6 must reads for the AEC industry today: August 14, 2020

1. The largest single sloped solar array in the country completes (BD+C) 
"The $5 million project includes 4,784 silicon solar panels that cover 133,000 sf across the steel frame of the original 1943 building at a slope of 20 degrees. The panels were installed using an access platform netting material, called the Spider WorkWeb, and attached to the steel skeleton of the original mill building, which envelops the two new construction buildings below."

2. New VA care center showcases the agency’s P3 approach to financing healthcare facilities (BD+C) 
"The Omaha facility’s $86 million price tag was defrayed by $30 million in private contributions funneled through the nonprofit Heritage Services, the project’s construction manager, which donated its services and the building to the VA."

3. COVID-19 reboot guide offers strategies for reopening K-12 schools (BD+C) 
"The guide includes diagrams that describe how to revamp spaces to make them safer for the return of students."

4. Renewing the healing role of public parks (SmithGroup) 
"While we can’t accurately predict all the ways we will respond to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it should provide a moment of reflection as we see all too clearly the consequences of our exploitation and destruction of nature."

5. Urban multifamily dips In Q2 as renters look To lower-cost areas (Bisnow)
"Amid passable renewal rates and a lack of rent growth, some multifamily owners have reported that occupancy in urban multifamily assets fell during the second quarter, reflecting tenants’ shifting priorities in the face of the coronavirus pandemic."

6. Office markets under pressure as coronavirus squeezes cities (WSJ)
"Companies rethink rented space as remote work takes hold; fears of urban malaise begin to swirl."