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

1. BIG imagines how we could live on the moon (BD+C)
"In partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, ICON will test lunar soil simulant with various processing and printing technologies. The tests will help design, develop, and demonstrate prototype elements for a possible future full-scale additive construction system that could print infrastructure on the moon."

2. The Weekly show: Decarbonizing Chicago, re-evaluating delayed projects, and the future of the jobsite (BD+C)
"The October 1 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand."

3. Two-thirds of metros shed construction jobs from August 2019 to August 2020 (AGC)
"Simonson noted that construction employment was stagnant in 29 metro areas and increased in only 88 areas (25%) over the past 12 months. Nineteen metros had all-time lows for August construction employment, while 33 areas had record highs for August, in data going back to 1990 for most areas."

4. Smart buildings stand on good data (VIATechnik)
"Today it seems every industry from appliances to cars are putting the word “smart” in front of their names. Similarly, inside and outside the built environment people have begun talking about smart buildings. With the growing sophistication of technology forward tenants, smart buildings and a digital user experience become key differentiators to in-demand facilities. We see a future where tenants see smart buildings as a necessary amenity, akin to high speed internet access."

5. Deadline extension for LEED 2009 project certifications (BD+C)
"LEED 2009 is currently closed for registration, but open for certification. To move to the newest versions of the rating system, LEED v4 and LEED v4.1, ahead, USGBC closed registration under LEED 2009 in October 2016."

6. AIA announces Small Project Award recipients (AIA)
"Now in its 17th year, the AIA Small Project Awards program—established by the Small Project Design (SPD) Knowledge Community—recognizes small-project practitioners for the high quality of their work."

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.