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William G. Bill McMinn, an architect and educator who served as dean of three architecture schools, died August 21 in Asheville, North Carolina, of complications from a stroke. He was 89.

In 1974, McMinn was named the founding dean of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University (MSU), part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, and stayed there until 1984. In 1997, he was named founding dean of the School of Architecture at Florida International University (FIU) now part of its College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts.

In between, from 1984 to 1996, he served as dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University. While at Cornell, he founded the Cornell in Rome Program for students, taking advantage of the expertise of Professor Colin Rowe and others, and was instrumental in establishing an undergraduate program in the colleges Department of City and Regional Planning. He also helped raise funds to improve the colleges facilities and served on the board of the I. M. Pei-designed Herbert F. Johnson Museum on campus.

Bill McMinns contributions to the stature of the college cannot be overstated, write Meejin Yoon, Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of AAP, in an article posted on the schools website.

As a founder of the Cornell in Rome program, he enriched the lives of so many as the program has grown into a vital component of many architecture, art, and planning students education. He was a practitioner as well as an educator, and his influence will continue to be felt beyond scholarship to the underpinnings of the culture at AAP and well beyond.

According to the Cornell article by Patti Witten, McMinn was modest about his accomplishments as an educator, insisting that colleges cant really teach architecture. At best, he would say, we provide a place for students to discover it, Witten wrote.

Bill was the right person to start a program in Mississippi, said Robert V. M. Harrison, an early faculty member and founder of the schools advisory board, in an article on the MSU website.

He was a people person and brought in the right people. He had the knack to communicate with everyone. Architects,accreditation teams and legislators respected him. He got a full accreditation for the school at the earliest possible date, which is miraculous. A miracle worker.

As part of his effort to give the new Mississippi school a national presence and broaden the students perspective, former students and faculty members say that McMinn established a lecture series that brought big-name architects and critics to campus in the 1970s and 1980s, including Stanley Tigerman, Robert Venturi, Michael Graves, Rem Koolhaas, Charles Moore, and writers Ada Louise Huxtable and Paul Goldberger.

One story that has made the rounds for years is that McMinn was so eager to bring luminaries to campus that he would play one architect off the other, calling Michael Graves and telling him that Peter Eisenman was coming to campus and then calling Eisenman and telling him that Graves was coming.

McMinn was a strong supporter of architects who wanted to use their education to influence other fields, said alumnus Janet Marie Smith. She used her MSU degree to carve out an unconventional career in sports architecture, building or renovating stadiums including Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Fenway Park in Boston, and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

After 12 winters in upstate New York, McMinn moved to Florida in 1996 to become director of FIUs program in architecture, then part of its School of Design.

A year later he was named founding dean of the FIU School of Architecture. Under his leadership, the school earned full accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board, changing its status from a department to a school. McMinn initiated a competition that led to the construction of the Bernard Tschumi-designed Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture Building on the FIU Modesto Maidique campus.

According to FIU, the curriculum under McMinn incorporated pre-professional undergraduate programs in architecture and interior design, graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture and environment and urban systems, and study-abroad programs. McMinn stepped down as dean in 2000 to return to teaching. He retired in 2004 and moved to North Carolina.

Born in Abilene, Texas, McMinn earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1953 from Rice University and a Master of Architecture degree in 1954 from the University of TexasAustin. He began teaching in 1956 at Texas Tech University and then held teaching or department leadership positions at Clemson University, Auburn University, and Louisiana State University.

In 2006, he received the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the highest award for outstanding contribution to architectural education in the U.S.

A Fellow of the AIA and the American Academy in Rome, McMinn received the ACSAs Distinguished Professor Award in 1991 and the Educational Leadership Award in Architecture from the AIA Miami chapter.

According to the AIA, he helped establish a School of Design at King Fahd University in Saudi Arabia, was a U.S.-appointed consultant to the School of Architecture at the University of Jordan, and helped improve the curriculum at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul.

Bill McMinn has, throughout his career, served as a strong bridge between practice and education. His vision has always been to provide a seamless transition between the two realms, said John McRae, then-dean of the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design, in nominating McMinn for the Topaz Medallion.

I have known dozens of deans, said FIU president Modesto Maidique in his nomination letter. Seldom have I found one with the passion, dedication and sophistication that Bill exhibited during his tenure.

In addition to his teaching career, McMinn practiced architecture professionally from 1968 to 1971 as director of design at Six Associates in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1980, he was appointed to the National Architectural Accreditation Board and was elected NAAB President in 1983. He chaired NAAB reviews of 24 architecture programs, including those at Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Following his retirement to North Carolina in 2004, McMinn continued to advise on architectural design competitions and projects. He served as the professional advisor for a national competition to design a Performing and Visual Arts Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, a contest that drew 58 entries. In 2004, he helped select the dean of the architectural school at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Of all his achievements, one that made him especially proud was the Cornell in Rome program and the creation of the Cornell Center in Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, dedicated in 1997. In addition to Colin Rowe, early faculty members included architecture professor John Shaw and sculptor and fine arts professor Jack Squier. Roberto Einaudi was Cornell in Romes first director.

Bill was firmly convinced that Rome, this most ancient and complicated of cities, is the ideal laboratory for the disciplines of architecture, art, and planning, said Jeffrey Blanchard, the current academic director for Cornell in Rome, according to the AAP article. While Bills distinguished career as an educator unfolded in a number of institutions and was marked by many achievements and awards. I believe he always considered the creation of Cornells Rome program to be one of his most important and enduring accomplishments.

McMinn is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan; his son Kevin, and his daughter Tracey.

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Noted educator and architect William Bill McMinn passes away at 89 - The Architect's Newspaper

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Photo: Hamerman Photography, 2017 / Contributed Photo

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Glenn E. McGee, PhD, will discuss biotech advances toward immortality at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala on Oct. 17. Tickets are $50 to $100.

Norwalks Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala includes talk on bioethics in the pursuit of immortality

Norwalks Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum will celebrate science and history at its virtual Starlit Gala on Saturday, Oct. 17, that will include a presentation on humanitys pursuit of immortality by award-winning expert on bioethics, Glenn E. McGee, PhD.

