Elaine Powers, Powers Heating & Air, Peachtree City , was recently named 2020 Contractor of the Year by the Conditioned Air Association of Georgia (CAAG), a statewide nonprofit professional trade association based in Atlanta, Georgia that represents HVAC or conditioned air contractors around the state which are professionally licensed by the Georgia Secretary of States office.

Mrs. Powers is the only person in the history of CAAG to receive this award three different times. She also received the award in 2015 and 2019. She is also the first woman to serve as President of the association for the 2018-2019 term of office. She has served on CAAGs Board of Directors for a number of years, is the current CAAGs representative on the Dept of Community Affairs Codes Advisory Committee and is a director in the Metro Atlanta Air Conditioning Contractors Chapter of CAAG. Additionally, last year Governor Brian Kemp appointed her to the State Licensing Board for HVAC contractors, the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, Conditioned Air Division.

Elaine has lived in Fayette County since 1969 with only a brief interruption while serving in the U.S. Navy for one term. She graduated from the University of West Georgia with an Accounting degree and has an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. Elaine has been active in the industry since 1979 and is currently the President of Powers Heating & Air. Powers is a Premier Lennox Dealer and provides maintenance, service repairs and replacements for residential clients mostly in Fayette and Coweta Counties. Powers also serves industrial, institutional and general commercial clients throughout the State.

Congratulations to Mrs. Powers on receiving CAAGs highest award and honor.

The Conditioned Air Association of Georgia (CAAG) is a state-wide, nonprofit trade association based in Atlanta, Georgia which represents contractors who are engaged in the design, sales, installation, maintenance, service and repair of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

CAAG, formed in 1980, has over 1000 members in 24 local chapters. The membership is composed of great diversity in sizes of member firms from the very large mechanical contractors to the very small family-owned businesses. Regardless of the size, CAAG represents the professionals in the industry who have a genuine interest in improving the industry for both the customer and the contractor.

CAAGs goal is to promote quality and professionalism in the HVACR industry in the state of Georgia and the demonstration of a genuine concern for the safety, comfort and health of our customers by providing quality HVACR services.

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Elaine Powers named 2020 Contractor of the Year by Conditioned Air Association of Georgia - The Citizen.com

By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

At the Brighton Board of Education meeting Monday night, Supt. Greg Gray said that school officials have conferred with their financial advisers in performing the districts required due diligence on the $59 million bond issue passed last fall.

Due diligence is defined as a comprehensive appraisal of a business, especially to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential, in this case, its reliability in paying back the interest on the bonds. Gray says the interest rates have recently increased by one-half per cent but continue to be favorable, and he anticipates no delay in conducting the bond sale sometime in May. He says the COVID-19 pandemic could set construction back a bit, but that wont matter because he was anticipating a light construction schedule this summer regardless. Gray says the majority of construction will be taking place during the summers of 2021 and 22.

Improvements to district schools with implementation of the bond issue include a new STEAM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math center at the high school, plus STEAM classroom renovations throughout district schools, a new multi-purpose facility that can be used for athletics and other activities, parking lot and roof replacements, new HVAC units at the high school and many other upgrades.

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WHMI 93.5 Local News : Light Bond Construction Schedule Anticipated This Summer - WHMI

words Al Woods

Although there is no shortage of contractors on the market, finding a reliable one can be very difficult. This is true regardless of your situation and the type of job you hope to get done. Naturally, when you are looking to make an upgrade to your home or property, you will want the service to offer superlative quality that is out of this world. However, you will need to keep an eye on your budget, all while making sure that the contractor is working on a schedule.

The importance of these many dimensions and considerations are obvious, seeing as good quality service can help you avoid future issues, as well as add value to your property. Moreover, finishing the job as scheduled will help you focus on your other responsibilities without any impediments or nuisances.

That said, here are a few tips that should help you find the finest contractor every single time.

Many people make the mistake of asking the wrong people and searching in the wrong places. It is crucial that you always use credible sources when you are looking for reliable contractors. A fruitful method will include asking your friends and family about their experiences with reliable contractors. However, seeing as you could be in an area that is absolutely unfamiliar to you, using credible online sources like Angies List can be extremely helpful. Typically, credible sources will have verified their user reviews, which means they guarantee that the user has worked with any one of the contractors you show interest in.

