration stockholder rights agreement to protect itself against a potential hostile takeover. The move will ensure that stockholders receive fair and equal treatment in the event of any potential takeover through the end of this year, according to a company statement.
The agreement, also known as a “poison pill” provision, will not prevent a takeover, but will encourage any individual or group seeking to acquire the company to negotiate with the board prior to attempting a takeover. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires 10% or more of the company’s outstanding common stock.
"This limited duration rights agreement will protect stockholders from efforts to capitalize on recent market volatility as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Alan Boeckmann, Fluor’s executive chairman, in a statement.
Other U.S. corporations have also announced rights agreements in recent days, including Spirit Airlines and Williams Cos., an energy infrastructure firm. In mid-March, activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in Occidental Petroleum Corp to almost 10% in a fight to take control of the oil producer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Changing conditions
At the company’s video-streamed general meeting last week attended by only a limited number of people, Skanska’s Danielsson said the company is continuously reviewing its operations because conditions are changing from day to day.
“During the spread of the coronavirus, many questions have been raised about market and demand and it remains to be seen how we will be affected in a long-term perspective,” he said.
Balfour Beatty said in a statement last week that it cannot forecast the crisis’ impact on the firm’s 2020 outlook and will “provide further updates on its trading performance as and when appropriate."
While work is stalled or shut down on many projects, some public contractors have pivoted to work on pandemic-related projects. Jacobs’ CEO Steve Demetriou said in a statement this week that several of its federal and local government contracts are being refocused on COVID-19 response activities, including:
Because they perform work in locations across the world, they have been monitoring the virus since its inception in China late last year.
Now, several are taking the unusual step of freezing or even cutting executive pay and shareholder payouts, an unusual move during what had been a positive construction outlook for 2020. In addition, one public company, Fluor Corp., has taken stockholder-related measures to protect itself from the turbulent economic environment.
Balfour Beatty announced last week that its chairman, executive directors, non-executive directors and executive committee will take a 20% reduction in their salaries. It also postponed payout of its 2019 final dividend.​ The London-based firm has struggled in recent weeks to keep its construction sites open in the United Kingdom, which has been hard hit by COVID-19.
Senior executives and board members at Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering are taking a 10% reduction in salary, in part to help support charitable initiatives including a $1 million donation to help global organizations fighting the pandemic, the company said in a statement.
Sweden-based Skanska last week announced that it would not increase fees for its board of directors and would hold off on paying a dividend so that it can carry its 2019 profit plus retained earnings forward. CEO Anders Danielsson said the board would reconsider the dividend in the fall.
Tim Hynes, head of North American research for Debtwire, said many large corporations — such as Disney and United Airlines — are taking the same approach, cutting back on salaries for executives and board members as part of their reaction to the current market turmoil. While it's highly unusual to cut executive pay in what was a booming economy, other scenarios in the past that have led to salary cuts are material earnings misses, a failed company sale or a failed acquisition, Hynes said.
Fluor's poison pill
In a related move, Fluor Corp. leaders announced last week that the company has adopted a limited duration stockholder rights agreement to protect itself against a potential hostile takeover. The move will ensure that stockholders receive fair and equal treatment in the event of any potential takeover through the end of this year, according to a company statement.
The agreement, also known as a “poison pill” provision, will not prevent a takeover, but will encourage any individual or group seeking to acquire the company to negotiate with the board prior to attempting a takeover. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires 10% or more of the company’s outstanding common stock.
"This limited duration rights agreement will protect stockholders from efforts to capitalize on recent market volatility as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Alan Boeckmann, Fluor’s executive chairman, in a statement.
Other U.S. corporations have also announced rights agreements in recent days, including Spirit Airlines and Williams Cos., an energy infrastructure firm. In mid-March, activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in Occidental Petroleum Corp to almost 10% in a fight to take control of the oil producer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Changing conditions
At the company’s video-streamed general meeting last week attended by only a limited number of people, Skanska’s Danielsson said the company is continuously reviewing its operations because conditions are changing from day to day.
“During the spread of the coronavirus, many questions have been raised about market and demand and it remains to be seen how we will be affected in a long-term perspective,” he said.
Balfour Beatty said in a statement last week that it cannot forecast the crisis’ impact on the firm’s 2020 outlook and will “provide further updates on its trading performance as and when appropriate."
While work is stalled or shut down on many projects, some public contractors have pivoted to work on pandemic-related projects. Jacobs’ CEO Steve Demetriou said in a statement this week that several of its federal and local government contracts are being refocused on COVID-19 response activities, including:
- FEMA and U.S. A
The Architect's Newspaper 2020-04-01
Luca Bravoith more than 160,000 known cases and 3,400 deaths in the United States estimated as of today, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has already resulted in the unexpected closure of countless museums, restaurants, bars, schools, and other establishments integral to the country’s economic growth. A record 3.3 million people have already filed for unemployment within the last few weeks with many more expected on the way, leaving the subject of housing as one of the most pressing issues among city and state officials.
Within the last week, prior to the April 1 deadline at which most rent and mortgage checks are expected under normal conditions (aka today), state officials have independently announced eviction moratoriums with varying term dates. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo released an executive order on March 7 that includes a 90-day eviction moratorium, while California Governor Gavin Newsom, at the helm of the most populous state in the country with over 40 million residents, released a similar order that prevents residential evictions for two months to those who have been laid off due to the pandemic. “For tenants, there will be no eviction proceedings; there will be no enforcement as it relates to pay for COVID-19,” said Newsom, according to the Los Angeles Times. Renters in both states will, however, have to make up the rent they owe after their respective moratorium periods, and rent payments are expected of those who do not provide written testimony that they are unable to pay them (The Hill reports, meanwhile, that New York state lawmakers are working on a rent suspension bill that is currently in committee but will likely be held up by Governor Cuomo).
While many might be relieved to learn they can stave off eviction until they find the necessary funds, affordable housing leaders feel the measures are minimal and shortsighted. “I think we’re deeply disappointed that it isn’t just a blanket moratorium on evictions,” said Francisco Dueñas of the California-based advocacy group Housing Now. Residents of major American cities have called upon government officials to institute rent freezes and other initiatives to stave off the financial hardships being felt across the country. Over 15,000 Chicagoans, for example, have signed an online petition spearheaded by a tenants union that includes a city-wide freeze on rent, utility payments, and mortgages, according to The Chicago Tribune. More than 82,000 residents of New York City have signed a similar petition seeking to ensure that “every New Yorker is safely housed.”
At a time when housing security has never been more important to obtain, a unified message of dissatisfaction is likely to become amplified over the coming weeks as millions of renters make the difficult choice between pouring into their savings, writing pleas to their landlords, and participating in a burgeoning nation-wide strike (made visible through the growing #RentStrike hashtag on Twitter).
The delayed governmental reaction to the pandemic felt among renters is shared among homeless Americans, some of whom have already taken the matter into their own hands. Homeless families in Los Angeles, for instance, have seized vacant homes owned by the city to protect themselves against the health crisis during the shelter in place order.
Within the last week, prior to the April 1 deadline at which most rent and mortgage checks are expected under normal conditions (aka today), state officials have independently announced eviction moratoriums with varying term dates. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo released an executive order on March 7 that includes a 90-day eviction moratorium, while California Governor Gavin Newsom, at the helm of the most populous state in the country with over 40 million residents, released a similar order that prevents residential evictions for two months to those who have been laid off due to the pandemic. “For tenants, there will be no eviction proceedings; there will be no enforcement as it relates to pay for COVID-19,” said Newsom, according to the Los Angeles Times. Renters in both states will, however, have to make up the rent they owe after their respective moratorium periods, and rent payments are expected of those who do not provide written testimony that they are unable to pay them (The Hill reports, meanwhile, that New York state lawmakers are working on a rent suspension bill that is currently in committee but will likely be held up by Governor Cuomo).
While many might be relieved to learn they can stave off eviction until they find the necessary funds, affordable housing leaders feel the measures are minimal and shortsighted. “I think we’re deeply disappointed that it isn’t just a blanket moratorium on evictions,” said Francisco Dueñas of the California-based advocacy group Housing Now. Residents of major American cities have called upon government officials to institute rent freezes and other initiatives to stave off the financial hardships being felt across the country. Over 15,000 Chicagoans, for example, have signed an online petition spearheaded by a tenants union that includes a city-wide freeze on rent, utility payments, and mortgages, according to The Chicago Tribune. More than 82,000 residents of New York City have signed a similar petition seeking to ensure that “every New Yorker is safely housed.”
At a time when housing security has never been more important to obtain, a unified message of dissatisfaction is likely to become amplified over the coming weeks as millions of renters make the difficult choice between pouring into their savings, writing pleas to their landlords, and participating in a burgeoning nation-wide strike (made visible through the growing #RentStrike hashtag on Twitter).
The delayed governmental reaction to the pandemic felt among renters is shared among homeless Americans, some of whom have already taken the matter into their own hands. Homeless families in Los Angeles, for instance, have seized vacant homes owned by the city to protect themselves against the health crisis during the shelter in place order.
dezeen 2020-04-01
EvabloemDutch architecture practice UNStudio has recreated a typical Dutch townhouse's facade in bricks made from stainless steel and glass for Louis Vuitton's store on Amsterdam shopping street PC Hooftstraat.