Along with McGees talk, the 8 p.m. event, co-chaired by trustees Trudy Dujardin and Mickey Koleszar, will honor David Westmoreland, a longstanding supporter of LMMM and its preservation.

There will be a catered dinner and silent auction. All all proceeds will benefit the museums educational and cultural programs. Tickets are $50 to $100.

During these uncertain times, this educational and cultural icon needs support from all of our communities, and the gala is a major opportunity to step up to the plate, Dujardin and Koleszar said in a news release.

McGee will discuss revolutionary advances in biomedical science technology in pursuit of immortality, and the ethical, legal and social questions they pose.

McGee is the author of three books, The Perfect Baby: A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics; Beyond Genetics; and Bioethics for Beginners, and more than 100 articles. He is the founder and served for 11 years as editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Bioethics, the leading publication in its field. He has served on the board of directors of the American Society for Bioethics and on more than a dozen federal and state advisory panels. He has received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Cellular and Molecular Devices Advisory Panel Outstanding Service Award. McGee is Deputy Provost for the University of New Haven and received a B.A. from Baylor University and M.A. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Born in Houston, Texas, Westmoreland graduated from Baylor University with a bachelors degree in Computer Science and worked for 23 years in the field of Information Technology at such corporations as American Airlines and Arrow Electronics. He completed his Master of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University in 2006 and is a registered landscape architect and co-owner, with Mike Mushak, of Tuliptree Site Design, Inc. in Norwalk.

Westmoreland serves the community in Norwalk in a number of roles, including: Chairman of the Second Taxing District Commission (SNEW), Redevelopment Agency Commissioner, and on the Norwalk Historical Society Board of Directors, among others. He has served as chairman of the City of Norwalks Historical Commission, overseeing the relocation and development of the new Historical Society Museum, the renovations of the buildings and park at Mill Hill, and three city-owned cemeteries, along with the historic buildings at Mathews Park, including the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum.

The virtual Starlit Gala is sponsored in part by Fairfield County Bank and David Scott Parker Architects. The graphic design sponsor is Miggs B Design.

LMMMs cultural and educational programs are made possible in part by funding from LMMMs Founding Patrons: The Estate of Mrs. Cynthia Clark Brown; LMMMs Leadership Patrons: The Sealark Foundation; LMMMs 2020 Season Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk and The Maurice Goodman Foundation; LMMMs 2020 Distinguished Benefactors for Education: The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation, Inc.

For more information on the gala, visit lockwoodmathewsmansion.com.

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Norwalks Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum virtual Starlit Gala includes talk on bioethics in the pursuit of immortality - Thehour.com

The Monongahela riverfront at Hazelwood Green stretches 1.3 miles, sloping and overgrown in places, pockmarked with abandoned industrial structures. An active rail line runs through it.

Yet once reclaimed, it holds promise for recreational use, says Todd Stern, managing director of U3 Advisors in New York City, development advisors for the site.

The riverfront plan is something weve long set our sights on, and we want to open that space to the public again as we anticipate future private and other mixed-use development on the site, says Stern. We feel that this is the time to begin to figure out the riverfront.

That effort begins after Labor Day with a master planning and public input process, led by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council which received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and landscape architect Environmental Planning & Design (EPD) of Pittsburgh.

The mantra of Hazelwood Green is being a place of innovation.The 1.3 miles ofriverfront present an opportunity to blend engineering, technology, ecology, culture and recreation in innovative ways, says Andrew JG Schwartz, studio director with EPD. This creative fusion will celebratethe riverfronts legacy while developing a meaningful, soul-satisfying and funky public space that is uniquely Pittsburgh.

When completed in summer 2021, the master plan will guide the development of land along the river and decisions about the use and preservation of industrial heritage pieces along the rivers edge, including a pump house, mooring cells, platforms, coal loaders and catwalks.

Industrial use of the riverfront property about 21 acres that vary in width from 55 to 200 feet has created a barrier between the neighborhood and the river for more than a century, Stern says.

This master planning process is founded on the view that the riverfront is common ground. The project team will be asking for public input and feedback at each stage of design, to ensure that we create an inclusive place that users of all abilities and interests can enjoy, he says.

Gathering public input begins on September 8 with a presentation by EPD at the Greater Hazelwood Monthly Community Meeting, hosted by the Hazelwood Initiative. Then a design charrette is scheduled for October 15-17, at a time and place still undecided. During these three days, technical experts will present maps and models to help solicit input from the public.

We do hope to do this in person and are figuring out ways that people can come together in small groups safely because of the pandemic, says Stern. Its almost going to be like well have office hours, where people will be able to drop in at different times and well try to manage the flow of people so that its not too crowded.

Additionally, the organizers will distribute surveys and engage with people through social media to familiarize them with the site. Public engagement activities will be posted onlinethroughout the fall and the duration of the project.

An advisory committee of neighborhood, city, regional and site representatives has toured the riverfront and hopes to allow others to do so at some point, Stern says. The committee will lend guidance to the design process.

Its an amazing location that offers everything from city views and connection to the river to economic opportunity, says Terri Shields, a committee member and chair of the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative. The community process will be critical to ensuring that neighborhood input is not only heard but integrated throughout the entire design phase.

The Hazelwood Green Riverfront Master Plan will ultimately be presented to the DCNR for review.

Part of the restoration is to address environmental impacts of past industrialization on the ecosystem. Any use of the property will follow Hazelwood Greens pledge to do sustainable development.

We dont want anything we do to change the nature of that landscape materially, other than providing access, says Stern. And well have to manage access, in terms of volume; we dont want hundreds of people at one time, so lower-impact uses that manage traffic flow and the programming that we put on there is one way we manage sustainability. The other is plantings and other landscaping for stormwater runoff.

Additional challenges includethe riverfronts steep grade, and the railroad tracks and fencing. There are different easement rights and ownership conditions along the track, Stern says, so the group will work with rail partners.

Theres no simple convert it all to a trail, he says, so the existing rail ownership and easement rights have to be factored into our ultimate solution.

Sam Reiman, director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, says restoring the communitys connection to the river is a longstanding goal of the development that until recently was called Almono.

This master planning is the first step in activating the riverfront to support outdoor recreation, public health and local businesses along an extensive trail system that extends all the way from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., Reiman says.

