Global technology company Tencent is planning to build the 320-acre Net City in Shenzhen, China. The sustainable, self-contained development is being designed by NBBJ as a fully integrated 'city of the future' sited on 21 million sf of land. Terraced structures up to 30 stories tall will be nestled in abundant green spaces connected by pedestrian and cycle routes. Rooftop photovoltaic arrays will be mounted on most facilities.
Access to quick, reliable, and repeated testing has been one of the greatest challenges for businesses, institutions, and individuals during the SARS-CoV-2 crisis. HOK has partnered with Germfree Laboratories to design a mobile testing lab that will help large organizations to meet this urgent need. These self-contained biocontainment facilities can provide advanced, onsite capabilities for any setting.
Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, is enabling companies to re-open for business with the highest health and safety standards in place through its innovative Protek program. Protek harnesses science-based processes and protocols to mitigate environmental health risks in facilities, from existing buildings to new construction projects.
Morgan Stanley will resume trading at its New York headquarters by late June of 2020. Leveraging insights from the experience of reopening its offices in Asia, the company is implementing pre-entry temperature checks and incorporating signage for walking routes that maintain appropriate social distancing. Welcome kits will be provided that include hand sanitizer and masks, which will be worn whenever employees are away from their desks. The corporate cafeteria will offer boxed meals that can be ordered via app, with meeting rooms remaining closed for the present.
Gensler has published the results of its U.S. Work from Home Survey. The study explored the current experience of working from home during the pandemic and how this is influencing people’s expectations for the future workplace. The survey was conducted to help provide greater insight into the work-from-home experience and how the workplace will be designed in the post-COVID world. As a result, Gensler is building a better understanding of how to address pre-pandemic workplace issues, including the need for more space, less desk sharing, and more autonomy.
FM:Systems is offering a webcast that will enable facilities managers to connect data with effective decision making to drive strategic organizational change in response to SARS-CoV-2. "Understanding COVID's Impact on Your Organization's Space Utilization & Metrics" will air at 11:30 AM EST on June 10, 2020.
Siemens is offering a three-part webinar series: "Winning Projects Requiring Complex Building Technologies." Join David Weaver, Director of Smart Infrastructure at Siemens, for one, two, or all three half-hour sessions to learn how you can meet your clients' expectations and win new projects that require ever more complex and far-reaching technologies. Leveraging these innovative solutions can create the ideal user experience and enhance your reputation as a smart building contractor. Registration includes access to all three events.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released the Re-occupancy Assessment Tool in May of 2020 to provide strategies for limiting exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in buildings. Offering a framework of strategies and general mitigation measures, the tool was developed by AIA’s Disaster Assistance Committee to provide public officials, businesses, and architects with practices that protect occupant health, safety, and welfare.
At some point, we will power down our makeshift home offices and return to the workplace. What that will look like is the subject of much discussion, but many agree that office space will undergo a substantial post-pandemic redesign. Communal tables and benches might become a thing of the past, while the face shields we’ve come to see at the supermarket could take the form of plexiglass dividers between desks. It won’t be the end of collaboration, but it might be the end of the bustling, densely packed “collaboration spaces.”
Boston Real Estate COVID Consortium is creating a toolkit of strategies for workplace design, construction, and management in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The mission of the consortium is to share knowledge relating to current industry best practices, due diligence, and adapting to changes in codes and regulatory amendments for the post-pandemic working environment.
Exicure, a clinical-stage biotechnology firm, has leased 30,000 sf in The Labs in Chicago. Accommodating headquarters and research operations relocated from Skokie, Ill., the facility will accelerate the creation of innovative therapies for genetic disorders, inflammatory diseases, and cancer.
Merrick & Company are offering a free webinar on strategies for returning to work during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The one-hour session will begin at 1:00 PM EDT on May 7, 2020.
FM:Systems is offering a webcast detailing five key steps that will enable facilities managers to prepare for the return to the workplace. Delivered by Brian Haines, Vice President of Strategy for FM:Systems, "Strategic Planning When Returning to the Workplace" will air from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM EST on May 7, 2020.
Key takeaways will include:
Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield launched the Recovery Readiness Task Force (RRTF) in April of 2020 to lead the development of best practices, products, and partnerships to prepare clients for post-pandemic recovery and the eventual return to the workplace. Drawing on innovative strategies for design, construction, facilities management, and commercial cleaning protocols, the task force will offer a toolkit with step-by-step protocols for tenants and landlords to use as they begin planning the transition back to the workplace.
AMS CAD + CAFM Solutions is offering a webinar on a Phase One approach to leveraging technology to assist in the gradual transition back to the workplace. "How Technology Can Help Transition Back to the Workplace" will review areas of planning an initial return of employees to the workplace and how technology can assist in many areas from seating for social distancing to hoteling and hardware.