Named The Brick Pixelation by UNStudio, the store for Louis Vuitton is on luxury shopping street PC Hooftstraat.
The store at 140-142 is directly next door to The Looking Glass, which was also designed by the architecture studio, and along the street from MVRDV's Crystal House.
On the lower floor of the building's facade, which contains the store, traditional bricks have been replaced with stainless steel bricks with glass inlays that create a pixelated effect.
"The tapered stainless steel bricks, while following the pattern and scale of the traditional brick facades that line this street, create a distinctive textured and detailed appearance that contrasts with other buildings," said UNStudio.
"The glass inlays give the facade a semi-transparent quality and make it possible for the facade to be illuminated from within the bricks."
The decision to create a facade using an alternative brick reflects both the traditional townhouses on the street and The Looking Glass next-door.
"The design reinterprets the traditional brick facades of the other townhouses that line the PC Hooftstraat through materiality, but especially, and intentionally, contrasts to The Looking Glass," explained UNStudio.
"Where The Looking Glass display windows protrude and flow over two floors, at 140-142 the windows slant inwards and are more traditionally scaled on the second floor."
"Overall scale is an important factor: in the Glass House both the concept and resulting design present a 'big detail', whereas in 140-142 the focus is on fine detailing," continued UNStudio.
"Both projects however, are inspired by fabric and couture clothing, involve a high degree of craftsmanship, and present different ways to approach 'standing out while fitting in'."
Above the store are three apartments on the first and second floors, which have a brickwork facade similar to that of a traditional Dutch townhouse. The apartments are entered from a door that is made from the same stainless steel bricks, but with an opaque glass inlay.
UNStudio is an Amsterdam-based architecture practice established by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos in 1988. It is currently creating the "smartest neighbourhood in the world" in the south of the Netherlands and is masterplanning a smart city in Bangalore.
Named The Brick Pixelation by UNStudio, the store for Louis Vuitton is on luxury shopping street PC Hooftstraat.
The store at 140-142 is directly next door to The Looking Glass, which was also designed by the architecture studio, and along the street from MVRDV's Crystal House.
On the lower floor of the building's facade, which contains the store, traditional bricks have been replaced with stainless steel bricks with glass inlays that create a pixelated effect.
"The tapered stainless steel bricks, while following the pattern and scale of the traditional brick facades that line this street, create a distinctive textured and detailed appearance that contrasts with other buildings," said UNStudio.
"The glass inlays give the facade a semi-transparent quality and make it possible for the facade to be illuminated from within the bricks."
The decision to create a facade using an alternative brick reflects both the traditional townhouses on the street and The Looking Glass next-door.
"The design reinterprets the traditional brick facades of the other townhouses that line the PC Hooftstraat through materiality, but especially, and intentionally, contrasts to The Looking Glass," explained UNStudio.
"Where The Looking Glass display windows protrude and flow over two floors, at 140-142 the windows slant inwards and are more traditionally scaled on the second floor."
"Overall scale is an important factor: in the Glass House both the concept and resulting design present a 'big detail', whereas in 140-142 the focus is on fine detailing," continued UNStudio.
"Both projects however, are inspired by fabric and couture clothing, involve a high degree of craftsmanship, and present different ways to approach 'standing out while fitting in'."
Above the store are three apartments on the first and second floors, which have a brickwork facade similar to that of a traditional Dutch townhouse. The apartments are entered from a door that is made from the same stainless steel bricks, but with an opaque glass inlay.
UNStudio is an Amsterdam-based architecture practice established by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos in 1988. It is currently creating the "smartest neighbourhood in the world" in the south of the Netherlands and is masterplanning a smart city in Bangalore.
Yahoo 2020-03-31
ClarusClarus, the industry leader in glassboard innovation, has provided Clarus™ Healthboards to Seattle Puget Sound VA Medical Center in rapid time to help the site build out their COVID-19 clinic. In this current health crisis, healthcare workers on the front lines administrating care need to reduce bacteria transmission in every way possible in an effort to provide clean, sterile environments for patients.
Clarus glassboards are essential in hospital settings to enable critical communication between doctors and patients. More importantly, healthcare settings require non-porous, anti-microbial fixtures and surfaces to adhere to the strict sanitation requirements. In a recent study, Clarus glassboards outperformed traditional whiteboards, proving that even after extensive bacteria exposure, the boards were fully sanitized to a food-grade safe level.1
"At Clarus, we are passionate about what we do, and we are passionate about helping others and making a difference whenever we can. Every day, we support the healthcare industry by manufacturing glass-writable surfaces that are non-porous and easily disinfected," said Marc Mansell, CEO at Clarus. "You can imagine the amount of coordination and communication taking place today in hospitals around the world as healthcare staff fight COVID-19. When my team heard about the VA hospital challenge, they eagerly jumped into action. It's one of the great things about having your own manufacturing capabilities – our team took this request, produced it within hours, and had it immediately on its way to the people that needed it. I'm very proud of the team and how they responded. We're all eager to support our healthcare professionals in any way we can in this ongoing crisis."
Clarus™ Healthboard is an innovative glass dry erase board that's designed specifically for the demanding needs of the current healthcare industry. Clarus is working with key hospital supply chain, procurement and purchasing professionals to deliver durable and anti-microbial Healthboards, directly to where they are needed most.
Clarus glassboards are essential in hospital settings to enable critical communication between doctors and patients. More importantly, healthcare settings require non-porous, anti-microbial fixtures and surfaces to adhere to the strict sanitation requirements. In a recent study, Clarus glassboards outperformed traditional whiteboards, proving that even after extensive bacteria exposure, the boards were fully sanitized to a food-grade safe level.1
"At Clarus, we are passionate about what we do, and we are passionate about helping others and making a difference whenever we can. Every day, we support the healthcare industry by manufacturing glass-writable surfaces that are non-porous and easily disinfected," said Marc Mansell, CEO at Clarus. "You can imagine the amount of coordination and communication taking place today in hospitals around the world as healthcare staff fight COVID-19. When my team heard about the VA hospital challenge, they eagerly jumped into action. It's one of the great things about having your own manufacturing capabilities – our team took this request, produced it within hours, and had it immediately on its way to the people that needed it. I'm very proud of the team and how they responded. We're all eager to support our healthcare professionals in any way we can in this ongoing crisis."
Clarus™ Healthboard is an innovative glass dry erase board that's designed specifically for the demanding needs of the current healthcare industry. Clarus is working with key hospital supply chain, procurement and purchasing professionals to deliver durable and anti-microbial Healthboards, directly to where they are needed most.
designboom 2020-03-29
nic lehouxolson kundig designed this high-tech west hollywood retreat to take in sweeping views across los angeles, from the san gabriel mountains to the pacific ocean. located just above the sunset strip, the residence offers spectacular views from all parts of the house, while taking advantage of the climate of southern california. as they client enjoys spending time outdoors, the architects sought to blur the boundaries between internal and external space — encouraging outdoor living as much as possible.
the main level of the olson kundig-designed home, titled â€collywood’, contains the kitchen and a sequence of dining and living areas. here, a series of retractable window walls open on to outdoor terraces that wrap around the exterior. furthermore, sliding window walls in the living area, kitchen, and north bedroom complement a pair of â€guillotine’ window walls in the dining area and two pivoting window walls on the south side of the living area.
the main terrace, adjacent to the dining and living spaces, leads to a swimming pool overlooking a grove of olive trees on the hillside below. this connection with the outdoors continues on the upper level, which contains the master bedroom and a den, home gym, and a series of roof decks. the lower level reflects the client’s personal interests and hobbies, containing an auto gallery, game room, and media room. a large outdoor terrace extends from the auto gallery, cantilevering out over the hillside.
â€this home navigates many different scales: the larger landscape scale of los angeles, the scale of entertainment and large group gatherings, and the intimate scale of spaces for daily living,’ explains tom kundig. â€I’m most excited about how the design intertwines these scales and allows the client to expand or contract the home depending on changing needs.’
the main level of the olson kundig-designed home, titled â€collywood’, contains the kitchen and a sequence of dining and living areas. here, a series of retractable window walls open on to outdoor terraces that wrap around the exterior. furthermore, sliding window walls in the living area, kitchen, and north bedroom complement a pair of â€guillotine’ window walls in the dining area and two pivoting window walls on the south side of the living area.
the main terrace, adjacent to the dining and living spaces, leads to a swimming pool overlooking a grove of olive trees on the hillside below. this connection with the outdoors continues on the upper level, which contains the master bedroom and a den, home gym, and a series of roof decks. the lower level reflects the client’s personal interests and hobbies, containing an auto gallery, game room, and media room. a large outdoor terrace extends from the auto gallery, cantilevering out over the hillside.
â€this home navigates many different scales: the larger landscape scale of los angeles, the scale of entertainment and large group gatherings, and the intimate scale of spaces for daily living,’ explains tom kundig. â€I’m most excited about how the design intertwines these scales and allows the client to expand or contract the home depending on changing needs.’