Its too soon to put a cost to the project, Stern says. Much of that depends on the scope of the master plan and the degree to which existing physical and legal constraints restrict whatever development ideas come from the effort.

I assume that will be low-impact activities that provide recreational access to the Monongahela, he says.

AlmonoHazelwoodHazelwood Green

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It's time to figure out the riverfront. Planning begins at Hazelwood Green with public input - NEXTpittsburgh

MAD Architects has formally revealed Gardenhouse, the Beijing-headquartered firms first completed project in the United States. Located at 8600 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, the 48,000-square-foot mixed-use complexstreet-level commercial at its base, luxury residential up topmanages to both politely blend into its well-groomed environs while and also bringing something playful and new.

With a series of white gabled facades poking up from above a vegetation-wrapped base, the visually arresting building is meant to be reminiscent of a small, remote village perched on a lush mountainside. The semblance is visually quite effective, if a bit puckish, even though the five-story building isnt towering or intrusive, as it tops out at just under 60 feet.

The illusion of a summit-topping hamlet carries through to Gardenhouses range of housing typologies: eight condominiums, five villas, three townhouses, and two studio apartments. Per the firm, this diversity is meant to offer residents a high sense of community, and a feeling of individuality and exclusiveness even in this small-scale development. And in lieu of a central corridor, the units, most sporting pitched roofs and all clustered around a tree-lined second-floor courtyard, have their own independent entry/exit circulation routes as if they were standalone houses.

MADs mountaintop village in the heart of Beverly Hills does, however, have a ground-floor central entry point tucked away on Stanley Drive that makes entering Gardenhouse from the street sound like a rather heady experience. The entrance adopts the atmosphere of a cave digging into the hillside; a dim, surreal environment where residents are led on a journey through a fairyland of light, shadow, and the sound of water, reads a statement released by MAD. Further ahead, the softness of the cave meets a bright conclusion, with natural light flooding through a connected water feature from the courtyard patio above.

The most verdant and profuse element of the complex isnt necessary the inner courtyardor a secret garden as the firm describes it. From almost top to bottom, the buildings street-facing exterior is clad in an impressively generous swath of greenery thats composed of vines, drought-resistant succulents, and an array of native plants. This defining feature is described by MAD as one of the largest living walls in the U.S. Seasons Landscaping is credited as the projects green wall specialist, working alongside landscape architecture-helming Gruen Associates.

Los Angeles and Beverly Hills are highly modernized and developed. Their residences on the hills seemingly coexist with the urban environment, said MAD Architects founding principal Ma Yansong in a statement. However, they also see enclosed movement at their core. The commune connection between the urban environment and nature is isolated. What new perspectives, and new value, can we bring to Los Angeles? Perhaps, we can create a hill in the urban context, so people can live on it and make it a village. This place will be half urban, half nature. This can offer an interesting response to Beverly Hills: a neighborhood which is often carefully organized and maintained, now with a witty, playful new resident.

In addition to Gruen Associates, who also served as executive architect, and Seasons Landscaping, the project team includes Rottet Studio (interior design), John Labib + Associates (structural engineer), Breen Engineering Inc. (MEP Engineer) and DHC Builders, Inc. (general contractor). The project was developed by the Santa Monica-based Palisades Capital Partners.

Not surprisingly, much like the topography that Gardenhouse evokes, prices for the units are similarly steep and start at $3.7 million.

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MAD Architects' first US project echoes a lush mountaintop village in the heart of Beverly Hills - The Architect's Newspaper

For more than 28 years, the Family Van has been a familiar sight in some of Bostons most under-resourcedneighborhoods. The Harvard Medical School-affiliated mobile community health program works to reduce health disparities in Boston by bringing medical services directly to neighborhoods with the largest prevalence of preventable disease.

Four days a week, the mobile health clinic visits neighborhoods in Roxbury, Dorchester and East Boston. Van workers screen clients for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, glaucoma and depression, also offering family planning services, pregnancy testing and HIV counseling.

One-on-one counseling is provided to help clients make healthier choices for better health outcomes. Clients may also ask for help understanding a diagnosis or treatment plan. Referrals are provided for health insurance, housing, employment and other needs.

The services are furnished in clients preferred languages and with an understanding of their cultural backgrounds.

The Family Van is the knowledgeable neighbor, said Rainelle Walker-White, the Family Vans assistant director.

In her 26 years working with the Family Van, Walker-White has become close with many clients, some of whom call her Aunty Rai.

We are there each and every day, she said, meeting the needs of each and every person, touching the lives of people that other people would look over.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit and public health guidelines encouraged physical distancing to slow the spread of the virus, Family Van workers and volunteers had to rethink a service model that relied on face-to-face interactions.

Pre-Covid people would get on board [the mobile clinic], said Walker-White. We would give hugs. We would give touches. Its a part of healing and people had an opportunity to just speak what they needed to speak, feel what they needed to feel and say what they needed to say, and be heard.

During the pandemic, we had to really think creatively, she added.

The Family Van began began calling their clients at home to check in.

A lot of them were isolated, said Walker-White. A lot of them did not have family members that could look after them. They loved that somebody called them each and every day just to say how are you. They loved us for just reaching out and touching them via phone call.

New clients can call the Family Van seven days a week and be connected with volunteers who can answer their questions about COVID-19 and provide counseling and health care referrals.

The Family Van has also gone into communities to distribute COVID-19 information in multiple languages, along with face masks, diapers, baby formula and grocery store gift cards with funding from the Boston Resiliency Fund.

Much of the creativity and flexibility to respond to the coronavirus came from volunteers, according to the Family Vans volunteer program manager, Beatrice Antoine.

Our volunteerseven at a time that is so difficult to graspthey still want to help and encourage our clients as much as they can and empower them in any way they can, said Antoine.

Masks were needed at the time and a lot of the Family Vans clients did not have them, Antoine said. So, one volunteer, a local college student who had returned home after her Boston-area campus shut down, organized a mask-making drive at her university.

All of a sudden I would open the door and see all of these boxes of masks arrive at my door, Antoine said. I could have 500 masks delivered. This was all organized by one person. This was an effort to show that anything counts. Anything you can do to help is something worth acknowledging.