Seeing as many of the reviews can lack depth and hardly touch the surface of any worries or concerns you might have, make sure to ask for references. This will also help you narrow down your choices. Typically, you will need to make a few phone calls, which include calling clients, previous homeowners, employees, and subcontractors. Doing so will help create a more vivid picture of what you can expect. However, for that to happen, you will need to ask questions about how the contractor handles changes to the contract if they pay everyone on time, and how they behave towards the job site.

Part of ensuring a contractors reliability includes confirming their license. This is integral to the process, as an unlicensed contractor can hardly ever be considered as reputable or reliable. Usually, a certified contractor will make sure it is known. However, if it is not proudly exhibited on any of their webpages, ads or brochures, then make sure to ask. This should be done for all types of contractors, even if it includes a seemingly small plumbing job. A certified plumber will be able to professionally tend to your problem, and you can visit this URL to learn more about the quality workmanship certified plumbers provide. Their certification allows them to skillfully work with the type of job, which can include clogged drains, water heater installation, electronic leak detection and many more. Also, a certification or license can usually vouch for the promises they make, which may include getting the job done right the first time and working 24 hours a day.

It is key to the success of this process that you never sign with a contractor or make any formal agreements before asking them for an estimate or formal bid. An estimate will allow you to compare the costs with your budget. However, more importantly, it will give you an idea about their strong suit and what is not. For instance, they may excel in kitchen remodels but may not be as great at home additions. Furthermore, you will be able to discuss, according to the estimate, what types of materials you want to use, and also adjust the details involved.

In addition to all these considerations, you will need to make sure you do your homework. However, you will need to be thorough and include many aspects of your research. Start with a thorough background check, which can say a lot about a contractor. In order to do so effectively, purposefully look for any hidden skeletons, which might include legal issues. Also, ask about the preferred subcontractors your chosen contractor likes using. Make sure they are equally proficient at their jobs. And finally, ask about insurance and permits involved in the remodeling or upgrading project they will be working on.

All in all, finding the finest contractor is not at all hard. Simply by following these minor, yet effective, tips, you will narrow your search down to the contractor the best suits your needs. However, you will need to be smart about your payment schedule, seeing as some people can start slacking after receiving the whole payment. So, make sure to leave out just enough money to act as an incentive for persistence.

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Tips On Finding The Finest Contractor Every Single Time - Flux Magazine

A patchwork of wood shingles and stone form this Toronto home that local practice Batay-Csorba Architects has extended and renovated.

Located in Toronto's residential neighbourhood Baby Point, the two-storey house was built in the early 1900s with stones from the city's Humber river, stucco and wood. The homeowners sought to preserve the characteristics of the home, and enlisted Batay-Csorba Architects for the renovation.

The original house was a mixture of Arts and Crafts-style and Tudor Revival, as seen in the exterior details that Batay-Csorba Architects left intact.

When developer Robert Home Smith created the garden suburb of Baby Point in 1912, he had many of the homes designed in this aesthetic, the studio explained.

"The Baby Point district is currently under study as a heritage conservation district in Toronto," said the studio. "The clients for Baby Point Residence had an interest in the Arts and Crafts movement, and preserving neighbourhood character."

The team cut a large, double-height slice in the west side of the home and added a gabled roofline on the back facade that features ample glazing and views of the back garden's ravine.

The result is a home that has three pitched rooflines of similar proportions, two of which run alongside one another on the back facade and a third that cuts across them. The home's front facade showcases new windows, wood shingles and masonry.

In addition to building the extension, Batay-Csorba Architects renewed the existing home structurally, reorganised the layout by tearing down walls and refurbished the interiors.The team sought to understand the underlying principles of the Arts and Crafts movement to design the house.

"Beyond medieval motifs, ornamentation and nostalgia for hand craftsmanship, we also interpreted the Arts and Crafts movement spatially," the studio added.

The ground floor is centred around a built-in storage volume that provides a pantry and a coffee bar in the new kitchen, and a bar nook in the adjacent dining room. A living room and separate sitting area round out the main level.