Architect Magazine 2020-03-27
Iwan BaanThe Boston- and Kigali, Rwanda-based practice is launching a response to the spread of COVID-19, and making available information and best practices developed over a decade of designing to minimize the spread of infection.
Boston- and Kigali, Rwanda–based MASS Design Group has announced a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that includes creating open-source resources for designers "to employ in adapting our domestic, commercial, residential, and public spaces into spaces that will keep us safe," according to the firm's website.
MASS is no stranger to designing for infection control: Its first project was the design of the Butaro District Hospital in Butaro, Rwanda, which was designed to provide health care to nearly 350,000 people that had been going without, in a country that had been ravaged by years of genocide and resultant health care crises, including epidemics of infectious diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis. The District Hospital, which was completed in 2011, was designed, according to the firm, "to mitigate and reduce the transmission of airborne disease through various systems, including overall layout, patient and staff flows, and natural cross-ventilation." The firm later went on to design facilities for the Butaro Cancer Center; the GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital and Cholera Treatment Centers in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (2015); and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless (2016); among others, as well as helping governments develop design standards to minimize infection, such as its work with the ministry of health of Liberia to develop health care design standards for post-Ebola recovery.
"In the last 10 years, we have spent time working in the middle of three different epidemics, and have developed a practice in response to the consideration of how buildings might respond as well as protect against future epidemics," says Michael Murphy, co-founding principal of MASS. "In each case—cholera, tuberculosis, and Ebola—I think it has taught us to think more deeply about the way in which buildings and the built environment must be constantly adaptive, designed purposefully for its context, and consider the long term-implications on the health of the people it serves."
The current global pandemic is increasing a focus on infection control outside of health care environments, and the first resource MASS has made available as part of its response is a list of best practices for designing spaces for infection control, which has already been posted on the site. The best practices include: "Design for social distance, not isolation; Rethink material selection and treatment of surfaces; Make your spaces breathe better; Temporary shelters are never temporary; and Design for people, not just against pathogens." These topic areas address everything from improving ventilation in existing spaces to thinking about materials selection in projects going forward—especially given the changing nature of infectious diseases. More tools and resources will follow in the coming weeks, and the firm is also soliciting questions and design solutions through an email form on its website.
"We just want to be a resource for people to reach out to and connect," Murphy says. "There are spatial decisions that are being made today that will have long-term implications a year from now. If the spatial disciplines are at the table, we can help in the decision-making process as we respond in the coming weeks. There's an incredible amount of need for designers and architects to be of service."
To learn more, and to download this resource and more as they become available, visit massdesigngroup.org/covidresponse.
Boston- and Kigali, Rwanda–based MASS Design Group has announced a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that includes creating open-source resources for designers "to employ in adapting our domestic, commercial, residential, and public spaces into spaces that will keep us safe," according to the firm's website.
MASS is no stranger to designing for infection control: Its first project was the design of the Butaro District Hospital in Butaro, Rwanda, which was designed to provide health care to nearly 350,000 people that had been going without, in a country that had been ravaged by years of genocide and resultant health care crises, including epidemics of infectious diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis. The District Hospital, which was completed in 2011, was designed, according to the firm, "to mitigate and reduce the transmission of airborne disease through various systems, including overall layout, patient and staff flows, and natural cross-ventilation." The firm later went on to design facilities for the Butaro Cancer Center; the GHESKIO Tuberculosis Hospital and Cholera Treatment Centers in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (2015); and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless (2016); among others, as well as helping governments develop design standards to minimize infection, such as its work with the ministry of health of Liberia to develop health care design standards for post-Ebola recovery.
"In the last 10 years, we have spent time working in the middle of three different epidemics, and have developed a practice in response to the consideration of how buildings might respond as well as protect against future epidemics," says Michael Murphy, co-founding principal of MASS. "In each case—cholera, tuberculosis, and Ebola—I think it has taught us to think more deeply about the way in which buildings and the built environment must be constantly adaptive, designed purposefully for its context, and consider the long term-implications on the health of the people it serves."
The current global pandemic is increasing a focus on infection control outside of health care environments, and the first resource MASS has made available as part of its response is a list of best practices for designing spaces for infection control, which has already been posted on the site. The best practices include: "Design for social distance, not isolation; Rethink material selection and treatment of surfaces; Make your spaces breathe better; Temporary shelters are never temporary; and Design for people, not just against pathogens." These topic areas address everything from improving ventilation in existing spaces to thinking about materials selection in projects going forward—especially given the changing nature of infectious diseases. More tools and resources will follow in the coming weeks, and the firm is also soliciting questions and design solutions through an email form on its website.
"We just want to be a resource for people to reach out to and connect," Murphy says. "There are spatial decisions that are being made today that will have long-term implications a year from now. If the spatial disciplines are at the table, we can help in the decision-making process as we respond in the coming weeks. There's an incredible amount of need for designers and architects to be of service."
To learn more, and to download this resource and more as they become available, visit massdesigngroup.org/covidresponse.
dezeen 2020-03-27
Molteni & CThe coronavirus pandemic will eventually lead to higher quality, more sustainable products, according to Italian design brands that were forced to temporarily close their factories this week.
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte closed all factories that manufacture non-essential items on Saturday 21 March, meaning production lines for internationally renowned design brands fell silent. "We will slow down the country's productive engine, but we will not stop it," said Conte.
Molteni&C is one of several firms that spoke to Dezeen earlier this week, before speculation mounted that Milan's Salone del Mobile might be cancelled. The fair is due to confirm today whether or not it will go ahead.
Travel restrictions, lockdown and the cancellation of real-world events will push brands to explore new ways of using technology to connect with clients, Poltrona Frau CEO Nicola Coropulis told Dezeen.
"Digital and physical worlds will be even more connected," said Coropulis. "Though the physical experience remains paramount in our industry, digitalisation will bring to close relationships between brands and consumers."
"Post-crisis consumers" will value different things
The crisis of Covid-19 will be a "turning point" for everyone, Coropulis predicted. "Italian companies will discover the benefit of acting together in a more systemic way to defend the undisputed excellence they stand for," he said. Furniture brand Poltrona Frau, which was founded in 1912, is headquartered in Tolentino in central Italy.
Giuliano Mosconi, president and CEO of Zanotta, believes "post-crisis consumers" will have different values.
"We believe that once fear is over, if the financial resources for families and businesses are sufficiently guaranteed, we will see a recovery in the economy, perhaps characterised by more aware and optimistic consumer behaviour," Mosconi said.
Zanotta has been making upholstery and furniture since 1954 and is based in Lombardy, one of the areas worst affected by coronavirus. Mosconi said the lockdown would have a significant impact on sales. "Now production is suspended, we will most likely see a sales reduction of more than 30 per cent compared to previous periods," he said.
Covid-19 "causing us to re-evaluate what truly matters"
Italian brands have rallied, vowing to come back stronger than before. "Challenging situations spark human innovation," said Molteni&C head of marketing and communication Giulia Molteni.
Founded in 1934, Molteni&C is a family-run business based in Milan that specialises in luxury furniture. "Despite all the challenges that this pandemic brings, it is also causing us to re-evaluate what truly matters," Molteni told Dezeen.
Factories hope to re-open in a few weeks
The state of emergency and factory closures will be a challenge for its iconic brands, but all the companies Dezeen spoke to had optimistic messages to share. "Our factories are smart and flexible, and they are able to re-start quite fast, hopefully in a couple of weeks," said Molteni.
"We all are called to face new individual and common responsibilities, which lead our communities to embrace new, stronger and more convinced purposes," she added. "We truly are determined to continue cultivating the beauty and quality of Made in Italy, as we’ve been doing for over 80 years now."
Some of the brand's comments chime with predictions made by trends forecaster Li Edelkoort. Edelkoort told Dezeen that coronavirus has put the world into a "quarantine of consumption" that will help people re-learn to value simple and durable possessions in favour of endlessly buying new and disposable objects.
While coronavirus cases continue to rise in Europe and America, factories in China are beginning to open again after they were shut down for weeks during the country's effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte closed all factories that manufacture non-essential items on Saturday 21 March, meaning production lines for internationally renowned design brands fell silent. "We will slow down the country's productive engine, but we will not stop it," said Conte.
Molteni&C is one of several firms that spoke to Dezeen earlier this week, before speculation mounted that Milan's Salone del Mobile might be cancelled. The fair is due to confirm today whether or not it will go ahead.
Travel restrictions, lockdown and the cancellation of real-world events will push brands to explore new ways of using technology to connect with clients, Poltrona Frau CEO Nicola Coropulis told Dezeen.
"Digital and physical worlds will be even more connected," said Coropulis. "Though the physical experience remains paramount in our industry, digitalisation will bring to close relationships between brands and consumers."
"Post-crisis consumers" will value different things
The crisis of Covid-19 will be a "turning point" for everyone, Coropulis predicted. "Italian companies will discover the benefit of acting together in a more systemic way to defend the undisputed excellence they stand for," he said. Furniture brand Poltrona Frau, which was founded in 1912, is headquartered in Tolentino in central Italy.
Giuliano Mosconi, president and CEO of Zanotta, believes "post-crisis consumers" will have different values.