Joanne Suarez joined the Family Van almost a year ago as a community health assistant. Living in East Boston she had seen the Family Van in her neighborhood and heard from neighbors about the work the program did.

I said, I have to be a part of that, said Suarez. When I came on board, I just felt alive. I still feel alive today.

Suarez completed a masters degree in in bioethics at Harvard Medical School this spring. She values the work she does with the Family Van and the way it allows her to support her community.

Every daywhether Im on my computer coordinating services or Im out in the communityI know that Im doing what I need to do to take care of my community.

While the impact of the coronavirus is unprecedented in recent memory, in many ways the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the pandemic have laid bare the circumstances that necessitated the Family Van program in the first place.

This pandemic has really highlighted some of the issues that we already know are existing in our communities, said Suarez. It has widened the chasm of how health disparities are impacting Black and brown communities.

Justice is a long haul, and Im very fortunate to be a part of the Van, that were doing this work, Suarez said.

Nancy Oriol, the Family Vans leadership council president and faculty associate dean for community engagement in medical education at HMS, co-founded the Family Van in 1992. At the time she was the director of the Division of Obstetric Anesthesia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. One of her patients had been hospitalized after having a seizure, she said. The patient had been experiencing headaches for weeks but hadnt wanted to "bother her doctor," Oriol said.

The experience made clear for Oriol the importance of meeting patients where they are and of treating all patients with respect and care.

Our students learn firsthand that trust, cultural humility and respect are essential components of health care, said Oriol of the medical students who have volunteered with the Family Van.

Looking back over the service the Family Van has provided for almost 30 years, Oriol is awed to see how the program has grown.

Working with the Family Van team has been amazing, Oriol said. Seeing how a simple idea has had ripples that went across the cityin fact, across the countryand into generations of medical students. Its justits awesome, thats all I can say.

Reflecting on her own tenure with the Family Van, Walker-White echoed Oriols gratitude.

It has humbled me, Walker-White said. If we look at people with eyes of love then were going to be able to prepare them, and were going to be able to take care of them the best way that we can.

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Taking It to the Streets - Harvard Medical School

The experience of activists in Santa Ana who pushed to change funding priorities for police shows the fragile nature of such movements.

A Defund the Police Story

Years ago, the jail in Santa Ana became a rallying cry for a political reform movement that eventually led the City Council to phase out immigrant detention at the facility, improve police accountability and spend more money on badly needed community services. In many ways, the effort foreshadowed what is happening in Los Angeles and other cities around the U.S. today as protesters call for an end to police brutality and sweeping social reforms.

But Santa Ana offers a cautionary tale for the defund the police movement.

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Among the police ranks, resentment grew. Santa Ana officers installed a new union president who accused the council of ignoring the citys silent majority. In the November 2016 election, the unions political action committee spent more than $400,000, public filings show. At the same time, the city was experiencing a surge in shootings; it saw 23 homicides that year, nearly double the previous year. Voters elected two new council members supported by the union.

After another election cycle in 2018, the new City Council granted officers a generous package of raises and the police department, after years of reductions, went on a hiring spree, adding 50 officers.

Vaccine Scenarios

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, said a COVID-19 vaccine could become available earlier than expected if at least one of the three trials underway in the U.S. returns an overwhelming signal that it is safe and effective.

The independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board would make that call, as it does in all clinical trials. But critics say that stopping trials early could eliminate the chance to detect dangerous side effects, recruit more Black and Latino volunteers and understand the full results. Some public health experts are concerned President Trump will push for the trials to end before election day. But Fauci said he trusts the independent monitoring board, composed of nongovernment scientists, to be transparent with its recommendations. Trial results may be available as soon as mid-October.

Is the U.S. ready for a vaccine? An early rollout may make life more difficult for the state and local agencies that will be tasked with getting a vaccine out to their communities. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told them to be ready to go by Nov. 1, the earliest possible release of one. But decades of funding shortfalls have left them struggling.

More Top Coronavirus Headlines

The Trump administration is canceling some of its remaining orders for ventilators after having rushed to sign nearly $3 billion in emergency contracts in the spring. The Department of Health and Human Services says the national stockpile has now reached its maximum capacity.

Schools in L.A. County can reopen small classes beginning Sept. 14 for students with disabilities and English-language learners.

L.A. County officials are keeping shopping malls shuttered while allowing barbershops and hair salons to operate indoors again under certain restrictions.

For more, sign up for Coronavirus Today, a special edition of The Times Health and Science newsletter.

Stuck Behind the Fire Lines

Scores of residents throughout the California towns of Boulder Creek and Bonny Doon defied evacuation orders as the CZU Lightning Complex fire moved through the Santa Cruz Mountains during the last two weeks of August. But now theyve found themselves stuck in the mountains, reluctant to leave, fearing that public safety officers wont let them return home if they travel out to secure food, water and other necessities.

Under normal circumstances, evacuated residents would be allowed back in a few days. In the CZU fire, the flames are so spread out and in such rugged territory, the process is different. Evacuation orders are slowly being lifted for some areas, but authorities have suggested that the hardest hit parts of the fire zone could be shut down for weeks as power lines and roads are repaired.

A Long Sanctuary Stay

Shortly after President Trump took office and lowered the bar for who would be targeted for deportation from the U.S., about 45 people across the country sought refuge in churches. Most of those remain there to this day.

Rosa Sabido is one of them. She took sanctuary on June 2, 2017, inside the Mancos United Methodist Church in a deeply conservative corner of Colorado. In the more than three years Sabido has spent in the church, her mother has died, along with five elderly dogs she left with a stepfather. Two food trucks she once operated sit idle behind her empty mobile home in a nearby town.

I think we are all surprised that shes been here over three years, said the church pastor. Hopefully, it wont all be for naught.

In 1984 and 1985, Richard Ramirez, who would come to be known as the Night Stalker serial killer, evaded police as he committed murders, sexual assaults and burglaries across the Los Angeles area. But on Aug. 31, 1985, an East Los Angeles neighborhood worked together to stop a car theft, successfully capturing Ramirez in the process.

He attempted to steal a womans car on Hubbard Street and several neighbors came to her aid. One told The Times he yanked Ramirez from the car. Another beat him with a steel rod. They held him until police arrived and only later discovered the man had been the Night Stalker suspect. Ramirez was ultimately convicted of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries in 1989. He died in 2013.

