Industry News: COVID-19 Updates and Healthy Buildings  

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) is Congressionally mandated to assist the built environment, bringing experts to the table to discuss and tackle challenges that face our industry. This responsibility is more critical than ever.

Our team has come together to personally curate and build a resource for those looking for recent developments, financial assistance information, webinars and events, continuing education, and other impacts of the coronavirus on the building sector. This collection of resources will live permanently on the Whole Building Design Guide–WBDG where this new resource hub is regularly updated as new information becomes available.

Our No. 1 priority during this unprecedented time is the safety and health of our workforce. We aim to improve lives through collaboration, and it’s our hope this information will fit the needs of the industry. If you have a news item or information that you would like included, please send it to wbdg@nibs.org.

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Apr 8, 2021
Inside the Building Industry's Supply Chain Setback
Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Economics
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Jan 11, 2021
What Makes Building Ventilation Good Enough to Withstand a Pandemic?
Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Indoor Air Quality
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Dec 15, 2020
Modular Construction Meets Changing Needs in the Pandemic
Topics
  • Building Science
  • COVID-19
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Dec 9, 2020
Report: Pandemic has accelerated contech adoption
Topics
  • Building Information Modeling (BIM)
  • COVID-19
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Dec 6, 2020
UV-C for Coronavirus-Resilient Buildings

Short-wave ultraviolet (UV) C (UV-C) energy—similar to sun rays—can be used to destroy airborne and surface-bound microbes, including chickenpox, measles, mumps, tuberculosis (TB), and cold viruses. In May 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended to businesses preparing to reopen following the pandemic the use of germicidal UV to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission. ASHRAE has recognized that the UV-C wavelength inactivates virtually all microorganisms living on HVACR surfaces, with kill ratios of up to 99 percent, depending on the intensity of the UV-C and the length of exposure. Facility professionals can utilize germicidal-UV technologies to greatly reduce concentrations of pathogens in a highly reliable and cost effective fashion.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Lighting
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Dec 3, 2020
Workplace Reimagined: COVID-19 Reshapes the Modern Office Experience
Topics
  • Building Science
  • COVID-19
Dec 1, 2020
Groundbreaking Nationwide Covid-19 Impact Study Finds Commercial Real Estate at a Critical Inflection Point
Topics
  • Building Science
  • COVID-19
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Oct 26, 2020
Post-Covid Office Building Has Arrived
Topics
  • Building Science
  • COVID-19
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Oct 1, 2020
AIA releases 3D models, strategies for reducing risk of COVID-19 in polling places

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is releasing a new resource and 3D illustrations for election administrators today that provides strategies for reducing COVID-19 transmission risk in polling places. Developed in an effort to protect voters and polling place workers on Election Day, the resource provides architectural, engineering, operational and administrative strategies that election administrators and polling place workers can employ—as well as modify—for polling places and voting centers.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Risk Management
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Sep 9, 2020
Fresh Air and Daylight – The Importance of Healthy Buildings in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that wellness considerations are no longer a mere value-add to a building, but rather a necessary element in allowing larger groups to safely reoccupy a space. Buildings already designed to LEED, WELL or Fitwel requirements have a leg up in this area. Designing for environmental health and lower carbon impacts have long been key selling points of these rating systems, but each feature criteria works to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and help occupants adjust safely to a new normal.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Indoor Air Quality
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Sep 1, 2020
Universal Design: A tool for creating equitable spaces after COVID-19

Universal Design is a philosophy that emerged in the 1960’s to champion the design of inclusive products and environments for all, regardless of age, ability, size or background. While Universal Design is often seen as being singularly focused on disability inclusion, the underlying goal was always to create products and environments that were usable to the greatest extent possible by the greatest number of people possible. As the building industry mobilizes its response for post-pandemic design, we must be asking ourselves how we can apply a similar lens of equity to future design solutions.

Topics
  • Building Science
  • COVID-19
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Aug 1, 2020
How Healthy Buildings Can Help in the Fight Against COVID-19

BOMA International interviewed Dr. Joseph Allen, DSc, MPH, author of Healthy Buildings and the Post-Coronavirus Office Landscape on safely returning to facilities. The science is clear: the indoor environment has a major influence over people’s ability to think and solve problems. Dr. Allen argues that "the costs for a healthy building are downright trivial when you account for the human health benefits—both in terms of health and productivity."

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Facility Management
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Jun 15, 2020
GIS Systems Lead Response to COVID-19

The widespread use of GIS for COVID-19 response has demonstrated the power of geospatial thinking and the scalability, speed, and insight provided by GIS. More than simply mapping phenomena, GIS uses geography to furnish context for events in a common reference system. Applying spatial analysis tools, GIS brings out the relationships, patterns, and associations that are often hidden by the complexity of data. GIS has been critical to the ability of state and local governments to react to the pandemic.

Topics
  • Communication
  • COVID-19
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Jun 8, 2020
Why COVID-19 Raises The Stakes For Healthy Buildings

With the current state of affairs surrounding COVID-19 over-all healthy building design has become more important than ever before. Even before the pandemic struck, there were plenty of reasons to be concerned about air quality and ventilation in the buildings where we live and work. After all, healthier indoor environments don’t just keep us from getting sick—they also enhance cognitive performance. With this trend towards healthier building only projected to increase, the initial costs are far outweighed by the many benefits.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Indoor Air Quality
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Jun 3, 2020
IES Explains Germicidal UltraViolet in Simplified Format

The Illuminating Engineering Society website offers a simplified way to quickly see the frequently asked questions contained in the IES Photobiology Committee's Committee Report CR-2-20-V1: Germicidal UltraViolet. The full report, which contains supporting information on this topic as well as an introductory video, also is available on the site. The FAQs presented were vetted through the ANSI-approved standards development process through a consensus of volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Lighting
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Jun 1, 2020
ICC Extends 2021 and 2022 Committee Applications Deadline to June 15

Due to the current state of affairs surrounding COVID-19, the International Code Council is extending the application process for its 2021/2022 code development cycle call for code, interpretation and code correlation committees. The new deadline for applications will now be June 15, 2020. Understanding that modern building codes requires input from professionals throughout the building pipeline to be effective, the Code Council’s most important asset is the time and expertise of the volunteers that partake in numerous ICC committees. The call for committee members is the first step in the Code Council's code development process for its International Codes (I-Codes), which are developed on a three-year cycle.