Custom furniture was built by local designer Heidi Earnshawand includes a wood banquette in the kitchen whose aesthetic is designed to be reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts movement. Minimal, built-in cabinets in pale and dark wood feature throughout the home for added storage.

A stairwell with glass railings cuts through one of the home's pitched rooflines and accesses three bedrooms with ensuites. Measuring 5,200 square feet (483 square metres), Baby Point Residence is square-shaped in plan and is complete with a bedroom, living room, and two bathrooms in the basement.

Walls are white in sharp contrast to the existing stone fireplaces, and pale wood covers the floors.

Batay-Csorba Architects was founded in 2010 by Andrew Batay-Csorba and Jodi Batay-Csorba.

The studio has designed several apartment complexes in Toronto, including a building with a brick screen exterior and two townhouses linked together, as well as Milky's coffee shop.

Photography is by Doublespace Photography.

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Batay-Csorba Architects expands Arts and Crafts-style house in Toronto - Dezeen

As life under the COVID-19 becomes an experience measured in months, designers and architects are finding new ways to adapt. Interior Design, as part of our continuing series of dispatches documenting our communities resilience under unmeasurable stress, checks in with three designers who have found ways to keep themselves and their industry as healthy as possible.

Editor's note: This storyis the eighth installment in a series of conversations with designers, industry leaders, and architects around the globe, examining how our community is staying connected, inspired, and proactive about solutions during the current pandemic.

Hagy Belzberg, Belzberg Architects, Los Angeles, U.S.

The office is doing really well, considering the situation. Im saying that with a tremendous amount of apprehension, humility, and empathy. Its not doing well in the sense of this is a great time to be an architect. Given those circumstances, Ive been really blessed to work with a group of professionals who have come around and helped each other to really make this transition. Its been extraordinary, the energy we get from each other.

We are thirty architects and designers who normally work in one large space, and now were constantly on conference calls and video chats. The excitement of physically solving a problem together is very different even with the best cameras and all the funny things we try to do to make it seem more natural. You miss that connection and Ive never known how much Ive relied on it until now.

Weve tried a few ways to help foster community. The first one is a virtual happy hour, which everyone is trying. Its been fun, weve played games. It lightens up the mood for people who feel disconnected. And it helps people who have families, who normally find relief in work, to have more focus when theyre juggling a lot of things. Its an outlet.

Another thing weve tried weve dubbed BANTER (B.A.-nter). Once a week we all get on a call and all we talk about are problems. The cocktail hour is about having fun, but this is an hour or two just to talk about problems and theres no limit. It doesnt have to be about technology or projects or clients or construction; it can be any kind of problem. Its basically group therapy and it works really well. Ive noticed that people are forced to listen attentively and theres very little interruption.

Whats come out of BANTER has been about strengthening our community and providing opportunities for problem-solving ideas to emergeincluding sharing ideas theyve heard from partners and family members. That kind of therapy really helps out. And its been gut-wrenching. Some people look at the camera and say: Ive never worked so hard in my life. I dont understand, its supposed to be work-from-home and yet I cant do anything but this. You hear them really struggle, and you hear somebody give them encouraging words of advice about what theyve been able to do, and it becomes a somber, very quiet, but supportive place. Ive got to tell you, its really interesting.

Overnight, weve transformed from thinking of the phrase our industry to our community. Its not an industry, though it was. The division between manufactured and design has been removed. We are all part of the same community. I am not saying that optimistically, Im saying that with quite a bit of assurance. It feels like we are doing this together versus being competitive about getting rates, etc.

Everyones starting their conversations with: Are you safe? Are you healthy? We start our emails with asking if everything is OK, and if it is, then we can move forward. We are a community now and it happened overnight and I love it. The recovery is not only going to be dependent on this, the recovery is not going to happen without it. I dont think we can go back to the way things were. This is our way of reimagining a humanity that should always be there.

Julio Braga, IA Interior Architects, New York City, U.S.

Were coping pretty well, with a few minor technical glitches due to the abrupt transition to total virtual work. Our teams were already working partially virtually for a while, so the transition to 100 percent remote was smooth. But among the hardest activities to transition were the brainstorming sessions. No software can match the experience of everyone in a room full of white boards to sketch on, and material samples to touch and smell.

