COVID-19 Safety in Construction

The surge of COVID-19 cases during the past couple weeks is a wake-up call for all of us. Unfortunately, it appears life with the virus will continue to be our “new normal” for the foreseeable future. Until a vaccine is widely available, all businesses need to take precautions so employees, clients, and customers don’t catch and spread the disease. The construction industry is by no means immune (pardon the pun) to these concerns. What do experts recommend as the common-sense, best practices for minimizing the risk of transmission on construction jobsites? 

Last Wednesday’s June (virtual) meeting of the Construction Specifications Institute/Willamette Valley Chapter featured an informative presentation by David Kahn of Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, Inc. (FACS) on the subject of COVID-19 safety in construction. FACS is one of the country’s leading and most diverse industrial hygiene consulting firms. The company has stepped up during the current crisis by forming the COVID-19 FACS Expert Team, of which David is a member. The team has been continuously reviewing the latest data and guideline revisions to keep itself and FACS clients up to speed with the best science and right perspective on addressing the pandemic.  

Construction jobsites constitute unique and challenging settings in which project teams must overlay the recommended precautions associated with minimizing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Each site presents one-of-a-kind quandaries. There may be confined spaces to work in, limited access to others, and other environmental challenges. Construction work often requires cooperative efforts in proximity with other team members and at odds with physical distancing recommendations. Equipment is by necessity often shared. New workers cycle on and off the jobsite with regularity, and each may unknowingly be carrying the virus. Different trades must endure different work arrangements to get their jobs done. The necessary precautions may slow or disrupt work progress, and their implementation comes with costs. On top of this, there is uncertainty about how the insurance industry will address the incidence of COVID-19 cases specifically arising from construction activities.   

The implications for contractors, building owners, suppliers, design professionals, and others who may visit a construction site demand the development and application of a clear safety plan and a safe work practices program. David provided some guidance in this regard, touching upon the necessity of risk assessment, work modification, enhanced hygiene, social/physical distancing, and medical screening. In a nutshell, David emphasized how putting well-considered plans and work practices in place—communicating and enforcing site-specific requirements—is critical.  

Why should each construction project have its own Safety Plan? Why can’t a generic set of rules and practices be applied? As mentioned above, the primary reason is construction projects and jobsites almost always present unique conditions. Additionally, regulatory requirements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and with them the legal concerns and liability. Public perception and expectations regarding “acceptable” risk may vary from locale to locale. A significant reason for overlaying project-specific plans is the need for communicating a common strategy rather than allowing the owner or individual trades to default to their generic practices, thereby avoiding multiple sets of rules. The bottom line is a tailored Safety Plan is the responsible thing to do.  

The objectives of each project’s Safety Plan are to protect people, protect resources, protect the general contractor’s reputation, and to be defensible, practical, and flexible. Each plan consists of a Site Risk Assessment and a set of Safe Work Practices.  

Site Risk Assessment

A proper site risk assessment is a precursor to developing a project’s Safe Work Practices program. The assessment includes evaluation of the expected building condition, whether work can be staggered to limit occupancy, how much activity will occur indoors and within tight spaces, and whether workers will be in frequent contact with others. If the project is a renovation of an existing building, the questions to be asked might additionally include whether portions of the building not within the project scope will be occupied during construction and, if so, whether they the HVAC system will provide adequate levels of ventilation to mitigate the risks of virus transmission. Again, the key is understanding the particulars of the project to protect workers most effectively and everyone else associated with it.  

Safe Work Practices Program Elements

David outlined the key elements of a Safe Work Practices program for a construction project:

COVID-19 Safety Team

The COVID-19 Safety Team is comprised of a Core Team and an Extended Team for a given project. The Core Team possesses a command of the subject matter and organizational expertise. The Core Team is responsible for developing the Safe Work Practices Program and monitoring public health agency guidelines as they evolve to keep the program current.

The Extended Team implements the Safe Work Practices program, performs necessary training, enacts program provisions, represents individual constituencies within the organization, and solicits feedback regarding the program’s implementation.

Each Safety Team should have its dedicated COVID-19 safety coordinator.

Prevention

We’re all familiar by now with the recommended prevention practices: Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Stay home if sick. Wear a mask and use other PPE. Maintain social distancing. Clean and disinfect the worksite frequently. Medically screen workers before they step on site. Stagger trades and shifts to the extent practicable. All of these measures have proven effective and easy to understand. The challenge is to consistently and diligently apply them.

Response

If one or more persons on the project team contract the virus, the Safety Team will respond in accordance with established protocols. These include documenting the case, separating and isolating the individual or individuals, contact tracing, cleaning and disinfection, monitoring and validation, and follow-up as necessary.

Recordkeeping

Recordkeeping would include documenting the training conducted and also listing site, job, and task-specific activities. Keeping a log of all jobsite visitors (including their contact information) is an imperative, both to facilitate contact tracing and for verification and audit purposes. The Safe Work Practices program should also institute a formal record retention policy.

