6 must reads for the AEC industry today: July 2, 2020

1. Are hospitals prepared for the next pandemic? (BD+C)
"Caught off guard by COVID-19, healthcare systems take stock of the capacity and preparedness."

2. Construction spending declines 2.1% in May as drop in private work outweighs public pickup (AGC)
"Construction spending declined for the third month in a row in May as a sharp slowdown in private projects more than offset a rise in public work, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today."

3. COVID-19 public health guidelines may be downplaying building systems solutions (BD+C)
"Emphasis on cleaning surfaces overlooks importance of mechanical infrastructure."

4. Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman forecasts 'big V' economic recovery this summer (Business Insider)
"Economic reopenings will drive the first bounce-back but fail to completely bring the US back to 2019 levels of activity, he said during the Bloomberg Invest Global virtual conference."

5. How physical spaces may adapt to a post-COVID world (Forbes)
"Lots of questions are being asked about how life will change in the wake of COVID-19. Because physical distancing is a big part of that conversation, designers of physical spaces are among those expected to supply answers."

6. What, us worry? Multifamily developers sanguine about supply (Bisnow)
"Booming multifamily housing production, a pandemic and increasingly difficult restrictions on tours and amenities don't have the sector's biggest developers worried, they say."

One of the hardest decisions multifamily developers and their design teams have to make is what mix of amenities they’re going to put into each project. A lot of squiggly factors go into that decision: the type of community, the geographic market, local recreation preferences, climate/weather conditions, physical parameters, and of course the budget. The permutations are mind-boggling.