Police cordon off the area on Hubbard Street in East L.A. where Richard Ramirez was captured after trying to steal a car on Aug. 31, 1985. Ramirez pulled a woman out of the car at left, but the womans husband came out of the house with a pipe and started to beat him. Ramirez ran and was tackled by a 21-year-old neighbor.

(Los Angeles Times)

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Prosecutors have begun dismissing felony cases that relied on the work of Los Angeles police officers charged this summer with falsifying records and obstructing justice by claiming without evidence that people they stopped were gang members.

The L.A. City Council voted to seek furloughs for more than 15,000 city workers, despite warnings that the move would harm critical city services and push police officers out of patrol cars and into desk duties.

A year after a fire aboard the Conception dive boat killed 34 people off Santa Cruz Island, the victims families are mourning and looking for answers.

For the first time in its 50-year history, Christopher Street West, the nonprofit organization that produces LA Pride, has named a Black transgender woman as president of its board.

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After Trumps visit Tuesday to Kenosha, Wis., Joe Biden said he would visit the city in his first campaign stop in the state since securing the Democratic presidential nomination.

The former vice president raised $364 million for his election effort in August, a record-shattering sum that will give Biden ample resources to compete in the final two months of the campaign.

Mississippi voters will decide whether to accept a new state flag with a magnolia to replace an old one legislators retired under pressure because it included the Confederate battle emblem.

Migrants are increasingly crossing a treacherous part of the Atlantic Ocean to reach the Canary Islands. Its a newer route to European territory that has become one of the most dangerous.

Netflix and ... Sussex? Prince Harry and Meghan have signed a deal with the streaming service to produce movies and series, including documentaries, features and childrens programming.

Running a dance studio in L.A. was notoriously challenging. Months into the pandemic, GoFundMes and goodbye announcements paint a picture of a dance landscape in crisis.

Hollywood has a new mogul in town: Steven A. Cohen, a Wall Street titan whose former hedge fund pleaded guilty to criminal insider trading.

Californias AB 5 was supposed to help gig workers but wound up hurting artists. Lawmakers have embraced a new plan that would loosen the rules for musicians and magicians.

Facebook says it is taking more steps to encourage voting and minimize misinformation, including restrictions on new political ads in the week before the election.

Its not clear what two pilots saw when they recently reported a man with a jetpack above Los Angeles International Airport. But what is clear is that jetpacks are real technology.

Teslas first true competitor is here: The Polestar 2. The Times Russ Mitchell says theres a lot to like about the electric car.

Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher who helped transform the expansion New York Mets from lovable losers to World Series champions in 1969, has died from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19, the Hall of Fame announced. He was 75.

Online workouts, virtual training sessions, new platforms for recruiting: Sports social media was changed by the pandemic and the new norms are here to stay.

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Schools in California are off to a better start than they had when they first switched to distance learning. But problems persist.

Legal affairs columnist Harry Litman calls Trump our first pro-vigilante president. Now stop and think about what that means.

Trump encouraged North Carolina residents to attempt to vote both via the mail and in person, seemingly urging them to commit voter fraud as a test of mail-in voting systems. (Politico)

How can concerts safely restart? A 1,500-person study in Germany, complete with soft rock, aims to find out. (The Hollywood Reporter)

It was the blowout that turned into a blowout. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to a San Francisco salon to get her hair done on Monday, and by the next day, Fox News was showing security camera footage of her inside the salon, passing by with wet hair and a mask wrapped around her neck while being trailed by a hairstylist who was wearing a mask. On Wednesday, Pelosi said she was set up by the salon owner, who in turn denied that allegation. But hours later, the stylist who blew out Pelosis hair released a statement through an attorney contradicting the owner and supporting Pelosis side of the story.

Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.

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Today's Headlines: A 'defund the police' story - Los Angeles Times

TheLED Indoor Lighting Marketis expected to grow from USD 3.79 Billion in 2018 to USD 10.55 Billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 12.52%. The high use of light emitting diodes as an alternative to florescent, HID and incandescent lighting has paved the way for large scale lighting of indoor light emitting diodes.

COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world and has brought about an economic slowdown. The report covers an impact analysis of the COVID-19 crisis on the overall industry. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the changing dynamics of the market and emerging trends and demands due to the pandemic. It also offers a current and future impact estimation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The dominant and slow-growing market segments are also analyzed in the report to provide a complete understanding of each key segment of the market. Emerging market players are also profiled in the report, along with their transition in the market. Strategic alliances such as mergers and acquisitions, product launches, joint ventures, collaborations, partnerships, agreements, and government deals are anticipated to change the market landscape and are included in the report. The report also provides quantitative and qualitative analysis and statistical data for the forecast period.

Key players of the market mentioned in the report are:

Digital Lumens, Inc. (United States), Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. (United States), Philips Lighting (Netherlands), General Electric Company (United States), OSRAM Licht AG (Germany), Honeywell International (United States), Cooper Industries, Inc. (Ireland), Legrand (France), Schneider Electric SE (France), among others.

Research Methodology:

The research report is formulated by extensive primary and secondary research gathered by the research analysts. The data is further validated and verified by industry experts and have assisted in compiling the parametric estimations of the market for a comprehensive study. The competitive landscape data is provided by SWOT analysis of each market player along with feasibility analysis, investment return analysis, and Porters Five Forces analysis.

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Reports and Data have segmented the market on the basis of solutions, services, deployment model and regional analysis.

Light Source (Revenue, USD Million; 20162026)

Application (Revenue, USD Million; 20162026)

The research for the LED Indoor Lighting market based on global and regional analysis is an astute process of collecting and organizing the statistical data related to the services and products offered in the LED Indoor Lighting market. The research provides an insight to better understand the needs and wants of the targeted consumer audience. The report also provides an analysis of how efficient the company is to achieve the set targets. The research report is compiled using customer insights, marketing strategies, competitive landscape analysis, and overall growth trends of the market. The LED Indoor Lighting industry is consolidated by several new players entering the market.

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Regional Bifurcation of the Market: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.