"We believe that once fear is over, if the financial resources for families and businesses are sufficiently guaranteed, we will see a recovery in the economy, perhaps characterised by more aware and optimistic consumer behaviour," Mosconi said.
Zanotta has been making upholstery and furniture since 1954 and is based in Lombardy, one of the areas worst affected by coronavirus. Mosconi said the lockdown would have a significant impact on sales. "Now production is suspended, we will most likely see a sales reduction of more than 30 per cent compared to previous periods," he said.
Covid-19 "causing us to re-evaluate what truly matters"
Italian brands have rallied, vowing to come back stronger than before. "Challenging situations spark human innovation," said Molteni&C head of marketing and communication Giulia Molteni.
Founded in 1934, Molteni&C is a family-run business based in Milan that specialises in luxury furniture. "Despite all the challenges that this pandemic brings, it is also causing us to re-evaluate what truly matters," Molteni told Dezeen.
Factories hope to re-open in a few weeks
The state of emergency and factory closures will be a challenge for its iconic brands, but all the companies Dezeen spoke to had optimistic messages to share. "Our factories are smart and flexible, and they are able to re-start quite fast, hopefully in a couple of weeks," said Molteni.
"We all are called to face new individual and common responsibilities, which lead our communities to embrace new, stronger and more convinced purposes," she added. "We truly are determined to continue cultivating the beauty and quality of Made in Italy, as we’ve been doing for over 80 years now."
Some of the brand's comments chime with predictions made by trends forecaster Li Edelkoort. Edelkoort told Dezeen that coronavirus has put the world into a "quarantine of consumption" that will help people re-learn to value simple and durable possessions in favour of endlessly buying new and disposable objects.
While coronavirus cases continue to rise in Europe and America, factories in China are beginning to open again after they were shut down for weeks during the country's effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Architectural Record 2020-03-26
Benjamin BenschneiderAs COVID-19 spreads and many businesses temporarily shutter, members of a Facebook group called “Mothers in Architecture” have started to discuss an unexpected problem they are facing: some firms have not given staff the option to work remotely, even as schools close and children are confined to the home. Economic instability accompanying the pandemic makes for hard decisions as concerned architects worry that pushing too hard to telecommute may get them fired. Elsa Guzman-Contrera, one of the Facebook group’s co-founders, noticed comments about work-related virus issues starting on March 16. "A lot of job insecurity concerns surfaced around this topic,” says Guzman-Contrera.
One early post began: "Is anyone else not feeling supported during this time?" The writer explained that her 150-person office in Atlanta discouraged telecommuting, but she had no choice because her children's schools closed. “I'm taking a calculated risk of losing my job by working remotely,” she wrote. “I can already sense my boss’ annoyance." (Like everyone else in this story, she did not want to be named for fear of retribution.)
In states with shelter-in-place orders, some architects still find their firms stretching exemptions regarding essential services. One architect employed by a 70-person AE firm in New York City is continuing fieldwork while the rest of the office is closed. "My project manager has not been forthcoming about whether or not I will have work if I stop doing inspection. I feel stuck because I'm afraid I'll be laid off if I push the issue.” It doesn't help that she is the only mom on the team and feels that the complications of closed schools are overlooked. In addition, of course, she is re-exposing herself and her family to the virus every day that she continues working.
Another architect, at a 150-person AE firm in upstate New York, asked for advice from the Facebook group, regarding a manager who requested she help him field measure a public library, even after the city had closed it—and other public institutions—to deter the spread of the virus. Her concern about social distancing extends to her manager, who continues to go into the office every day. She is torn because she knows that if the firm loses work, she faces a layoff.
Some pregnant women (a high-risk group for the virus) feel forced to start limited maternity leave sooner than planned, placing their households under financial stress. One architect at a mid-sized firm in Houston who works on commercial projects posted, “We are not allowed to work from home, so I will be taking unpaid maternity leave one month early due to this coronavirus.” She concluded her comment by asking for leads for remote work.
Playing devil's advocate, one architect posted that the main concern from leadership is the loss of productivity. “We're a small firm, and if people are working from home with little kids and no childcare, it's not possible to get a solid 8-hour workday in.”
Christina Congdon, who is operations manager for Environmental Works in Seattle—a major hotspot of the outbreak—helped to make decisions regarding shutting down the office. She says there is technology that makes telecommuting a non-issue and feels saddened that many offices are not: “The profession needs to get with the program, not only during a pandemic.” Mothers in architecture have made difficult choices between work and family for decades, but with COVID-19, they’re now facing decisions that may have far more serious consequences.
One early post began: "Is anyone else not feeling supported during this time?" The writer explained that her 150-person office in Atlanta discouraged telecommuting, but she had no choice because her children's schools closed. “I'm taking a calculated risk of losing my job by working remotely,” she wrote. “I can already sense my boss’ annoyance." (Like everyone else in this story, she did not want to be named for fear of retribution.)
In states with shelter-in-place orders, some architects still find their firms stretching exemptions regarding essential services. One architect employed by a 70-person AE firm in New York City is continuing fieldwork while the rest of the office is closed. "My project manager has not been forthcoming about whether or not I will have work if I stop doing inspection. I feel stuck because I'm afraid I'll be laid off if I push the issue.” It doesn't help that she is the only mom on the team and feels that the complications of closed schools are overlooked. In addition, of course, she is re-exposing herself and her family to the virus every day that she continues working.
Another architect, at a 150-person AE firm in upstate New York, asked for advice from the Facebook group, regarding a manager who requested she help him field measure a public library, even after the city had closed it—and other public institutions—to deter the spread of the virus. Her concern about social distancing extends to her manager, who continues to go into the office every day. She is torn because she knows that if the firm loses work, she faces a layoff.
Some pregnant women (a high-risk group for the virus) feel forced to start limited maternity leave sooner than planned, placing their households under financial stress. One architect at a mid-sized firm in Houston who works on commercial projects posted, “We are not allowed to work from home, so I will be taking unpaid maternity leave one month early due to this coronavirus.” She concluded her comment by asking for leads for remote work.
Playing devil's advocate, one architect posted that the main concern from leadership is the loss of productivity. “We're a small firm, and if people are working from home with little kids and no childcare, it's not possible to get a solid 8-hour workday in.”
Christina Congdon, who is operations manager for Environmental Works in Seattle—a major hotspot of the outbreak—helped to make decisions regarding shutting down the office. She says there is technology that makes telecommuting a non-issue and feels saddened that many offices are not: “The profession needs to get with the program, not only during a pandemic.” Mothers in architecture have made difficult choices between work and family for decades, but with COVID-19, they’re now facing decisions that may have far more serious consequences.
ArchitectureAU 2020-03-26
John GollingsIn modern cities, our public spaces represent our shared values. They are our common assets, owned, maintained and used by all members of our society. The outbreak of coronavirus and its immediate impacts, such as social distancing, have raised many questions about the role of public space in such times.
Since the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 pandemic, countries had been forced to adopt social isolation measures very quickly. Australia has progressively increased enforceable social distancing measures. India’s nearly 1.4 billion people have been ordered not to leave their homes. In Europe, first Italy, then Spain, France, Belgium and the UK have entered periods of total lockdown. It’s happening closer to home in New Zealand.
While the economic impacts of the pandemic are becoming obvious, the influence upon public space still remains uncertain.
With businesses being forced to close and whole sectors urged to work from home, streetlife is grinding to a halt across the world. As fear of infection has increased, public transport use has plummeted.
Australia is among the increasing numbers of countries to close “non-essential” public space, including restaurants, cafes and cinemas. Around the world, major sporting events, music concerts and comedy festivals have all been cancelled. Any non-essential travel and meetings are being discouraged or banned.
These measures are significant: they could uproot the very foundations of how people interact in public.
While this intense monitoring of public space is a temporary control, it raises questions about the future. Will we return to our normal habits once it’s all over? Will coughing on the subway be forever taboo?
Collectivism or individualism?
The coronavirus pandemic has had immediate impacts – both negative and positive – on how people interact with each other in public. Xenophobia and racial stereotyping have led to antisocial public behaviour. And supermarkets have become stages for public fights over toilet paper and hand sanitiser.
In spite of this, we have also seen instances of collectivism and urban resilience. In Italy, the national lockdown has forced people to create a new type of public space. Citizens are taking to their balconies and windows to enjoy music together, sharing songs across buildings and above streets.
It’s a reminder that connection and interaction are integral to our society even in times of crisis. But is this particular type of collectivism a product of urban density? These scenes may not be so easily replicated in Australia’s sprawling suburbs. However, we are seeing other displays of community.
What will fill the void?
The practice of self-isolation raises many uncertainties about public space. Daily human contact is ingrained in the ways people interact in public spaces. Will social isolation lead to a more individualistic approach to public spaces?
In 2020, perhaps this type of physical isolation will not feel so foreign as it might once have. Email, social media and the sharing economy already provide the necessary digital infrastructure.
The role of technology will be heightened as digital space becomes even more prominent as a platform for sharing information and enabling human interaction. Events like these also highlight the shortfalls of our digital infrastructure, in particular the need to improve our national broadband network (NBN).
