7. Buildings & cities for a next normal

Return to September 2020 Update

Length: 16 min read; 3287 words. Includes the following 7 subcategories:

• 7.a) Healthcare facilities
• 7.b) Offices
• 7.c) Residential buildings
• 7.d) Commercial buildings & mix-use programs (retail, entertainment, hospitality, sports); Industrial buildings
• 7.e) Education; buildings
• 7.f) Renovation/ revitalization / adaptive re-use projects
• 7.g) City planning; Smart cities / Infrastructure / Landscape & marine projects

Note: The following paragraphs summarize the category of Buildings & cities for a next normal observed in September. More information about the specific category from September (and previous months) can be found in the downloaded report(s).The number in square brackets (e.g., [X]) refers to a reference where the reader can find more infomation about a specific statement.  The references can be found in the References list below, Systematized References page or in the dowloaded report.

In May we introduced this category as the AEC community intensely discussed the post-COVID-19 built environment. Countless official and unofficial strategies and/or guidelines for workplace re-entry were published. The trend intensified in June (all largest architectural firms and institutions issued guidelines and/or strategies), and further in July with its peak in August. In September the interest dropped 44% in comparison to the August levels, in line with overall dilution of pandemic-related articles. For example, ArchDaily’s Coronavirus folder had approximately 50% less articles than in August – architects are returning to their pre-pandemic business-as-usual of designing for the future.  Although countless questions about the next normal remain. They continue to discuss why do they design buildings [292]; future of the workplace [227][230] and the office [163] (the pandemic has sped up other trends like the shift to personal or micro-mobility, the erosion of indoor and outdoor boundaries, and the move towards a hybrid physical-digital experiential design) [168], and its repurpose post-COVID (Individual work will be done at home and the office will enable people to collaborate and flourish both personally and professionally.) [46][169] Goodbye, Open Office. Hello, ‘Dynamic Workplace.’ [170]; WFH back-garden offices [234]; mobile-focused restaurant model in 2021 [293] and open restaurant program for outside dining [182]; distribution center and warehouse design [244][294][242] - robotics can help with pick speed and social distancing, but warehouse design is key [171]; justice, equity, diversity and inclusion [188][189][126][190]; product design in times of crisis [48]; infrastructure projects and green future related to stimulus bills [106]; real estate design strategies in a post-COVID market [295][296]; educational post-COVID buildings [297]; affordable housing [298]; healthcare facilities that weathered COVID well [299][300]; smart façades [301]; successful renovations (such as [302]); future of (healthy smart) cities [303][208]; and the digital technologies that can help return trust in spaces and places [172][173]. The AEC community is integrating digital technologies and smart (optimized) methods for design, construction and operations.

Architectural billings in September: despite an ongoing decline in architecture firm billings, indicators of future work continue to improve. [224] As expected, countless architectural competitions for post-pandemic reality are published (such as 2020 Next Work Environment Competition Winners [47] with New Change Management Process [191]). Architects continue to envision and discuss memorials for coronavirus victims [304]. As usual in September, 2020 International Architecture Awards winners were announced [305].

7.a) Healthcare facilities

Pandemic has taught us that we can move faster in making change; e.g., several 1,000-bed hospitals were built in China in just over a week [207] with modular design and prefabrication methods. Modular design and prefabrication (design to fit strategy) for healthcare facilities continue to demonstrate multi-trade benefits (and meeting sound transmission class (STC) design requirements); such as 1) benefits in handling/install; 2) enable larger MEP prefab pieces; 3) simplify coordination; 4) dramatically reduce “priority walls”; 5) enable offsite MEP rough in; 6) fabrication model feeds software to drive robots; 7) to achieve partial heights, team needs holistic STC solution addressing room envelope (field tests of room design indicated STC 45 and execution exceeded criteria; electrical installed offsite closer to NECA 1 while field installation would produce NECA 2+); and 8) increased productivity with overhead rough in of larger assemblies, without partitions in the way. [139][306] VDC and automation in hospital design and construction are driving innovation. [139][307][308]

Household model nursing homes are weathering COVID well; dedicated staff, private bedrooms, easy access to outside spaces have reduced the spread of the virus. [299] Hospitals are at the forefront of “healthy” buildings. [43][44] As indoor air quality becomes the number one priority, healthcare facilities are the first to deploy new solutions and technologies; e.g., Carrier has introduced its Negative Air Machine for hospitals that it says cleans contaminated air and prevents it from spreading to different sections of a hospital. Senseware, an intelligent building startup known for air quality monitoring, released a solution package in partnership with other vendors to help clients safely reopen their businesses. Molekule, a residential air purifier startup, launched a new product for healthcare use, and received an FDA 510(k) Class II Medical Device Clearance. [34] The solutions currently applied in healthcare industry will soon find the way for application in other industry types and facilities for example allowing employers to safely reopen offices.