Key offerings of the Global LED Indoor Lighting Market Report:

To get the Report Description and TOC, visit @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/led-indoor-lighting-market

Thank you for reading our report. For further information or query regarding customization, kindly get in touch with us. Our team will make sure the report is customized according to your needs.

David is an Experience Business writer who regularly contributes to the blog, He specializes in manufacturing news

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LED Indoor Lighting Market Research 2020: Region Wise Analysis of Top Players in Market by Its Types and Application - The PRNews Pulse

Indoor Luminaires Market Los Angeles, United State, , The research study presented here is an intelligent take on the global Indoor Luminaires Market that explains important aspects such as competition, segmentation, and regional growth in great detail. Accuracy and preciseness are two of the key features of the report that reflect its authenticity. The authors of the report have focused on SWOT analysis, Porters Five Forces analysis, and PESTLE analysis of the global Indoor Luminaires market. In addition, they have concentrated on qualitative and quantitative analyses to help with a deep understanding of the global Indoor Luminaires market. Furthermore, the report provides powerful suggestions and recommendations to help players create strong growth strategies and ensure impressive sales in the global Indoor Luminaires market.

As part of competitive analysis, the research study includes exhaustive company profiling of leading players of the global Indoor Luminaires market. All of the segments studied in the report are analyzed based on different factors such as market share, revenue, and CAGR. The analysts have also thoroughly analyzed different regions such as North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific on the basis of production, revenue, and sales in the global Indoor Luminaires market. The researchers used advanced primary and secondary research methodologies and tools for preparing this report on the global Indoor Luminaires market.

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Indoor Luminaires Market Leading Players

GE Lighting, Philips Lighting, Osram, EatonCooper, Toshiba, Panasonic, Acuity Brands, Thorn Lighting

Indoor Luminaires Market Product Type Segments

Incandescent Lamp, LED Lamp, Halogen Lamp, Fluorescent Lamp, Xenon Lamp, Others

Indoor Luminaires Market Application Segments

Household, Commercial, Industrial

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

1 Indoor Luminaires Market Overview

1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Indoor Luminaires

1.2 Indoor Luminaires Segment by Type

1.2.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Production Growth Rate Comparison by Type (2014-2025)

1.2.2 Incandescent Lamp

1.2.3 LED Lamp

1.2.4 Halogen Lamp

1.2.5 Fluorescent Lamp

1.2.6 Xenon Lamp

1.2.7 Others

1.3 Indoor Luminaires Segment by Application

1.3.1 Indoor Luminaires Consumption Comparison by Application (2014-2025)

1.3.2 Household

1.3.3 Commercial

1.3.4 Industrial

1.3 Global Indoor Luminaires Market by Region

1.3.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Market Size Region

1.3.2 North America Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.3.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.3.4 China Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.3.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.3.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.3.7 India Status and Prospect (2014-2025)

1.4 Global Indoor Luminaires Market Size

1.4.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Revenue (2014-2025)

1.4.2 Global Indoor Luminaires Production (2014-2025)

2 Global Indoor Luminaires Market Competition by Manufacturers

2.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Production Market Share by Manufacturers (2014-2019)

2.2 Global Indoor Luminaires Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2014-2019)

2.3 Global Indoor Luminaires Average Price by Manufacturers (2014-2019)

2.4 Manufacturers Indoor Luminaires Production Sites, Area Served, Product Types

2.5 Indoor Luminaires Market Competitive Situation and Trends

2.5.1 Indoor Luminaires Market Concentration Rate

2.5.2 Indoor Luminaires Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers

2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion

3 Global Indoor Luminaires Production Market Share by Regions

3.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Production Market Share by Regions

3.2 Global Indoor Luminaires Revenue Market Share by Regions (2014-2019)

3.3 Global Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.4 North America Indoor Luminaires Production

3.4.1 North America Indoor Luminaires Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.4.2 North America Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.5 Europe Indoor Luminaires Production

3.5.1 Europe Indoor Luminaires Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.5.2 Europe Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.6 China Indoor Luminaires Production (2014-2019)

3.6.1 China Indoor Luminaires Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.6.2 China Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

3.7 Japan Indoor Luminaires Production (2014-2019)

3.7.1 Japan Indoor Luminaires Production Growth Rate (2014-2019)

3.7.2 Japan Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

4 Global Indoor Luminaires Consumption by Regions

4.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Consumption by Regions

4.2 North America Indoor Luminaires Consumption (2014-2019)

4.3 Europe Indoor Luminaires Consumption (2014-2019)

4.4 China Indoor Luminaires Consumption (2014-2019)

4.5 Japan Indoor Luminaires Consumption (2014-2019)

5 Global Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price Trend by Type

5.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Production Market Share by Type (2014-2019)

5.2 Global Indoor Luminaires Revenue Market Share by Type (2014-2019)

5.3 Global Indoor Luminaires Price by Type (2014-2019)

5.4 Global Indoor Luminaires Production Growth by Type (2014-2019)

6 Global Indoor Luminaires Market Analysis by Applications

6.1 Global Indoor Luminaires Consumption Market Share by Application (2014-2019)

6.2 Global Indoor Luminaires Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2014-2019)

7 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Indoor Luminaires Business

7.1 GE Lighting

7.1.1 GE Lighting Indoor Luminaires Production Sites and Area Served

7.1.2 Indoor Luminaires Product Introduction, Application and Specification

7.1.3 GE Lighting Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

7.1.4 Main Business and Markets Served

7.2 Philips Lighting

7.2.1 Philips Lighting Indoor Luminaires Production Sites and Area Served

7.2.2 Indoor Luminaires Product Introduction, Application and Specification

7.2.3 Philips Lighting Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

7.2.4 Main Business and Markets Served

7.3 Osram

7.3.1 Osram Indoor Luminaires Production Sites and Area Served

7.3.2 Indoor Luminaires Product Introduction, Application and Specification

7.3.3 Osram Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

7.3.4 Main Business and Markets Served

7.4 EatonCooper

7.4.1 EatonCooper Indoor Luminaires Production Sites and Area Served

7.4.2 Indoor Luminaires Product Introduction, Application and Specification

7.4.3 EatonCooper Indoor Luminaires Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2014-2019)

7.4.4 Main Business and Markets Served

7.5 Toshiba

7.5.1 Toshiba Indoor Luminaires Production Sites and Area Served

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Global Indoor Luminaires market:Revenue, Sales, and Profit Margin Forecasts |GE Lighting, Philips Lighting, Osram - Weekly Wall

At Eurofase, we understand how lighting plays an integral role in your room experience, from setting the tone for each space to accenting what is in the room. As artists and lighting designers, we recognize the impact lighting has in our lives, helping us enjoy time together, sparking inspiration, and blending work and home lifestyles. Our new and updated collections embrace lightings important presence in both home and commercial spaces while adding a stunning decorative quality.