Coronavirus will change the ways we work and study. But it won’t remove our desire for human connection.
Our trust in public spaces will need to be rebuilt if we are to rebuild our economy and our society. In the face of generational issues such as climate change and homelessness, there is hope coronavirus might actually offer us an opportunity to radically reassess our communal values.
Since the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 pandemic, countries had been forced to adopt social isolation measures very quickly. Australia has progressively increased enforceable social distancing measures. India’s nearly 1.4 billion people have been ordered not to leave their homes. In Europe, first Italy, then Spain, France, Belgium and the UK have entered periods of total lockdown. It’s happening closer to home in New Zealand.
While the economic impacts of the pandemic are becoming obvious, the influence upon public space still remains uncertain.
With businesses being forced to close and whole sectors urged to work from home, streetlife is grinding to a halt across the world. As fear of infection has increased, public transport use has plummeted.
Australia is among the increasing numbers of countries to close “non-essential” public space, including restaurants, cafes and cinemas. Around the world, major sporting events, music concerts and comedy festivals have all been cancelled. Any non-essential travel and meetings are being discouraged or banned.
These measures are significant: they could uproot the very foundations of how people interact in public.
While this intense monitoring of public space is a temporary control, it raises questions about the future. Will we return to our normal habits once it’s all over? Will coughing on the subway be forever taboo?
Collectivism or individualism?
The coronavirus pandemic has had immediate impacts – both negative and positive – on how people interact with each other in public. Xenophobia and racial stereotyping have led to antisocial public behaviour. And supermarkets have become stages for public fights over toilet paper and hand sanitiser.
In spite of this, we have also seen instances of collectivism and urban resilience. In Italy, the national lockdown has forced people to create a new type of public space. Citizens are taking to their balconies and windows to enjoy music together, sharing songs across buildings and above streets.
It’s a reminder that connection and interaction are integral to our society even in times of crisis. But is this particular type of collectivism a product of urban density? These scenes may not be so easily replicated in Australia’s sprawling suburbs. However, we are seeing other displays of community.
What will fill the void?
The practice of self-isolation raises many uncertainties about public space. Daily human contact is ingrained in the ways people interact in public spaces. Will social isolation lead to a more individualistic approach to public spaces?
In 2020, perhaps this type of physical isolation will not feel so foreign as it might once have. Email, social media and the sharing economy already provide the necessary digital infrastructure.
The role of technology will be heightened as digital space becomes even more prominent as a platform for sharing information and enabling human interaction. Events like these also highlight the shortfalls of our digital infrastructure, in particular the need to improve our national broadband network (NBN).
Coronavirus will change the ways we work and study. But it won’t remove our desire for human connection.
Our trust in public spaces will need to be rebuilt if we are to rebuild our economy and our society. In the face of generational issues such as climate change and homelessness, there is hope coronavirus might actually offer us an opportunity to radically reassess our communal values.
Architect Magazine 2020-03-26
Architect MagazineBlaine Brownell reviews recent findings on COVID-19 transmission from surface contact, and reviews potential interventions for designers.
In a surprisingly short time, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended life as we know it. Many architects and designers now work remotely while sheltering in place, doing our part to “flatten the curve” and reduce pressures on health care services. Meanwhile, researchers are studying COVID-19 at a breakneck pace, with some scientists demonstrating the virus transfers not only between two people, but also between exposed surfaces and individuals. This finding has created a general surface phobia, characterized by a fear of door handles, handrails, and other high-contact objects.
Not all materials offer a lasting home for viruses, however, and architects can put this knowledge to use—particularly when designing spaces for more vulnerable occupants.
In a study published earlier this month in The New England Journal of Medicine, U.S. National Institutes of Health virologist Neeltje van Doremalen and her co-authors found that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for the COVID-19 illness) survives for two to three days on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel—a concerning fact for health care workers in facilities that largely feature these materials. The researchers assessed the decay rates of viruses aerosol sprayed onto these surfaces, as well as onto copper and cardboard. They reported that the virus can remain active on cardboard for up to 24 hours, while it dies the quickest on copper, lasting around four hours.
In fact, researchers have promoted the use of copper to slow the spread of other acute respiratory diseases, like SARS and MERS in recent years. Copper and its alloys such as bronze or brass are inherently antimicrobial, disrupting key cell functions once the metals are exposed to bacteria or viruses. Studies have shown that E. coli survive less than 90 minutes on a copper surface at room temperature. In contrast, the bacteria exhibit no signs of reduced viability after 270 minutes on stainless steel. The same New England Journal of Medicine study indicates a similar response, although for a longer duration, in the novel coronavirus. Not only is SARS-CoV-2 rendered inactive within four hours on copper, but SARS-CoV-1—the “most closely related human coronavirus”—also becomes inviable within eight hours.
Cardboard’s relative inhospitality to viruses is also intriguing. “We speculate due to the porous material, [the virus] desiccates rapidly and might be stuck to the fibers,” said Rocky Mountain Laboratories virologist Vincent Munster, a co-author on the NIH study, in a BBC interview. “[We’re] currently running follow-up experiments to investigate the effect of temperature and humidity in more detail.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention corroborates this finding, reporting that “there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures.” Although cardboard is not a typical material used in architecture (unless you are Shigeru Ban, Hon. FAIA), other similarly porous and fibrous materials may exhibit similar performance with regard to virus survivability. However, more research is required to determine specific viral death rates on different materials.
Although not included in the NIH study, antimicrobial coatings are commonly used to eliminate viruses on material surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, and wall surfaces. A swiftly growing industry —now valued in the billion-dollar range—has quietly and rapidly formed around such coatings. While some paint manufacturers have added microbe-killing agents to paint and primer coatings, other manufacturers have created coatings leveraging other chemical capabilities. For example, organosilanes are silicon-based nanocoatings that form a highly-abrasive surface for viruses and bacteria, effectively ripping them apart. Meanwhile, the chemical compound quaternary ammonium, typically used in disinfectants, causes cell leakage and eventual death of microbes. Other strategies include photocatalytic and superhydrophobic coatings, which both exhibit self-cleaning functionality.
While these substances hold potential, concerns remain over an increased prevalence of chemicals in the built environment. For example, when the CDC found “no evidence to suggest the products offer any enhanced protection from the spread of bacteria and germs, and that proper cleaning and hand washing are the best ways t
In a surprisingly short time, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended life as we know it. Many architects and designers now work remotely while sheltering in place, doing our part to “flatten the curve” and reduce pressures on health care services. Meanwhile, researchers are studying COVID-19 at a breakneck pace, with some scientists demonstrating the virus transfers not only between two people, but also between exposed surfaces and individuals. This finding has created a general surface phobia, characterized by a fear of door handles, handrails, and other high-contact objects.
Not all materials offer a lasting home for viruses, however, and architects can put this knowledge to use—particularly when designing spaces for more vulnerable occupants.
In a study published earlier this month in The New England Journal of Medicine, U.S. National Institutes of Health virologist Neeltje van Doremalen and her co-authors found that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for the COVID-19 illness) survives for two to three days on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel—a concerning fact for health care workers in facilities that largely feature these materials. The researchers assessed the decay rates of viruses aerosol sprayed onto these surfaces, as well as onto copper and cardboard. They reported that the virus can remain active on cardboard for up to 24 hours, while it dies the quickest on copper, lasting around four hours.
In fact, researchers have promoted the use of copper to slow the spread of other acute respiratory diseases, like SARS and MERS in recent years. Copper and its alloys such as bronze or brass are inherently antimicrobial, disrupting key cell functions once the metals are exposed to bacteria or viruses. Studies have shown that E. coli survive less than 90 minutes on a copper surface at room temperature. In contrast, the bacteria exhibit no signs of reduced viability after 270 minutes on stainless steel. The same New England Journal of Medicine study indicates a similar response, although for a longer duration, in the novel coronavirus. Not only is SARS-CoV-2 rendered inactive within four hours on copper, but SARS-CoV-1—the “most closely related human coronavirus”—also becomes inviable within eight hours.
Cardboard’s relative inhospitality to viruses is also intriguing. “We speculate due to the porous material, [the virus] desiccates rapidly and might be stuck to the fibers,” said Rocky Mountain Laboratories virologist Vincent Munster, a co-author on the NIH study, in a BBC interview. “[We’re] currently running follow-up experiments to investigate the effect of temperature and humidity in more detail.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention corroborates this finding, reporting that “there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures.” Although cardboard is not a typical material used in architecture (unless you are Shigeru Ban, Hon. FAIA), other similarly porous and fibrous materials may exhibit similar performance with regard to virus survivability. However, more research is required to determine specific viral death rates on different materials.
Although not included in the NIH study, antimicrobial coatings are commonly used to eliminate viruses on material surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, and wall surfaces. A swiftly growing industry —now valued in the billion-dollar range—has quietly and rapidly formed around such coatings. While some paint manufacturers have added microbe-killing agents to paint and primer coatings, other manufacturers have created coatings leveraging other chemical capabilities. For example, organosilanes are silicon-based nanocoatings that form a highly-abrasive surface for viruses and bacteria, effectively ripping them apart. Meanwhile, the chemical compound quaternary ammonium, typically used in disinfectants, causes cell leakage and eventual death of microbes. Other strategies include photocatalytic and superhydrophobic coatings, which both exhibit self-cleaning functionality.