A very small number of projects have been put on hold, but many of our clients are looking at the current environment as one in which to increase the volume of design work awarded to design firms, since the development of those phases can be easily monitored and directed virtually by the clients with their architects and designers. Everything seems a bit volatile. It will take some time for everything to even out.

Events of this nature highlight what our profession does, because so much is interconnected within the built environment and this is something that can be often underestimated. Its critical to consider how different the world will be. How are architects and urban planners going to think about how people move through indoor and outdoor spaces? This is going to impact tremendously the way places are shared and designed to be shared, not just in terms of cleaning processes but also air filtration, for example.

This is an inflection point in how companies use office space. We are going to have to design in ways that are conducive to including virtual participants in much more holistic ways. We are going to have to create a space for in-person interactions that are traditionally the center of the industry, and imagine environments, protocols, systems, and procedures by which we can still enjoy each others company in person as we did before the pandemic.

Our firm has been increasing our own virtual connections, and our offices have more frequent touchpoints which we feel give a greater sense of engagement. We participate in many charitable causes as a group, notably DIFFA, and this will be crucial to our psychological supportcontinuing our tradition of community-giving throughout this crisis and beyond. There is something in the nature of most architects and designers that makes us positive thinkers, even in the most difficult, scary, and unknown contexts.

Jun Aizaki, Crme/Jun Aizaki Architecture & Design, Brooklyn, U.S.

Our offices are closed temporarily, the team is working remotely, and we are all relying heavily on technology to stay connected with our clients and friends who have been affected the most. I see there is a communal effort to get things going in the design world. And yes, of course, we rely on video meetings, morning calls (and even night calls since were working with Asia), and were submerged by texting. Ultimately, were using Zoom to organize office Happy Hour and give ourselvesa momentof fun.

Since most of our clients are in the restaurant and hospitality industry, they have been deeply affected by the crisis. I do think it may take some time, but I have faith we will be able to recover when thisis all over. From a long-term perspective, this moment is going to really challenge us to reconsider the way to live, travel, and eat, which is tied into every aspectof our work. I think we should be ready for drastic changes and to create new patterns, but with change comes innovation.

Ive been so proud of everyone who has come together to help support each otherduring this difficult time, from sewing masks, 3D-printing face shields, and donating resources and time, tohotels that are partnering withlocal government officialsin the more affected COVID-19 locations to offer a place for those on the front lines to stay. We are grateful to technology for being able to stay this connected in a time where we are physically isolatedfrom one another.

Even during a pandemic, the design world doesnt stop. Companies are even rethinking their logosto convey messages that encourage people to stay home. Im seeing that a lot of solutions to our current issues come out of the design industry, like shipping container hospitals and self-inflating isolation pods for coronavirus patients. 3D printing has also been a godsend. This whole experience has definitely given me more of an appreciation for the moments we share in person but, at the same time, we are actively learning to communicate in new ways and do our work without the ability to work as closely with materials as we normally would. In certain ways, we now feel closer as were paying more attention to accurate communication. We can see things from a different vantage point.

> See our full coverage of COVID-19 and its impact on the A&D industry

ThinkLab, the research division of SANDOW, is gathering information about our industrys response to COVID-19.Click here if youd like to participate.

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Designers and Architects Find New Ways to Adapt - Interior Design

Today well look at Heerim Architects & Planners Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:037440) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, were going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business.

First of all, well work out how to calculate ROCE. Second, well look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Then well determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE.

ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since No two businesses are exactly alike.

Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets Current Liabilities)

Or for Heerim Architects & Planners:

0.10 = 6.6b (162b 97b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.)

So, Heerim Architects & Planners has an ROCE of 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for Heerim Architects & Planners

ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. We can see Heerim Architects & Plannerss ROCE is around the 8.8% average reported by the Professional Services industry. Setting aside the industry comparison for now, Heerim Architects & Plannerss ROCE is mediocre in absolute terms, considering the risk of investing in stocks versus the safety of a bank account. Investors may wish to consider higher-performing investments.

You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Heerim Architects & Plannerss past growth compares to other companies.

When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. You can check if Heerim Architects & Planners has cyclical profits by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets.