7.b) Offices

Offices continue to be one of the most discussed subcategories as approximately half of the global workforce continues to work remotely, and the AEC community is working with clients on strategies to return the workforce back to the office. Future of the workplace [227][230] and the office [163] is discussed. Some CEOs are advocates of going fully remote; e.g., GitLab cofounder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij believes going remotely successfully requires systemic changes with “operational intentionality,” whereas a hybrid approach “creates two fundamentally different employee experiences to manage”. Workspace researcher Jennifer Magnolfi Astill noted the best solution might not be strictly “either/or.”; “the real work of envisioning our future workspaces starts from acknowledging that ‘workspace’ is no longer just the physical office building but also the digital/virtual space where work happens. This means that future workspace offerings will come with some physical space applications and some digital space ones.” Melanie Collins, VP, Global Head of People at Dropbox highlighted benefits and drawback of WFH or distributed work (access to broader and more diverse talent pools, increased workplace flexibility/work-life balance, increased productivity, the removal of barriers in terms of visa and immigration issues in the US, access to affordable housing, reduction in carbon footprint due to less commuting, and material savings in real estate; But there are also a number of drawbacks: cultural implications, decreased connection and community, burnout, and isolation to name a few) and the fact that the companies would have to embrace their culture change and evolve as they make shift. [309]

The pandemic has sped up other trends like the shift to personal or micro-mobility, the erosion of indoor and outdoor boundaries, and the move towards a hybrid physical-digital experiential design. [168] The hub and spoke model will become important the longer the virus lasts. Organizations will recognize this and provide solutions that are more distributed and still bring people together to foster innovation and collaboration – face to face – but six feet apart. A resurgence in build-out of short-term spec suites with a more socially distanced office arrangement. Companies will need to create space for employees who may be remote but still coming in from time to time. Almost like a Business Lounge at an Airport or Hotel that is branded to the company- variety of seating, rooms, and plenty of access to technology where someone can meet or work alone. If the office is the place where collaboration is meant to thrive, the space and design must support it. Two office subtypes are mentioned: a) micro-offices (enclosed small offices envisioned as an individual space for heads-down work and where meetings can happen in shared meeting spaces to promote moving throughout the office - often fully glass so that there is not a loss of light or connectivity to other open areas around them); and b) sub-architectural spaces (clearly defined spaces in an open plan that offer more flexibility when creating collaboration/meeting space.) [46]

Although we are still in a wait-and-see mode regarding the future of the office, some objectives are crystalizing: in the future the office will have to meet 4 main objectives: 1) to support hyper collaboration; 2) to encourage serendipity and creativity; 3) to break physical barriers with the leadership and favor managerial proximity; and 4) to become a social hub, where employees can share a common sense of purpose and live memorable moments, together and with their clients. Long-term includes a return to some form of prior normal – though with more flexibility of WFH policies; landlords will need to make those spaces more appealing to the post-pandemic user by tempering the communal aspect of and adding more private, quiet areas, though social distancing will be around for a while. Even before the pandemic, workers had been more remote/distributed in general. Utilization studies were often resulting in the same statistics; employees are not at their individual workspace that much. Creating a variety of zones throughout the office for employees to accomplish different tasks will be beneficial. Post-COVID individual work will be done at home and the office will enable people to collaborate and flourish both personally and professionally: [46][169] Goodbye, Open Office. Hello, ‘Dynamic Workplace.’ [170] Video conferencing is likely here to stay in a much larger way – creating small areas where individuals can be on calls will be important. Many “Office Phone Booth” manufacturers are offering options with videoconferencing solutions built in. [46]

(More information on this topic can be found in the following chapters: Remote work; Work from home (WFH) and Workspace re-entry.)

