7 must reads for the AEC industry today: August 4, 2020

1. 71-unit 100% affordable housing development breaks ground in Mountain View, Calif. (BD+C)
"The 100% affordable housing project will comprise independent living for a mix of single- and two-person households earning between 50% and 70% of the area median income. Fifteen of the units are reserved for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities."

2. Construction spending decreases for fourth consecutive month in June (AGC)
"Association officials warn further contraction is likely unless federal government enacts prompt, major investment in infrastructure as state and local governments face deficits."

3. Report aids local governments on policy options, pathways to electrify new buildings (BD+C)
"This strategy is a way to improve energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and climate emissions in the built environment. It is a key to meeting climate and public health goals, according to a SWEEP press release."

4. Exploring the airborne transmission of the coronavirus and strategies for mitigating risk (Stantec)
"In a recently published article, international health authorities—including WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—are confronted in regards to their lack of action in acknowledging mounting evidence as to the airborne spread of the virus. The article pleads for the immediate recognition and issuing of suitable advice on mitigating control measures."

5. ‘We’re in a world of hurt,’ Sands President says of Las Vegas (Bloomberg via National Real Estate Investor)
"Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s two Las Vegas properties, the Venetian and the Palazzo, generated just $36 million in business during the second quarter."

6. ‘Recession proof’ apartment buildings set for $12 billion test (Bloomberg via National Real Estate Investor)
"Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. is marketing $12 billion worth of apartment buildings for sale amid a 70 percent plunge in transactions."

7. Once considered expensive and unnecessary, touchless tech tools are catching on (Bisnow)
"Just a few months ago, touchless tools like app-controlled or voice-controlled doors, elevators and lighting seemed too fanciful or expensive for all but the highest-tiered Class-A luxury buildings, but the coronavirus has turned the commercial real estate industry's view of these amenities on its head."

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.