Heerim Architects & Planners has current liabilities of 97b and total assets of 162b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 60% of its total assets. Heerim Architects & Plannerss current liabilities are fairly high, making its ROCE look better than otherwise.

Notably, it also has a mediocre ROCE, which to my mind is not an appealing combination. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

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What We Think Of Heerim Architects & Planners Co., Ltd.s (KOSDAQ:037440) Investment Potential - Simply Wall St

hearth architects has topped this family house in hikone, japan, with a gabled roof whose extended eaves create a sheltered veranda that acts as a transitional boundary between exterior and interior spaces. designed for a couple and their child, the residence occupies two plots, which results in having two street faades instead of one. facing the north and south roads, the two front elevations of the building respond to the surrounding context accordingly.

all images by yuta yamada

hearth architects has designed the house with two front elevations, each of which facing a different road and enclosing separate functions. the first one, which encloses the living, dining and kitchen area, looks toward the south and features a garden, whose privacy is secured through a concrete wall that defines the perimeter of the plot. topped with a large gable roof that seems to be floating above it, this side incorporates a sheltered veranda area that enables a smooth transition between interior and exterior spaces.

the second elevation, which face the north side, encloses more private areas, including a japanese-style room and a japanese garden, arranged to offer a relaxed atmosphere. inside, common living spaces are located in a double-height open plan space characterized by wooden beams, furniture, and floors. the tranquil interior is complemented by pops of green, found on the velvet couch and planted trees which grown inside the house.

project info:

name: hikone house

architect: hearth architects

location: hikone city, shiga prefecture, japan

main use: private house

structure scale: wooden two-story

site area: 342.21 m2 (103.51 tsubo)

building area: 141.60 m2 (42.83 tsubo)

total floor area: 183.00 m2 (55.35 tsubo)

sofia lekka angelopoulou I designboom

apr 17, 2020

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gabled roof with extended eaves tops hearth architects' hikone house in japan - Designboom

To put it lightly, the COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated more than just a passing hiccup in the daily business operations of architecture firms large and small. While the long-term implications of the deadly viral outbreak on the business of designing buildings have yet to be fully grasped, the immediate fallout has been nothing short of rollercoaster-like.

Yet for most practices, things are very much businesses as usual albeit with major alterations, particularly with regard to workflow and staffing. To help firms more smoothly navigate these turbulent and unpredictable times, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has released a comprehensive Architects Guide to Business Continuity.

Geared to help guide firms through a wide range of adverse business conditions including for example, global pandemics, the 50-plus-page guide provides insight into how to broach a variety of crucial areasstaff management, supply chains, technology, stakeholders, all-important reputationwith minimal disruption.

The guide identifies, elaborates on, and offers guidance on how to respond to a range of potentially business-disrupting hazards including natural ones (sea-level rise, wildfires, drought, and other natural phenomena, many of them exacerbated by climate change) as well as anthropogenic hazards and system failures (cyber attacks, terrorism, arson, supply chain disruption, civil unrest, utility interrupt, pandemics, etc).

Firms across the country are facing pressures from all sidesfrom transitioning offices to teleworking models, to work stoppages, to repositioning their businesses to adapt to changing client needs, said AIA executive vice president/chief executive officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, in a press statement. This guide is meant to help firms be nimble during any kind of disruption, whether environmental or manmade. It also should support them in making informed decisions during economic uncertainties so they can be best poised to address the future.

Per a March 23 survey conducted by the AIA, 50 percent of firms polled reported 50 percent fewer projects compared to their expectations entering the month. Eighty-three percent of firms anticipated a decline in revenue for the monththat figure jumps to 94 percent when considering revenue declines in April. The survey also found major shifts in staffing operations with 48 percent reportingas of March 23that all employees entire, or almost all employees, were working remotely. Thirty-one percent of firms reported that only some staff had gone into remote work mode. Fifteen percent reported that some staff members were unable to work at all.

The AIA is providing a wide range of resources and helpful information to its members during the coronavirus pandemic across a range of areas. In addition to the operations-minded Architects Guide to Business Continuity, one notable resource headed by a special AIA task force is a Preparedness Assessment Tool meant to be used to evaluate potential alternative care sites for the treatment and isolation of COVID-19 patients. A collaborative database and complementary COVID19 ArchMap was launched so that architects, designers, engineers, and others can more easily share and compare best practices when establishing alternative care sites.