7.c) Residential buildings

VDC in residential sector is providing rapid evaluation of investment opportunities. [139][310] Offsite prefabrication means cost-savings for mixed-income residential developments. [267] Accelerated digitalization is sweeping all building sectors, including the residential. An outstanding example is an open-source housing design app called PRiSM in order to assist the city of London and encourage constructions after COVID-19. The first step towards a digital planning approach, the new app features allow users to design their housing scheme in a 3D environment. Moreover, it introduces details in building and neighborhoods, local amenities, ecology (location and species of trees) and weather patterns, road information, transport infrastructure, and site accessibility as well as land classifications. Moreover, PRiSM 2.0 offers now a larger pattern book of housing types such as new typologies, including mansion blocks, basement, and podium design functionality, apartment setbacks, manual core positioning, and visualization of windows and roofs. The audience for the app is very broad. Developers are using it to assess initial feasibility of PMH for their sites. Designers are using it to understand the potential for manufacturing systems.  Manufacturers are exploring it as a design tool. And local authorities are applying it to standardize their estates. [311]

The idea and function of the house and the neighborhood will take on new prominence in the post-COVID reality due to greater WFH – this will bring focus on more on the importance of transportation, services, and other infrastructure closer to home. [303] Architects and designers imagine 2020 next work environments – new workstations and WFH spaces [47][232][233]; and WFH back-garden offices. [234] Architectural firms with a multifamily residential specialization anticipate that their revenue will increase by 2.9% in the fourth quarter; while in 2021 they predict flat revenue. [224]

7.d) Commercial buildings & mix-use programs (retail, entertainment, hospitality, sports)

As office buildings are being repositioned for the future with mixed-use opportunities, with introduction of residential and entertainment spaces. While there will still be a need for office space, activation of rich building stock is going to be crucial in a way that no longer depends solely on office tenants to address the diverse needs of urban communities. [168] Mixed-use buildings will enable people to work, live and consume in the same place; offering fitness centers, urban farms, recycling centers, farmers’ markets, last-mile logistic centers, bike repair shops, autonomous stores, community spaces, concept stores, pet nurseries, etc. The most creative use of extra space has been less about unique design features and more about the programming of the space with interesting services or events. Concerts, pop-up retail, networking events, food service, and concierge staff all have the potential to activate space and engage tenants and the community in ways that can truly differentiate an asset. Recent trend towards the ‘hotelification’ of the office experience to compete for attendance among a workforce with greater choice and latitude to work from a variety of places, including home. Operating more like high-end retail and hospitality can drive the type of curated experience that will help magnetize the office and entice users back into the space.[46]

Countless new distribution centers and warehouses are opening to support increased e-commerce; [241] e.g., Amazon will add 1,000 warehouses in suburban US.[242] “There will be 10x more warehouses than 10 years ago.”- providing a substantial investment area.[312] The design of distribution center and warehouse is the key while robotics can help with pick speed and social distancing. [244][294][242][171] Stadiums and sports facilities are benefiting from VDC, IPD, VR visualization and virtual communication and collaboration. [139][313][314] Nonresidential building starts rose 16% in August/ September. [116] Architectural firms with a commercial/industrial specialization expect 3.1% loss in the fourth quarter, while in 2021 they expect 5.6% loss. [224]

7.e) Education; Buildings

The pandemic is changing education permanently. For example, supply chain education introduced new classes looking into how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global and domestic supply chains; including communication and risk management methods (such as production control and how a location change affects a company's cost). Many schools are having discussions about how the curriculum might change going forward. “And I can't wait to see what happens. You know, I think a year from now, we'll have really good answers.” [315]

Architects design new models of educational building for the post-COVID era, e.g., Valentino Gareri has proposed a sustainable and modular educational building; called Tree-House School, the project reinforces the relationship with nature, with connected outdoor and indoor spaces. “The school of the future has to be sustainable and, in the same time, able to sustain the new post-COVID requirements. It has to be outdoor spaces inclusive and open to nature, made of natural materials and low-cost construction techniques, as modular design. It has to be highly flexible and an able to be adapted to different functions and programs, and provide several benefits to the whole community, becoming the incipit for the requalification of peripheral urban areas.” [297]

Policies for return to school/ college continue to be discussed.[31] As if institutions are building the plane as they fly it, all the while grappling with the limitations of still-emerging science and the unpredictability of human behavior. For example, the University of Illinois had a state-of-the-art reopening, and then the virus cases piled up – the school has relied too heavily on its technology and predictive analytics, while miscalculating about its own students, young adults still learning how to live on their own and eager for social contact after months of isolation. “It’s not just about testing,” says David Wilson, a longtime geography professor. “It’s about people, their daily rituals and habits. That was not really considered.” UIUC’s example illustrates how mass screenings can identify a problem early, it also shows they aren’t enough on their own to prevent virus spread. According to the school, some students ignored the requirement to isolate after testing positive, even going to and hosting parties, and tried to game the system, including repeatedly seeking out another test and trying to get around the school’s app, Safer Illinois, which shows a badge clearing students with negative results to enter school buildings and even some local bars. One student who posted a video on social media trying to show people how to hack that app is “facing discipline,” and about six have been suspended. These actions, by only about a dozen students, paired with parties, drove the university’s surge in cases, administrators say.[316] Stanford University is working on numerous research projects and having a coursework not only for the return of their students to the campus but to help global population in e.g., with low-cost testing.  [284][18]

(More information in the chapter for COVID-19 related solutions… under Adoption of (new) technologies.)

