7 must reads for the AEC industry today: October 5, 2020

1. Zaha Hadid Architects unveils 2 Murray Road in Hong Kong (BD+C)
"The double-height foyer at ground level is arranged for access on multiple levels and welcomes staff and visitors with an interplay of natural light, planting, and organic forms leading up to the second floor public lobby on the city’s elevated walkway network. Suspended above the canopy of its surrounding trees, the lobby’s sculptural glass facade defines a variety of nested spaces. The color palette of these spaces differentiate key destinations within the tower."

2. With revenues drying up, colleges reexamine their student housing projects (BD+C)
"Even before the coronavirus pandemic, national college enrollment had been declining annually for nearly a decade, according to estimates from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which this fall will issue the first of nine quarterly reports that track the virus’s impact on higher education in the U.S. through fall 2022."

3. AEC industry is weathering COVID-19 better than most (PSMJ)
"Nearly one-third of architecture, engineering and construction (A/E/C) firms have furloughed or laid off employees due to COVID-19, and more than 90% say they have experienced at least some project delays or cancellations, according to a new survey of firm leaders conducted by PSMJ Resources."

4. Healthcare Design Awards promote projects that heal (AIA)
"The awards recognize cutting-edge designs that help solve aesthetic, civic, urban and social problems while also being functional and sustainable."

5. SMPS Chicago panel on Covid-19 impact on the built environment: October 14 (limited to 100) (BD+C)
"Experts from Gilbane Building Co., Gensler, and Avison Young on the panel, to be moderated by BD+C's Robert Cassidy."

6. Multifamily buildings with premium groceries can charge more rent (Bisnow)
"The value a premium grocery store adds to a neighborhood has been well documented, but new research suggests the benefits reach an even more granular level."

7. Commercial construction could be rebounding: US Chamber (Commercial Property Executive)
"The new Commercial Construction Index from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is still far below the first quarter."

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.