Topics
  • Code Compliance
  • COVID-19
May 30, 2020
MASS Design Group's Q&A Discusses Architect’s Role in Controlling Infection

A question and answer session by international nonprofit MASS Design Group, published in ARCHITECT magazine on May 28, explores the role that architecture can play during health crises. Chris Scovel, MASS Design Group director, and Michael Murphy, founding principal and executive director, discussed MASS Design’s COVID-19 Task Group response, unique response to the homeless population and their particular vulnerability to COVID-19, and how the pandemic can help us understand the spaces around us more comprehensively.

Topics
  • Architecture
  • COVID-19
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May 29, 2020
Construction Dive: Who Pays for Extra Time, Work to Keep Construction Workers Safe?

Construction Dive website offers an interesting question-and-answer interview with Patrick J. Greene Jr., partner in Peckar & Abramson's Government Contracts Practice, discussion some of the legal and economic issues surrounding construction, during the COVID-19 era. Topics Greene tackles include: what types of guidance to follow, providing for a safe working environment while carrying the extra costs—as well as who pays for the costs—and how to develop a plan that addresses worker protection and project hygiene for new and existing projects.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Facility Construction
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May 28, 2020
JLL Offers New Guide on Building Re-Entry for Owners and Tenants

"As employees and tenants begin to return to the workplace, it is extremely important that when we open the doors, we are inviting everyone into a safe environment," writes Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Inc, commercial real estate services company, as an introduction to its new guide, returning to work in the next normal. The guide offers resources and advice for tenants and owners to navigate in three broad areas: reactivating space, respecting health and wellness, and revitalizing property and workplace operations. The guide is available for free download from the JLL website.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Facility Management
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May 28, 2020
VA Fulfills Its Fourth Mission: To Serve the Public in Times of Emergency

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has three missions promoting veterans’ health and wellbeing: veterans' health care, benefits, and its National Cemetery Administration. Its fourth mission is to improve the nation's preparedness in times of emergency to serve veterans as well as public health and safety programs at the national, state, and local levels. The VA website offers a weekly graphic dashboard, "By the Numbers," that offers a snapshot of the Department's efforts to serve veterans and the general public. The VA's website also offers real-time, map-based data on COVID-19 case counts at its facilities around the country and advice for veterans seeking medical and other services.

Topics
  • COVID-19
May 26, 2020
Gensler's "US Work from Home" Survey Indicates Most Prefer to Work in the Office Most of the Time

In conjunction with a third-party vendor, Gensler surveyed 2,300 workers across the US, and found that 70 percent of them want to work in the office for the majority of the work week. Interestingly, this percentage is consistent with workplace data that Gensler has been collecting since 2005; workers choose (when given the choice) to spend 72% of their average workweek in the office. The survey also finds that workers expect major changes in their workplaces when they return. The survey is one of many useful tools and interesting reads concerning the pandemic and beyond on Gensler's website.

Topics
  • COVID-19
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May 25, 2020
The Digital Twin: Tool of the New Normal?

AEC Café Editor Susan Smith blogs about the potential importance of the digital twin, a digital representation of a real structure that operates with actual data sensed from its real counterpart, as a tool of the "new normal" for civil design and construction. In "Bentley Civil Design's Answer to the New Normal: The Digital Twin," Smith relays discussions from a press briefing given by Bentley Systems about how the software giant is partnering with companies in other sectors of the building industry to collaborate on digital twins that operate in design and construction and through the operations phases of civil structures.

Topics
  • Civil Engineering
  • COVID-19
  • Information Technology
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May 22, 2020
APA Offers Resources for Helping Employees and Keeping Them Safe

Arthur Evans Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association (APA), urged participants of NIBS' May 19 COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall to "prepare the people as much as you prepare the building" for a post-quarantine return to the workplace. The APA offers a number of free resources highlighting research- and science-based recommendations and strategies for coping with communications, social distance, giving people choices, and encouraging social interaction.

Topics
  • Communication
  • COVID-19
  • Workforce Development
May 21, 2020
New Buildings Institute Offers Listings of COVID-19 Resources

New Buildings Institute is compiling lists of information resources relating to building operations, design and policy-making to advance energy efficiency, zero energy, and zero carbon buildings while addressing COVID-19. Sources include AIA, ASHRAE, BOMA, NIBS, and ULI, as well trade-specific and general interest publications.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Sustainable
May 20, 2020
Architecture Billings Index (ABI) Indicates Business Conditions at Firms Weakened Even Further

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI), produced monthly by the AIA Economics and Market Research Group, indicates that following March’s plummet, billings at architecture firms sank even lower in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to severely affect firm business. The ABI score declined to 29.3, a new all-time low for the index (a score below 50 indicates decreasing billings), with more than half of responding firms reporting a further decline in their firm billings from March to April. Some relief was provided to firms by loans through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). Of the firms responding, 84 percent indicated that they have applied for a loan through the PPP, with an additional 2 percent indicating that they still plan to apply.

Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Economics

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