7.f) Renovation/ revitalization / adaptive re-use projects

The goal of any repositioning project is to revive a building and give it new life. By reimagining a building’s purpose, designers and architects can play up the existing character, craft, and even attitude of a structure. They can then introduce new technologies or other elements that create convenience and comfort for a new generation of occupants. [168] Pandemic has taught us that we are capable of moving faster to make a change [207], in, for example, retrofits and conversion of shipping containers to ICU units. As we expect vaccine, accelerated retrofits (18-month job done in 18 weeks) of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing facilities are on their way. [11] The number of retail store conversions into mini distribution hubs, or transformations of underutilized malls into local fulfillment and distribution centers is rapidly growing (in line with increased e-commerce). Considerations for setting up a successful logistics center: 1) When converting big-box stores, pay attention to zoning and building codes; 2) Ensure uninterrupted movement of goods and vehicles; 3) Start a dialogue with local officials; 4) Focus on how materials are handled; and 5) Ensure efficient product tracking. [244]

Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA was awarded with The International Architecture Award 2020. [317] Examples of successful renovations published in September include the following examples: renovation of Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie Style Villa into a Hotel by Kamiya Architects [302]; renovation of Yulin Building by epos architecture [318]; MEET Digital Arts Center by Carlo Ratti Associati [319]; La Doyenne Renovation and Extension by NatureHumaine [320]; Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto Kiyamachi Cafe / Schemata Architects + Jo Nagasaka [321]; etc.

7.g) City planning; Smart cities / Infrastructure / Landscape & marine projects

Edgar Mora, Mayor of Curridabat, Costa Rica highlighted in an interview that it is critical to understand the impact that cities have on the climate crisis. City planners must ask, “How can we consider the productivity of the city so that it adds value to the planet instead of taking it away?" That question should be the starting point when considering possibilities for urban development. It’s not enough to put a band aid on this situation. Also, we must seriously consider the fact that the pandemic is a product of the alterations we have made to the natural landscape and the lack of harmonization of our cities with nature. We have to start adapting cities to the landscape, to nature, and not the other way around. One idea is to consider the principle of “minimum sufficient” outcomes. It is not a stretch to view the past century of urban planning and development as the pursuit “maximum possible” outcomes. We install more air conditioners than we need because it’s easier to plan for the most extreme outcome than it is to create a more strategic plan for finding a more appropriate solution. The Pareto paradigm states that if you modify 20% of the critical variables in a system, all circumstances are changed. It’s similar to the difference between a Walkman and a smartphone. When I was mayor of Curridabat, we made the local flora and fauna ‘citizens’ so that we could protect them. The idea was that the plants and indigenous creatures were a critical part of creating a more resilient and prosperous community. And by recognizing pollinators as agents of prosperity, we can find a purpose for the city, while also giving us another important mediator in the development of the city. [303] People are planting tiny urban forests to boost biodiversity and fight climate change. [208] Making cities sustainable is one of 17 targets of the UN’s Sustainability Goals to help build a better life for everyone by 2030. [56][322]

Cities globally have adapted to pandemic at a record pace, taking the opportunity to be more experimental and thoughtful in city design (e.g., Seattle has closed 20 miles of streets to provide safe spaces for community activity and engagement [207]; while Milan one of Europe’s most polluted cities and especially hard hit by the virus; is to transform 35km of streets into an experimental, citywide, network of cycling and walking spaces, to protect residents as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. [323]) (Previous reports provide numerous similar examples). A new work environment post-COVID will require modernization of employment law but also of now complex urban-planning rules - a systematic overhaul is needed to allow buildings and districts to be redeveloped for new uses, including residential and entertainment spaces. [163] Infrastructure projects and green future related to stimulus bills continue to be the center of discussion in this category, such as More than 60 projects expedited by Trump executive order waiving environmental regulations. [106] An example of the fight for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are the Transit Universal Design Guidelines (TUDG) recognize the value in implementing Universal Design principles that support all user groups — from the first-time user to the daily user. These guidelines will make a positive impact by creating transit systems that are enjoyable, understandable, easy to use, and accessible to all. [324]

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References