5 must reads for the AEC industry today: July 16, 2020

1. Building pride: A Reflection of LGBTQ rights in construction (VIatechnik blog)
"The Supreme Court did its job. The rest is up to us."

2. 1928 hotel reimagined as new residential and cultural hub in Merced, Calif. (BD+C)
"The 73,670-sf building is located in downtown Merced, Calif., near several new cultural destinations. The mixed-use residential offering welcomes residents and visitors with a fully restored lobby marked by high ceilings, original plaster detailing, and a large skylight that fills the space with natural light."

3. New Cal Poly Research and Innovation Center includes features for a COVID-19 world (BD+C)
"The four-story, 103,800-sf Center is dedicated to undergraduate students who engage in faculty-mentored research each year and work side-by-side with professors. The Frost Center will bring three colleges together under one roof"

4. Georgia gives the go-ahead for tall mass timber construction (BD+C)
"Standards review scheduled to be completed by July 2021."

5. Walgreens plans hundreds of doctor's offices at its stores (Bisnow)
"Walgreens Boots Alliance is planning to open 500 to 700 clinics at Walgreens sites in 30 U.S. markets over the next five years. The company said it will enact the plan in partnership with VillageMD, a Chicago-based primary care provider. The clinics will include doctors on staff."

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.