COVID-19  

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.

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.