6 must reads for the AEC industry today: May 27, 2020

1. AIA honors exceptional designs with its COTE Top Ten Awards (AIA) 
"COTE bestows the award annually on 10 design projects that have expertly integrated design excellence with cutting-edge performance in ten key areas. The COTE Top Ten winning projects illustrate the solutions architects provide for the health and welfare of our communities and planet."

2. Visionary footbridge/elevated park concept wins AISC’s Forge Prize (AISC) 
"The Footbridge concept, intended for a site in Manhattan that connects to the existing High Line, marries the raw look of weathering steel with the shine of hammered stainless steel planters that hold trees and other vegetation. Stormwater runoff would drip into bespoke weathering steel bollards on the plaza below, creating an immersive visual and auditory effect in inclement weather."

3. OSHA Reverses Course and Now Requires Employers to Track COVID-19 Cases (NAHB)
"The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration this week announced a significant reversal of previous policy on an employer’s obligation to record work-related cases of COVID-19 on OSHA injury and illness logs. The new requirements go into effect Tuesday, May 26."

4. Architectural Reuse Council will step up efforts to reuse construction waste (BD+C) 
"The San Diego-based group aims to foster more salvage and reuse of material through education and outreach. The group is composed of reuse experts that regularly repurpose cabinets, appliances, lighting, lumber, and other materials taken from construction sites."

5. Only 12% of U.S. workers want to work from home full-time. Most want to return to the workplace, but with critical changes (Gensler)
"The lessons learned from the experience of working from home during COVID-19 offer an unprecedented opportunity to rethink the future of the physical workplace. Only one in ten U.S. office workers had worked from home regularly before this experience, and less than a third had the choice to work from home. While many of the effects of COVID-19 on the workplace are still unfolding, some points are emerging clearly from our data:
1) Most workers want to come back to the office.
2) Workers expect crucial changes to the workplace before they’re comfortable returning."

6. For colleges and students, COVID presents a game of chicken (Bloomberg via Crain's Chicago Business)
"Institutions want students to sign up and pay tuition deposits. Students wonder if it's worth shelling out tens of thousands for what could be a largely online experience. Who will swerve?"