While these substances hold potential, concerns remain over an increased prevalence of chemicals in the built environment. For example, when the CDC found “no evidence to suggest the products offer any enhanced protection from the spread of bacteria and germs, and that proper cleaning and hand washing are the best ways t
"The great work-from-home experiment could have far reaching positive impacts on our office culture"
dezeen 2020-03-25
dezeenThe mass work-from-home experiment imposed on us by coronavirus could finally force companies to embrace remote working, says Tom Ravenscroft.
Like many companies around the world, Dezeen has closed its offices and all of our staff are now working from home. We made the decision at the end of the week before last, as the coronavirus outbreak in the UK worsened. In the absence of government guidance, we decided we were not comfortable asking people to come into the office.
At a company meeting to explain the move to the team, there was unanimous agreement that sending everyone home was the right choice. Twelve days later, social distancing is now part of our collective vocabulary and working from home has become the new normal.
The Dezeen staff are part of the world's largest-ever work-from-home experiment. The coronavirus outbreak is the most dramatic disruption to office working culture in our lifetimes. Companies across the world are being forced to embrace remote working and the digital technology that supports it.
The dawn of the internet threatened to revolutionise the traditional office, as near-instant communication promised to free large numbers of people to work from wherever they wanted – by now I definitely should be editing Dezeen from a beachside location. By 2020, slogging to a physical office and back was meant to be a thing of the past; instead, everyone would be "telecottaging", as we quaintly called it in the noughties.
The coronavirus outbreaks have now forced many companies to stress-test working from home at its most extreme
But despite leaps in technology, the office has stubbornly refused to retire. Twenty years after the internet became ubiquitous, while many companies (including Dezeen) have introduced degrees of flexibility, few office workers telecommute on a daily basis. Disrupting long-held working patterns has been limited by both technology and corporate inertia. There has been a fear of the disruption that working from home might cause, effectively slowing its adoption.
The coronavirus outbreaks have now forced many companies to stress-test working from home at its most extreme. Where some businesses were resistant to a single team member telecommuting for a single day, they are now coming to terms with having the entire team working from home indefinitely.
And as many of us are learning, working full-time from home is possible. Of course, at least in these early weeks, it is far from ideal. At Dezeen, a largely online company that is seemingly perfect for a digital transition, the move has been expectably strained.
We have lost the immediacy of face-to-face communications. Conversations that should take seconds have been stretched out over minutes on Slack, ideas and instructions are being lost in translation within emails and we are all talking over each other in Google Hangouts. My own productivity is definitely suffering. The relative, calm of the office has disappeared. Concentrating amid constant cat and baby distractions is tough. Like many, I am now rotating between working in bed, at the kitchen table or in my garden shed-cum-office, which doesn't have WiFi. While all good options, none is ideal.
We are finding ways to make working remotely work
However, as a team, we are learning. And next week will be easier, as we begin to develop personal and company-wide systems to understand how to work most efficiently in this unprecedented environment. We are finding ways to make working remotely work.
Certainly, there will be hiccups and barriers to smooth remote working and technology is not quite up to the task. Internet speeds and variability make downloading large files troublesome, remote server access is a pain, and teleconferences often have a frozen person. There is the constant worry that, with everyone else working from home too, internet services will become overloaded.
But the experiment will force innovation, driving investment and improvement. It will force teams to better understand distance working and try things that were previously thought to be impossible. Joining a meeting remotely used to be a novelty; this week our 15-person editorial meeting happened in a Google Hangout without any major issues. Next week's full-team meeting will be even more efficient.
Once the world returns to normality, remote working will no
Like many companies around the world, Dezeen has closed its offices and all of our staff are now working from home. We made the decision at the end of the week before last, as the coronavirus outbreak in the UK worsened. In the absence of government guidance, we decided we were not comfortable asking people to come into the office.
At a company meeting to explain the move to the team, there was unanimous agreement that sending everyone home was the right choice. Twelve days later, social distancing is now part of our collective vocabulary and working from home has become the new normal.
The Dezeen staff are part of the world's largest-ever work-from-home experiment. The coronavirus outbreak is the most dramatic disruption to office working culture in our lifetimes. Companies across the world are being forced to embrace remote working and the digital technology that supports it.
The dawn of the internet threatened to revolutionise the traditional office, as near-instant communication promised to free large numbers of people to work from wherever they wanted – by now I definitely should be editing Dezeen from a beachside location. By 2020, slogging to a physical office and back was meant to be a thing of the past; instead, everyone would be "telecottaging", as we quaintly called it in the noughties.
The coronavirus outbreaks have now forced many companies to stress-test working from home at its most extreme
But despite leaps in technology, the office has stubbornly refused to retire. Twenty years after the internet became ubiquitous, while many companies (including Dezeen) have introduced degrees of flexibility, few office workers telecommute on a daily basis. Disrupting long-held working patterns has been limited by both technology and corporate inertia. There has been a fear of the disruption that working from home might cause, effectively slowing its adoption.
The coronavirus outbreaks have now forced many companies to stress-test working from home at its most extreme. Where some businesses were resistant to a single team member telecommuting for a single day, they are now coming to terms with having the entire team working from home indefinitely.
And as many of us are learning, working full-time from home is possible. Of course, at least in these early weeks, it is far from ideal. At Dezeen, a largely online company that is seemingly perfect for a digital transition, the move has been expectably strained.
We have lost the immediacy of face-to-face communications. Conversations that should take seconds have been stretched out over minutes on Slack, ideas and instructions are being lost in translation within emails and we are all talking over each other in Google Hangouts. My own productivity is definitely suffering. The relative, calm of the office has disappeared. Concentrating amid constant cat and baby distractions is tough. Like many, I am now rotating between working in bed, at the kitchen table or in my garden shed-cum-office, which doesn't have WiFi. While all good options, none is ideal.
We are finding ways to make working remotely work
However, as a team, we are learning. And next week will be easier, as we begin to develop personal and company-wide systems to understand how to work most efficiently in this unprecedented environment. We are finding ways to make working remotely work.
Certainly, there will be hiccups and barriers to smooth remote working and technology is not quite up to the task. Internet speeds and variability make downloading large files troublesome, remote server access is a pain, and teleconferences often have a frozen person. There is the constant worry that, with everyone else working from home too, internet services will become overloaded.
But the experiment will force innovation, driving investment and improvement. It will force teams to better understand distance working and try things that were previously thought to be impossible. Joining a meeting remotely used to be a novelty; this week our 15-person editorial meeting happened in a Google Hangout without any major issues. Next week's full-team meeting will be even more efficient.
Once the world returns to normality, remote working will no
Builder Online 2020-03-25
Adobe Stock / William W. PotterThe smart home tech provider shares the impact of a global pandemic on supply and demand.
Before COVID-19 came to the U.S., its effects were felt in the global supply chain, particularly for products coming out of China in the early months of 2020. A number of the suppliers builders partner with have found themselves short on product, and now face the evolving U.S. situation just as Chinese manufacturing has started to recover.
We spoke to Aaron Emigh, CEO of San Mateo, Calif.-based smart home tech provider Brilliant, about the events of the past two months, from the first disruptions to the current situation in the United States. The manufacturer’s smart home controllers, dimmers, and accessory products are all made in China, and many of their components are also sourced in China.
BUILDER: When did you start noticing supply chain disruptions, and how did that manifest?
Emigh: With global supply chains today, if you get a regional disruption, [it will] affect the entire world, and products across the board. And that’s what we saw. It was really over Chinese New Year [mid-to-late January] that it intensified.
Things had already happened in Wuhan, and the COVID-19 virus had already emerged. But during the Chinese New Year, all the businesses shut down and everyone [in China] goes home. It was during that time when the initial extent of the problem became clear, and they instituted lockdowns when everyone was away from their work to start with. So there were a lot of people who were in Wuhan and couldn’t get out – there are still a lot of people who are in Wuhan and can’t get out.
So what happened was, the Chinese New Year was extended for another month-plus. A lot of companies were in a position where, you build up a little extra inventory to be able to compensate for the week of Chinese New Year… but when businesses weren’t allowed to reopen, that caused enormous disruptions that are still there to this day.
Businesses have generally reopened, although not all of them. And some small businesses were driven out of business because they’re operating without a lot of capital or ability to pay salaries when they’re not producing. There was also some pent-up demand. For example, the company that we work with that manufactures circuit boards is operating at several hundred percent of its normal rate just trying to catch up from all the work that was delayed. So they’re slower to deliver things than they usually are.
BUILDER: How did you handle these delays as they occurred, as well as pent-up demand?
Emigh: It was a matter of staying in close communication with everybody, and understanding what the impact on the supply chain would be. We made sure that we could fulfill all of the contractual commitments that we had, the relationships with the builders and the operators of multifamily housing, where they have a schedule and they need products on that schedule. So we need to be able to maintain that availability there. What that meant was cutting back on sales to consumers, so we stopped selling units online until we could get more of them.
