6 must reads for the AEC industry today: September 21, 2020

1. New Innovation Center should heighten Port San Antonio’s tech profile (BD+C)
"That campus is home to over 80 public- and private-sector employers, and supports more than 14,000 direct jobs in the fields of aerospace, defense, cybersecurity, robotics, and advanced manufacturing."

2. Follow up survey of U.S. code officials demonstrates importance of continued investment in virtual capabilities (ICC)
"From August 11 through September 3, 2020, more than 800 respondents from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia provided input. Respondents came from states as well as and local jurisdictions that range in size from 700 people to 4 million."

3. Four projects receive 2020 AIA/ALA Library Building Award (AIA)
"2020 AIA/ALA Library Building Award recipients must demonstrate design achievement, including a sense of place, purpose, ecology, environmental sustainability, and of history."

4. Infection control measures for airport terminals (BD+C)
"The airport “experience” of hurry up and wait leaves passengers often standing virtually on top of their fellow travelers in processing, security, and boarding queues, or at baggage carousels on their way out. And unless a person is sweating profusely or coughing violently, there’s no way to know by sight the physical condition of the person next to you."

5. Airbnb’s quick pivot to rural and suburban rentals helping it proceed with its IPO (National Real Estate Investor)
"The vacation rental site’s flexibility when it comes to its property portfolio helped it rebound much quicker than traditional hotels."

6. Rent payment tracker finds 76.4 percent of apartment households paid rent as of September 6 (National Multifamily Housing Council)
"The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)’s Rent Payment Tracker found 76.4 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by September 6 in its survey of 11.4 million units of professionally managed apartment units across the country. This is a 4.8-percentage point, or 552,796-household decrease from the share who paid rent through September 6, 2019 and compares to 79.3 percent that had paid by August 6, 2020. These data encompass a wide variety of market-rate rental properties across the United States, which can vary by size, type and average rental price."

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.