With designs that are inspired by a variety of elements geometric shapes, mid-century art, vintage styles, and nature our newest collections not only represent our vision as a brand but also ensure we bring you the best and most beautiful lighting that you will not find anywhere else.

Every collection has something unique to offer, and the 10 new collections and 7 line extensions from our July release are no exception.The Leonardelli collection, is inspired by the grand design of the celestial alignments. With dozens of small LED lights arranged in a breath-takingly beautiful design with a polished chrome frame, this is a must have in any space.

The Campisi collection blends the timelessness and charm of a candelabra and the openness of delicate hand-blown glass, creating a transitional design that has endless possibilities in multiple room types. The clear glass looks almost suspended by the frame, with the two working together to create a light, transparent feel.

Another new collection this season is the Metallo Mid-century contemporary style meets a vintage, almost rustic design with a bit of a medieval influence. With its hand-rolled soft curves, gentle bend in the natural brass-plated metal and warm tones, the Metallo collection lends an inviting, calming feel to multiple settings.

Switch to a modern setting and you will have our Ombra collection to enchant you. Indirect lighting is cast upward into circular blades, discretely held by the outer frame and direct, integrated LED lighting is cast downward for a dramatic interplay of light and shadows in this seamless design. For added versatility, Ombra is available in a larger oval chandelier or smaller circular pendant plus two finish options: precision laser-cut black blades accentuated by a natural brass frame or dark bronze frame with laser-cut chrome blades.

A great success is the Aerie collection now extended to include multiple sizes and colors. Inspired by free-flowing, gilded branches of gold and silver leaves which flow elegantly within an open-cage design linear frame made from solid cast brass. The thin twigs are handcrafted with metal foil and accentuated by pinhole recessed LED lighting to add a luxurious glow to this beautiful, nature-inspired collection.

Designed to make a statement, the Bloomfield collection is now available in gold and black. Made with delicate and high-gloss metal chains which cascade like gleaming streams of water this lustrous, transitional piece that is created to be a topic of any conversation. Resembling armored chain mail, the lustrous, hand-painted mesh envelops each integrated LED light to add a soft, shimmering glow.

Several more exciting new collections are available in our newest release. Theres no time like the present to create exceptional indoor spaces, and our latest additions are here to help make your vision a reality.

To learn more, visit http://www.eurofase.com.

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Eurofase Lighting Introductions Balance Lighting's Beauty and Function - Furniture Lighting & Decor

The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) on the list of priorities for commercial building owners. What was once a supplemental benefit for occupant comfort has now become a core responsibility that is imperative to the health and safety of tenants. Many property owners are toeing the line between pouring capital into enhancing their IAQ measures through increased ventilation rates, improved filtration, and disinfection technology in an effort to minimize transmission rates for this novel virus.

Incorporating more outside air is recommended but costly, and many arent sure where or what exactly to invest in to ensure occupants are safe, while keeping capital expenditures and increased energy costs in check. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) circulated new IAQ guidelines for buildings that are continuing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is a framework and not a clear-cut solution for addressing the current crisis.

Commercial property owners need to evaluate three things before changing how they operate: They need to understand what types of mitigation measures their existing equipment and infrastructure can support, how much they are willing to invest, and which solutions will be most beneficial to them moving forward as we navigate through the new normal. There are a number of solutions available to optimize IAQ, and by taking these three steps, building owners will be in a much better position to keep occupants safe, happy, and comfortable.

Evidence points to COVID-19 being an airborne virus, spread from person to person through droplets. In commercial buildings, transmission risk can be mitigated by increasing the air change rate for outside air ventilation. Pulling in more outside air can dilute potentially contaminated air so occupants are less likely to be exposed to recirculated infected droplets. By replacing contaminated indoor air with fresh outside air, dilution decreases the potential concentration of infectious particles. Coupling dilution with filtration and disinfection provides a strong, three-pronged approach to minimizing transmission risks.

Many commercial buildings use demand-controlled ventilation (DCV), which adjusts outside ventilation based on occupant demands, as a simple way to save on both energy and costs. The aforementioned recommendations from ASHRAE, designed specifically to help buildings address the COVID-19 pandemic, advise against this and instead, recommend keeping outdoor air dampers as fully open as possible to maximize the air changes within the space. To do this, existing control sequences and economizer limits will need to be temporarily modified or overridden. Commercial HVAC systems will typically have either air-side or water-side economizers, which are used when there is a cooling demand in the facilitybut if ambient conditions are sufficiently cool, then outside air can be used instead of mechanical cooling to save energy. Under normal circumstances, equipment with air-side economizers will only fully open outdoor air dampers if the outdoor air temperature is sufficiently cool.

During the pandemic, the programming of the controllers which handle this action should be modified to make the system operate differently. Since most commercial HVAC equipment is not sized to handle 100 percent outdoor air during peak summer and winter conditions, the programming could be modified so that it will allow the dampers to fully open up to a certain outside air temperature, and then linearly and inversely throttle them closed as the outdoor air temperature rises. As a theoretical example, if the outside air temperature is below 80 F, the outside air damper will remain fully open. Between 80 F and 100 F, the damper will close from 100 percent open down to 50 percent open.

Facility managers will need to consider the thermal capacities of their equipment to ensure the air can be adequately conditioned and adjust ventilation rates down when ambient conditions are at their peak. Extending system schedules both before and after normal occupancy times is also recommended to purge the space. Unfortunately, drastically increasing outside air ventilation can be very expensive depending on the climate of the facilities location, so coupling some level of dilution ventilation with other mitigation measures might be the best approach for many facilities.

Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) is the application of UV energy to irradiate organisms, altering the structure of the organisms DNA and stopping replication. While the entire UV spectrum is capable of inactivating microorganisms, UV-C energy is most effective in providing a germicidal effect, with 265 mm being the optimum wavelength.

Overall, there are four main types of disinfecting systems that use UV-C energy. First, UV-C lamps installed in the AHU downstream of the cooling coil provide surface disinfection of the coil surface, in addition to some disinfection of the airstream itself. UV-C lamps installed in ductwork use high UV doses to inactivate microorganisms on the fly, as they pass through an irradiance zone. (The distance of the irradiance zone will be determined by the velocity of the air stream.) There is a minimum UV exposure time, meaning the microorganism must be in this treated area for sufficiently long to be inactivated.

UV-C upper air disinfection uses UV fixtures mounted in occupied spaces near the ceiling, which could be considered when there is limited or no mechanical ventilation. When ventilation is insufficient, however, supplemental fans might be required. Portable room decontamination using UV LED lighting is for surface decontamination, which has been used for some time to disinfect patient rooms in hospitals after patients are discharged, and before a new patient moves in. They could also be used to disinfect classrooms, gyms, and other spaces. Its important to keep in mind that the room should be completely unoccupied during the disinfection process.

According to the ASHRAE Position Document on Infectious Aerosols , infectious aerosols can pose an exposure risk, regardless of whether or not an infectious disease is defined as an airborne. Larger droplets, containing pathogens, can remain airborne longer if the airflow allows for extended suspension, as noted in a paper titled, Recognition of aerosol transmission of infectious agents: a commentary. Propagation of these pathogens makes it possible for individuals to be infected, even when theyre at a farther distance from the original source. Increasing central HVAC filtration to the highest level achievable, without compromising system operation, should be considered. MERV, known as Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, indicates a filters ability to capture various size particles. The higher MERV rating the better, as higher MERV ratings remove smaller and more harmful contaminants from the air. To capture the most airborne contaminants, increase the AHU filtration to the highest equivalent MERV level the equipment can handle, with MERV-13 filtration as a minimum. Determining the highest filter efficiency fan systems can handle is best done in collaboration with either a commissioning provider or a testing and balancing firm.

When it comes to air filters, there are two important factors to consider: the size of particles the filter can capture and the efficiency of that filter to capture those particles. High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can capture 99.97 percent of particles down to 0.3 microns in diameter, but they inflict a substantial pressure drop to the air system. While equipment designed for use in healthcare facilities likely accounted for this, HEPA filtration was usually not considered in the design of commercial office HVAC systems. The latest electronic disinfecting filtration systems can exceed the performance of HEPA, both in terms of particulate size and efficiency with a pressure drop closer to standard filtration media. One variation of this disinfecting filtration system is portable self-contained units, which can be used in high-risk or heavily trafficked areas, such as a lobby or conference room. Alternatively, the filtration system of a central air handling unit can be replaced or supplemented by a modular deployment of these filters. These systems work by first, using a standard pre-filter to capture large particles before having the air pass through a high energy grid. This causes an agglomeration of ultrafine particles, making them larger and easier to capture in the final filter. High voltage energy is then applied to this filter to actually disinfect and kill the contaminants. While this is more costly compared to standard passive filters, its highly effective.

When central ventilation system filtration is either not possible or feasible, adding portable room air cleaners with HEPA or electronic disinfectant filtration systems can have a similar effect. The visibility of the equipment to the occupants also provides an added layer of comfort. While portable air filtration units make the most sense in specific high traffic areas, their limiting factor is in how much air they can move through them with their internal fan. In commercial spaces, these are often used as add-ons to other methods, such as improving filtration. Compared to other solutions, contaminants do not need to be brought back to the AHU to be captured by filters or neutralized with UV light, as the ions are created in the supply air and perform once in the occupied space.

Bipolar ionization is an emerging technology that utilizes high voltage electrodes to create reactive ions that react with airborne contaminants, including viruses. Whereas other solutions require contaminants to be recirculated back to the equipment to either be captured or killed by filtration or UV irradiation, this technology compliments those strategies by distributing disinfecting ions directly into the occupied spaces, where they can neutralize volatile organic compounds and other contaminants at the source. While bipolar ionization is still being thoroughly tested, early results have been positive. A recent study indicated that coronavirus was reduced by 99.92 percent within 30 minutes.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this approach has piqued the interest of many property owners who see it as a no-energy solution for occupant safety. In the past, bipolar ionization was deemed an effective solution for fighting outbreaks such as SARS, norovirus, and strains of influenza but its efficacy for the novel coronavirus is still being examined. Some facilities, specifically large airports, have shown their faith in this technology and are currently utilizing it, such as Los Angeles World Airport, Chicagos OHare, Fort Lauderdale International, and Tokyos Narita Airport.

Overall, building sanitization and indoor air quality will be viewed through a different lens in the future, as weve seen and experienced just how critical it is to maintain a safe and comfortable building environment. Certainly, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will shift the building industry in several ways. Moving forward, our society will need to thoroughly adapt to mitigate the risk of virus spread and further infection. Creating healthy buildings has already been gaining traction in newer buildings, with programs such as LEED and WELL leading the way. Indoor air quality has been a key component of both, though ultimately only a small fraction of the overall built environment is certified. Buildings that can provide better indoor air quality are going to be at an advantage in attracting high quality tenants. While in the short term, making IAQ investments might be looked at solely as getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. Going forward, tenants will likely demand spaces that provide high levels of indoor air quality as a standard.

Its imperative to be cautious, aware, and proactive when it comes to halting the spread of COVID-19 and preventing the potential for future outbreaks. When starting to craft your response plan, property owners need to evaluate the types of mitigation measures their infrastructure and equipment can support, determine what their budget is, and identify what available options will be the most beneficial within that budget. There are a variety of IAQ solutions and approaches including UVGI disinfection, bipolar ionization, and HEPA filters that can support ventilation and dilution efforts with outside air. Its important to evaluate which options exist, the amount of energy they use, and how they fit within the budget and decide what could be the most practical for the building as a whole. By following these steps and ASHRAES framework, property owners could more effectively navigate this new normal by keeping occupant safety a priority, while also maintaining compliance and avoiding costly bills.

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The Connection Between Indoor Air Quality and Outside Air - Propmodo