Every Friday, ANs own Coronavirus Column, penned by managing editor Jack Balderrama Morley, addresses a range of topics on how the pandemic is impacting both the profession of architecture and the built environment as a whole.

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AIA releases Architect's Guide to Business Continuity as firms struggle to adjust to new reality - The Architect's Newspaper

British and Irish architects, artists and critics have selected the buildings that they look forward to seeing again after the coronavirus pandemic.

At present, much of the world is on lockdown, with millions of people confined to their own homes and travel severely restricted. However, once the pandemic is over, people will once again be free to visit their favourite buildings.

"The feel of cool marble under bare feet" is how architecture critic Michael Sorkin begins his list of Two Hundred and Fifty Things an Architect Should Know.

Sorkin, who died last month from complications due to Covid-19, would have understood the need for all the new digital initiatives to satisfy our creative cravings, yet it is impossible to replace how being in the presence of buildings can make us feel.

Louis Kahn's Salk Institute in San Diego, with its extraordinary setting and views, as well as its immense physical form, is the most powerful reminder of the importance of the direct encounter, said architect Jamie Fobert who recalled seeing it for the first time:

"As I walked across the near-empty surface of this public space, I felt lifted physically and opened up emotionally," he said. "Like walking into a Superstudio montage, a tabula rasa with the ocean at its edge, it was at once a surreal and completely tangible experience."

Artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell, whose exhibition at London's Soane Museum sets out to explore what buildings can tell us about contemporary society, have also found themselves thinking how the setting is as important as the architecture.

For them, it's Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer's Niteri Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro. "It positively lifts the spirits and soars aloft!" they said.

"It's one of the most beautiful, audacious, and energising buildings we've visited," they continued.

"Poised between the city and the sea, mountains and the sky, it perfectly expresses the optimistic energy of Rio, a city where it often feels as though anything is possible, a city that has the power to lift the spirits at every turn with the drama of its incredible natural setting."

The ability to connect emotionally to our environment is fundamental to human experience, yet it is only at times like that we ask why certain places make us feel alive and human.

Architect Farshid Moussavi cites Yokohama Port Terminal, her first building as Foreign Office Architects.

Precht designs Parc de la Distance for outdoor social distancing

She emphasises that public buildings also contribute to social values and the quality of urban life.

"Its floors seem caring as they are covered with wood that has been meticulously laid down to adapt to the building's undulating geometry," she said ofthe port terminal. " They invite you to sit anywhere and relax."

Architecture is also about bringing people together.

For Simon Conder, best known for a series of exquisite houses on the remote Dungeness Beach in Kent, OMA's Casa de Musica in Porto reminds of him our temporary social distancing. "It's the most magical and sociable building I have ever been to," he said.

Buildings that connect with nature don't always have to be far away from home.

Architect Sarah Wigglesworth points out that a connection with nature can be as simple as having a garden to look at during months of self-isolation citing Peter Aldington's house at Turn End in Essex.

"The key is the garden - which is gorgeous - and whose presence is felt everywhere," she explained. "The house itself is simple and homely but with beautiful light and views of all kinds of nature. This is so important for mental wellbeing and connecting us to the natural cycles of the seasons."

Ellis Woodman, director of the Architecture Foundation says the building most imprinted on his mind right now is the ByeongsanseowonConfucian Academy in Korea because of the way "the building tells you about your place within the immediate community and the wider world".

"It is somewhere where diurnal and seasonal changes are felt very intensely something I know I am really going to miss being stuck indoors for the next few months," said Woodman.

At the time of writing, the Venice Architecture Biennale is still due to take place in August this year, a city were where the combination of colour, surface and light is a permanent inspiration for architects. But for John Tuomey of Dublin based O'Donnell +Tuomey, the city he is thinking about most is Rome.

"In these days of solitary retreat and social isolation, I find myself dreaming of the streets of Rome, my mind's eye strolling through the crowded spaces around the Pantheon," he said.

Every architect knows the Pantheon but for Tuomey it's not merely the building but the surrounding streets what he calls the "the sweet sense of clash between monumental presence and the continuity of everyday existence" that he misses.

