5 must reads for the AEC industry today: July 24, 2020

1. Two eight-story residential towers and a dining commons complete on Cal Poly Pomona’s campus (BD+C)
"In an attempt to eliminate its reputation as a commuter school, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) has recently completed construction of two new eight-story residential towers and a dining commons."

2. New LEED guidance from USGBC helps cities and communities expand resilience efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (USGBC)
"Between the increasing risks associated with climate change and the current public health crisis, the new LEED credits provide additional ways to integrate public health and social equity into sustainability and resilience efforts."

3. North Carolina will stop relying on FEMA flood mapping (BD+C)
"Instead, the state will strive to compile its own data. Officials say FEMA maps have not been updated quickly enough based on recent experience. As proof, they say that more than 77% of homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 were not located in federally designated flood zones."

4. Company buying Gold’s Gym out of bankruptcy has business model to reshape entire U.S. gym industry (Bisnow)
"One of the nation's largest gym brands, Gold's Gym, is about to be acquired out of bankruptcy by German company RSG Group GmbH. RSG is an omnichannel brand, known for its digital workout offerings as much as its footprint of gyms across Europe."

5. U.S. homebuilder optimism continues recovery as buyers return (Bloomberg via National Real Estate Investor)
"The housing market continued to attract buyers looking for more space and attracted by low interest rates."

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.