Obviously, as a business, you want to sell all the units that you can. But we have long-term commitments with some people, and we needed to make sure we are meeting the commitments to our builders, to our multifamily operators. Whereas for consumers, we haven’t promised to sell them one yet. So we decided, let’s not make that promise just now. And that way we’re not disappointing them.
BUILDER: When COVID-19 started entering the U.S., did you take any measures to prepare for that? And how are you handling the current situation?
Emigh: I think we’re in there with all the other businesses, just trying to understand what it means as far as what we’re doing right now. The main thing is to try to support peoples’ ability to do social distancing. We’re doing a lot of meetings virtually, a lot of people are choosing to work from home. And we very much offered and encouraged that. And that is probably quickly transitioning to everybody. It’s a fluid situation, and we’re not epidemiologists so we’re just trying to understand it best we can, what the right thing to do is from a public health perspective, from an employee needs perspective.
A lot of schools are closed, and then people have children that are home and they need to adjust their work schedules to accommodate that they have childcare respon
Before COVID-19 came to the U.S., its effects were felt in the global supply chain, particularly for products coming out of China in the early months of 2020. A number of the suppliers builders partner with have found themselves short on product, and now face the evolving U.S. situation just as Chinese manufacturing has started to recover.
We spoke to Aaron Emigh, CEO of San Mateo, Calif.-based smart home tech provider Brilliant, about the events of the past two months, from the first disruptions to the current situation in the United States. The manufacturer’s smart home controllers, dimmers, and accessory products are all made in China, and many of their components are also sourced in China.
BUILDER: When did you start noticing supply chain disruptions, and how did that manifest?
Emigh: With global supply chains today, if you get a regional disruption, [it will] affect the entire world, and products across the board. And that’s what we saw. It was really over Chinese New Year [mid-to-late January] that it intensified.
Things had already happened in Wuhan, and the COVID-19 virus had already emerged. But during the Chinese New Year, all the businesses shut down and everyone [in China] goes home. It was during that time when the initial extent of the problem became clear, and they instituted lockdowns when everyone was away from their work to start with. So there were a lot of people who were in Wuhan and couldn’t get out – there are still a lot of people who are in Wuhan and can’t get out.
So what happened was, the Chinese New Year was extended for another month-plus. A lot of companies were in a position where, you build up a little extra inventory to be able to compensate for the week of Chinese New Year… but when businesses weren’t allowed to reopen, that caused enormous disruptions that are still there to this day.
Businesses have generally reopened, although not all of them. And some small businesses were driven out of business because they’re operating without a lot of capital or ability to pay salaries when they’re not producing. There was also some pent-up demand. For example, the company that we work with that manufactures circuit boards is operating at several hundred percent of its normal rate just trying to catch up from all the work that was delayed. So they’re slower to deliver things than they usually are.
BUILDER: How did you handle these delays as they occurred, as well as pent-up demand?
Emigh: It was a matter of staying in close communication with everybody, and understanding what the impact on the supply chain would be. We made sure that we could fulfill all of the contractual commitments that we had, the relationships with the builders and the operators of multifamily housing, where they have a schedule and they need products on that schedule. So we need to be able to maintain that availability there. What that meant was cutting back on sales to consumers, so we stopped selling units online until we could get more of them.
Obviously, as a business, you want to sell all the units that you can. But we have long-term commitments with some people, and we needed to make sure we are meeting the commitments to our builders, to our multifamily operators. Whereas for consumers, we haven’t promised to sell them one yet. So we decided, let’s not make that promise just now. And that way we’re not disappointing them.
BUILDER: When COVID-19 started entering the U.S., did you take any measures to prepare for that? And how are you handling the current situation?
Emigh: I think we’re in there with all the other businesses, just trying to understand what it means as far as what we’re doing right now. The main thing is to try to support peoples’ ability to do social distancing. We’re doing a lot of meetings virtually, a lot of people are choosing to work from home. And we very much offered and encouraged that. And that is probably quickly transitioning to everybody. It’s a fluid situation, and we’re not epidemiologists so we’re just trying to understand it best we can, what the right thing to do is from a public health perspective, from an employee needs perspective.
A lot of schools are closed, and then people have children that are home and they need to adjust their work schedules to accommodate that they have childcare respon
Building Design + Const... 2020-03-25
CannonDesignAs laboratory designers, we want to shed light on a subset of our population critical to protecting us from, and preventing the spread of, severe outbreaks: public health researchers.
Written gratitude does not feel like enough at this moment, but we want to start this piece just by saying THANK YOU to the research teams around the world. You are true heroes in a time when we need you most.
Many of the researchers who work in disease testing, prevention and treatment within the U.S. work at institutions like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and state-, county- and city-run public health laboratories. The U.S. is fortunate to have some of the best biocontainment laboratories in the world.
For those unfamiliar, biocontainment laboratories are where various pathogenic organisms and agents (i.e., viruses, bacteria or toxins that produce a disease) are held and studied in a highly controlled and isolated environment. A “biosafety level” (BSL) is the level of the biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) to the highest level 4 (BSL-4). In the U.S., the CDC specifies these levels. BSL-1 and -2 laboratories often house research with low-to-moderate risk, while BSL-3 and -4 laboratories handle pathogens with serious or lethal risk.
To keep researchers safe and performing at their best in the midst of pandemics like COVID-19, these laboratories focus on optimizing three key elements: primary containment, such as personal protective equipment and equipment housing infectious materials; secondary containment, such as the overall quality of the laboratory facility; and a relentless adherence to safe microbiological procedures that align with the design of the laboratory.
Thankfully, specialized biocontainment facilities are designed to support very intricate processes and to reduce the potential for errors and accidents that could jeopardize progress. The following are a few elements you will find in many biocontainment laboratories that allow public health researchers to work effectively, efficiently and safely in times of crisis.
RISK ASSESSMENTS AND RELIABLE AND REDUNDANT SOLUTIONS
During a crisis, outbreak, or natural disaster, public health laboratories are critically important to our communities and must remain operational. To ensure that facilities can sustain operations in such an event, risk assessments of the primary building systems and structures are routinely conducted. A good risk assessment includes an evaluation of these systems beyond the first potential mode of failure.
For example, a back-up generator is extremely valuable when there is a loss of power distribution. What if, however, the generator fails or runs out of fuel? The secondary evaluation would include consideration of multiple generators, prioritization of laboratory facility electrical loads and a reliable source of fuel. For one state’s public health laboratory design, we enlisted the support of that state’s National Guard to deliver diesel fuel to the laboratory as a back-up if normal fuel delivery were suspended.
OPTIMIZING QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CONTAINMENT
Primary containment consists of biosafety cabinets, centrifuges (a machine with a rapidly rotating container that applies centrifugal force to its contents, typically to separate fluids of different densities), and in some cases, personal protective equipment. These elements act as the first line of defense between the infectious materials researchers work with and their own personal safety. It is essential for every laboratory to have an adequate quantity and quality of primary containment equipment to handle routine procedures and to accommodate operation at surge capacity in the event of an outbreak.
The laboratory itself and associated utility systems provide the secondary containment, which contributes significantly to laboratory workers’ protection and safety. A few secondary containment design strategies follow:
AUTOMATING WHEREVER POSSIBLE
One way to foster safety and reduce human error in laboratories is to automate processes. Robotics support material washing, high-throughput screening, sample storage and solvent distribution. Another process that has highly effective automated solutions is decontamination. Portable and built-in vaporization systems decontaminate containment suites, thereby supplementing more labor-intensive deconta
Written gratitude does not feel like enough at this moment, but we want to start this piece just by saying THANK YOU to the research teams around the world. You are true heroes in a time when we need you most.
Many of the researchers who work in disease testing, prevention and treatment within the U.S. work at institutions like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and state-, county- and city-run public health laboratories. The U.S. is fortunate to have some of the best biocontainment laboratories in the world.
For those unfamiliar, biocontainment laboratories are where various pathogenic organisms and agents (i.e., viruses, bacteria or toxins that produce a disease) are held and studied in a highly controlled and isolated environment. A “biosafety level” (BSL) is the level of the biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) to the highest level 4 (BSL-4). In the U.S., the CDC specifies these levels. BSL-1 and -2 laboratories often house research with low-to-moderate risk, while BSL-3 and -4 laboratories handle pathogens with serious or lethal risk.
To keep researchers safe and performing at their best in the midst of pandemics like COVID-19, these laboratories focus on optimizing three key elements: primary containment, such as personal protective equipment and equipment housing infectious materials; secondary containment, such as the overall quality of the laboratory facility; and a relentless adherence to safe microbiological procedures that align with the design of the laboratory.
Thankfully, specialized biocontainment facilities are designed to support very intricate processes and to reduce the potential for errors and accidents that could jeopardize progress. The following are a few elements you will find in many biocontainment laboratories that allow public health researchers to work effectively, efficiently and safely in times of crisis.
RISK ASSESSMENTS AND RELIABLE AND REDUNDANT SOLUTIONS
During a crisis, outbreak, or natural disaster, public health laboratories are critically important to our communities and must remain operational. To ensure that facilities can sustain operations in such an event, risk assessments of the primary building systems and structures are routinely conducted. A good risk assessment includes an evaluation of these systems beyond the first potential mode of failure.