This, he says, is "architecture and the city working off each other, a perfect cocktail of transcendent awe and civic cheer, one that makes us live in hope".

35 architects and designers contribute video messages to help launch Virtual Design Festival

Architects and designers have been responding to the coronavirus pandemic in a variety of positive ways including building hospitals, designing prefabricated intensive care units and making face shields.

Dezeen has launchedVirtual Design Festival, the world's first digital design festival, as a platform to bring the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.

The rest is here:
Architects and critics chose their feel-good buildings - Dezeen

Boston architect Eric Hweler has helped local doctors develop patient isolation hoods a new type of device that could save the lives of healthcare workers and "impact things worldwide" in the fight against coronavirus.

Made from a single sheet of folded plastic, the patient isolation hood has been developed from a standing start in just nine days and will be trialled at Massachusetts General Hospital from Tuesday.

The transparent, dome-like patient isolation hood (PIH) fits over a patient's head and shoulders, protecting hospital staff from virions, or virus particles, that are breathed or coughed out by people with coronavirus.

"The patient isolation hood is somewhere between a wearable and an architectural scale," Hweler told Dezeen. "It's like a small house that is placed over a patient's body during a risky procedure."

Doctors are particularly at risk during intubation, a procedure that involves inserting a tube into the airway in preparation for ventilation.

"If the patient is coughing, there can be a lot of aerosolized droplets that are spread, making the procedure risky," he added. A clear plastic shield around the patient can help control those aeroslized droplets."

The hood has been developed at breakneck speed by a group of doctors, engineers and designers meeting in a series of Zoom calls and Slack discussions.

"This is an open-source call that brings together designers from all over the world and is being prototyped in an extremely accelerated timeframe," said Hweler, a partner at Boston architect Hweler + Yoon Architecture.

"The speed and level of collaboration is unprecedented," he added. "About nine days before a first review at the hospital and hopefully 14 days for deployment. "

"This project sprung out of the previous efforts with PPE," added Hweler, who has helped develop open-source face shields for healthcare workers.

"We were wondering what else we could do, and the individual efforts of thousands of makers 3D-printing masks seemed to be overtaken by the onlining of companies with much larger volume capacities."

"We heard about intubation boxes or patient isolation hoods also being in high demand," he added. "The idea is to partially enclose a patient while a doctor performs an intubation procedure, which is to put a tube down the patient's throat."

"We sketched up some templates for a CNC and asked a plastics fabricator that we'd worked with before to cut and assemble a prototype," Hweler explained.

"We then asked around to see if there were local hospitals that were in need."

The idea for the hoods simultaneously emerged two weeks ago at Massachusetts General Hospital, where a Covid-19 innovations team co-led by Dr Sam Smith started to research better ways of protecting healthcare workers treating coronavirus patients.

"We felt strongly that there was some opportunity to better look at protecting physicians," Smith told Dezeen.

"In some countries, like in areas of Spain, it was one in eight getting infected while working with Covid patients."

Dr Wong, a physician at the hospital, came up with the idea of making lightweight hoods that could be placed over patients.

"I just said, hey, this is fantastic because it basically covers the patient who is breathing out all this, you know, aerosolized virus," Smith said. "And he makes a couple little slits in the back, puts his hands through, and he can do all the things he needs to do with better protection."

Engineers developed a prototype but "there was nobody on the design side, giving input to this, not even on the ergonomics," said Smith.

Smith made contact with Hweler via the innovation team's Slack channel, and the collaboration began.

Hweler and his team "immediately then started to have the input that I needed," Smith said.

"The success of this will be because the design is exceptional," Smith added. "Not only because it is simpler than we imagined, but is also more functional as a result."

The design "certainly could impact things worldwide" in the fight against coronavirus, Smith said, saving the lives of both healthcare professionals and patients, since the negative pressure inside the hood reduces the need to put patients on ventilators.

"We've actually started to find that you can get by without putting breathing tubes and putting them on a ventilator, and you're probably gonna cause less lung injury because of it," Smith said. "People may do better."

Original post:
Architect and medics develop plastic hoods to protect healthcare workers - Dezeen