For example, a back-up generator is extremely valuable when there is a loss of power distribution. What if, however, the generator fails or runs out of fuel? The secondary evaluation would include consideration of multiple generators, prioritization of laboratory facility electrical loads and a reliable source of fuel. For one state’s public health laboratory design, we enlisted the support of that state’s National Guard to deliver diesel fuel to the laboratory as a back-up if normal fuel delivery were suspended.
OPTIMIZING QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CONTAINMENT
Primary containment consists of biosafety cabinets, centrifuges (a machine with a rapidly rotating container that applies centrifugal force to its contents, typically to separate fluids of different densities), and in some cases, personal protective equipment. These elements act as the first line of defense between the infectious materials researchers work with and their own personal safety. It is essential for every laboratory to have an adequate quantity and quality of primary containment equipment to handle routine procedures and to accommodate operation at surge capacity in the event of an outbreak.
The laboratory itself and associated utility systems provide the secondary containment, which contributes significantly to laboratory workers’ protection and safety. A few secondary containment design strategies follow:
AUTOMATING WHEREVER POSSIBLE
One way to foster safety and reduce human error in laboratories is to automate processes. Robotics support material washing, high-throughput screening, sample storage and solvent distribution. Another process that has highly effective automated solutions is decontamination. Portable and built-in vaporization systems decontaminate containment suites, thereby supplementing more labor-intensive deconta
Metropolis Magazine 2020-03-25
Chris Roque for UAP Polich TallixUAP is making an unmissable mark on public space in American cities, fabricating outdoor art and installations from a buzzy foundry upstate.
In 1540, the Italian metallurgist Vannoccio Biringuccio published Concerning Pyrotechnics , an opus that codified techniques of smelting and metalworking, invented in the Middle East thousands of years before Christ, into systems still recognizable to 21st-century artisans. Heirs to Biringuccio’s genius are hard at work one wintry Friday morning at the Polich Tallix (PTX) fine art foundry in Rock Tavern, New York, a short drive from trendy art destination Beacon. The foundry has been newly acquired, if largely left unchanged, by the Australian company UAP, or Urban Art Projects.
And those are just the publishable projects. A great deal more must remain off the record, though evidence of them fills the 80,000-square-foot, hangarlike space. In many cases, UAP’s involvement remains unacknowledged at the client’s request. In a sense, the foundry is as much an alloy as the molten metal it utilizes: Its combination of lost wax- and sand-casting facilities and digital printing capabilities marries ancient and cutting-edge techniques. Its output is both unsigned and unmissable, if you know what to look for. Jeff Koons’s Rabbit, for example, achieved its astonishing reflectivity thanks to PTX craftspeople (though its wild $91 million auction price was largely due to Koons’s star power).
Another charismatic personality launched PTX back in 1969, when an expert metallurgist named Dick Polich quit his job at an aerospace manufacturer after the company received an order for parts for 50,000 gas masks. He shifted gears, opening his own foundry in the hippie environs of upstate New York, joining his name to a derivative of the word metallic with a space-age suffix: Polich Tallix.
These artisans, 80 or so on this January day, are variously casting Ursula von Rydingsvard’s beguiling stacks of cedar beams into glowing bronze, scaling Nicole Eisenman’s wry sculptures into the monumental, repatinating bulbous bronze pieces by Fernando Botero, and carefully readying a massive aluminum sculpture by Joel Shapiro for a voyage.
By 1976, Polich and his team had persuaded Roy Lichtenstein to re-create his still-life paintings in bronze, resulting in the landmark work Lamp on Table. They also embarked on a long collaboration with artist Nancy Graves in which she pushed the limits of the foundry itself, casting fruits, kraft paper, plants, and rope, whose flammable nature required innovative venting. While these Soho-style experiments unfolded, PTX looked uptown, too, fabricating architectural elements for the Metropolitan Museum of Art such as a Roman falcon and an Egyptian cat. “As technologically advanced as we get,” Polich told the New York Times in 1983, “a guy from 300 B.C. could still walk through here and know exactly what was going on. I like that.”
By the mid-1980s, PTX had figured out not just how to engineer, for example, Lichtenstein’s 25-foot-high Brushstrokes but also how to transport and install it at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. It had also proved to a very resistant Isamu Noguchi that it could sand-cast in bronze his 1945 Strange Bird (to the Sunflower) without losing the aura of his own direct carvings, and had helped then–commodities broker Jeff Koons cast tchotchkes of any size and move them wherever a buyer desired. PTX, then, was premodern in its reliance on primordial fire and wax, modern in its attention to the delights of the hand, and postmodern in its logistical savvy and willingness to complicate authorship. It was artist and artisan, assistant and supervisor, building a portfolio of skills including engineering, project management, and fluency in the vagaries of packing and shipping. This portfolio became increasingly valuable as the 21st century dawned, when developers and municipalities began looking to large-scale public art as a way to distinguish their mixed-use urban compounds and revitalized downtowns. Seen within this economic and spatial context, the development of PTX has mirrored that of public art in American cities, where a synergy between financial and real estate considerations on the one hand and attention to craft and public engagement on the other has taken root.
A few years ago, brothers Daniel and Matthew Tobin were looking to expand the studio and workshop they had founded as Urban Artists in Brisbane, Australia, in 1993. After decades with one location in Shanghai and a small wood studio in Long Isla
In 1540, the Italian metallurgist Vannoccio Biringuccio published Concerning Pyrotechnics , an opus that codified techniques of smelting and metalworking, invented in the Middle East thousands of years before Christ, into systems still recognizable to 21st-century artisans. Heirs to Biringuccio’s genius are hard at work one wintry Friday morning at the Polich Tallix (PTX) fine art foundry in Rock Tavern, New York, a short drive from trendy art destination Beacon. The foundry has been newly acquired, if largely left unchanged, by the Australian company UAP, or Urban Art Projects.
And those are just the publishable projects. A great deal more must remain off the record, though evidence of them fills the 80,000-square-foot, hangarlike space. In many cases, UAP’s involvement remains unacknowledged at the client’s request. In a sense, the foundry is as much an alloy as the molten metal it utilizes: Its combination of lost wax- and sand-casting facilities and digital printing capabilities marries ancient and cutting-edge techniques. Its output is both unsigned and unmissable, if you know what to look for. Jeff Koons’s Rabbit, for example, achieved its astonishing reflectivity thanks to PTX craftspeople (though its wild $91 million auction price was largely due to Koons’s star power).
Another charismatic personality launched PTX back in 1969, when an expert metallurgist named Dick Polich quit his job at an aerospace manufacturer after the company received an order for parts for 50,000 gas masks. He shifted gears, opening his own foundry in the hippie environs of upstate New York, joining his name to a derivative of the word metallic with a space-age suffix: Polich Tallix.
These artisans, 80 or so on this January day, are variously casting Ursula von Rydingsvard’s beguiling stacks of cedar beams into glowing bronze, scaling Nicole Eisenman’s wry sculptures into the monumental, repatinating bulbous bronze pieces by Fernando Botero, and carefully readying a massive aluminum sculpture by Joel Shapiro for a voyage.
By 1976, Polich and his team had persuaded Roy Lichtenstein to re-create his still-life paintings in bronze, resulting in the landmark work Lamp on Table. They also embarked on a long collaboration with artist Nancy Graves in which she pushed the limits of the foundry itself, casting fruits, kraft paper, plants, and rope, whose flammable nature required innovative venting. While these Soho-style experiments unfolded, PTX looked uptown, too, fabricating architectural elements for the Metropolitan Museum of Art such as a Roman falcon and an Egyptian cat. “As technologically advanced as we get,” Polich told the New York Times in 1983, “a guy from 300 B.C. could still walk through here and know exactly what was going on. I like that.”
By the mid-1980s, PTX had figured out not just how to engineer, for example, Lichtenstein’s 25-foot-high Brushstrokes but also how to transport and install it at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. It had also proved to a very resistant Isamu Noguchi that it could sand-cast in bronze his 1945 Strange Bird (to the Sunflower) without losing the aura of his own direct carvings, and had helped then–commodities broker Jeff Koons cast tchotchkes of any size and move them wherever a buyer desired. PTX, then, was premodern in its reliance on primordial fire and wax, modern in its attention to the delights of the hand, and postmodern in its logistical savvy and willingness to complicate authorship. It was artist and artisan, assistant and supervisor, building a portfolio of skills including engineering, project management, and fluency in the vagaries of packing and shipping. This portfolio became increasingly valuable as the 21st century dawned, when developers and municipalities began looking to large-scale public art as a way to distinguish their mixed-use urban compounds and revitalized downtowns. Seen within this economic and spatial context, the development of PTX has mirrored that of public art in American cities, where a synergy between financial and real estate considerations on the one hand and attention to craft and public engagement on the other has taken root.
A few years ago, brothers Daniel and Matthew Tobin were looking to expand the studio and workshop they had founded as Urban Artists in Brisbane, Australia, in 1993. After decades with one location in Shanghai and a small wood studio in Long Isla