Supply Management

The Safe Work Practices program would also formalize the specification, procurement, distribution, and inventorying of necessary supplies, including PPE and cleaning products.

Additional Components

In the case of projects involving building sites that may be closed due to COVID-19 and subsequently reopened, the shutdown of water systems and HVAC systems—before closure, during closure, and before re-occupancy—presents its own set of issues. General contractors and occupants need to follow guidance for reopening buildings after a prolonged shutdown or reduced operation. Mitigating the risks of potential microbial hazards (such as mold in ducts or Legionella in standing or stagnant water systems) requires implementation of plans to control humidity, inspect and replace filters as indicated, and flush pipes and other systems.  

Safe work practices need to additionally include the public health practices for vendors that will enter the property during progressive states of pandemic concerns and mandated or recommended public access controls. These practices are to provide protection for the general contractor but also for the vendors, staff, or residents (of occupied projects).

Effective safety plans meet local state, federal guidelines and requirements. They are clear, concise, and effective statements communicating appropriate requirements and a commitment to measures that are feasible to implement.

As David explained, a well-drafted COVID plan—prepared with the assistance of consultants like the COVID-19 FACS Expert Team—coupled with training and consistent implementation of protocols is the best way to protect a company’s staff and employees and by extension their families. Additionally, having such a plan inserts a firewall to help protect project owners, GC’s, and other stakeholders by limiting liability.

The COVID-19 virus remains very dangerous and continues to pose a great threat to the health of the every one of us. Anybody involved in construction activities needs to be informed about, be aware of, and always follow safe work practices. Big thanks to David for sharing his insights and providing an essential primer on a topic of great importance today.

*    *    *    *    *    *

Following the meeting, Emily Ricker—FACS Client Services Coordinator—sent me the following list of resource information about COVID-19 and the construction industry’s response to the pandemic:

Government Resources

Oregon Health Authority COVID Main Page

https://govstatus.egov.com/OR-OHA-COVID-19

Oregon OSHA Guidance for Construction

https://osha.oregon.gov/covid19/Pages/covid-19-contractors.aspx

Washington Safe Start Construction Industry Guidance

https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/03.25.20-Construction%20Guidance%20Memo%20%28002%29.pdf

Washington L&I COVID Resource Page

https://www.lni.wa.gov/safety-health/safety-topics/topics/coronavirus

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention COVID-19

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

World Health Organization COVID-19

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

 

Other Useful Resources

Association of General Contractors COVID Main Page

https://www.agc.org/coronavirus

CPWR COVID-19 Construction Clearinghouse

http://covid.elcosh.org/index.php

NIEHS COVID-19 Worker Training Tools

https://tools.niehs.nih.gov/wetp/covid19worker/index.cfm

Swinerton Construction COVID Safety Plan

https://swinerton.com/covid-19-prevention-protocol/

Influences: Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier

An earlier blog entry of mine, “Genealogy of Influence,” promised a series of posts about the architects and theorists who influenced my architectural world view. This is the latest post in the series.

Today, more than a half-century since his death, the Swiss-French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1887-1965)—more widely known by his pseudonym Le Corbusier—remains a complex and polarizing figure when the subject of 20th century modern architecture is discussed. He is justly praised as one of the pioneers of the modern movement and as a prolific and wholly original polemicist of unwavering principle. He is also reviled for promoting abandonment of historical patterns of development in favor of a radically different and transformative models of urban life.

Jane Jacobs, among many others, regarded Le Corbusier’s vision of the “Ville Radieuse” as fundamentally wrong and ruinous for the cultures of cities. History has long since proven Jacobs right. Le Corbusier’s urban vision was simplistic, reductionist, and inflexible. He extolled the automobile as a symbol of modernity and believed architects had much to learn from their design, production, and use. His impassioned and provocative writings would influence an entire generation of city planners, to devastating effect. With the 1950s and 1960s federal policy of urban renewal, many U.S. cities embarked upon rebuilding their downtowns and constructing massive housing projects along the radical lines of Le Corbusier’s concept. Generations later, those cities continue to repair the damage done.  

Given the disapprobation many historians have for significant aspects of his legacy, why do I consider Le Corbusier personally influential? There are several reasons: 1) his larger-than-life persona and commitment to his beliefs; 2) his generation of novel and subversive architectural languages; and 3) my early exposure to his work.  

My reading of the book Le Corbusier and the Tragic View of Architecture by Charles Jencks shortly after its third printing in 1976 was my initial exposure to a second “hero architect,” the first being Frank Lloyd Wright years before. In the same fashion that stories of Wright’s fervent iconoclasm had enthralled me, I likewise found Jenck’s portrayal of Le Corbusier as an architect and artist perpetually at struggle with the world fascinating. Le Corbusier’s architecture and his empathy for a tragic Nietzschean view of the human condition greatly influenced his work. It’s clear now that as a young student of architecture, I was captivated by tales of architects as messianic prophets and by mercurial promises of utopian futures.

Villa Savoye, Poissy (photo by Valueyou, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License)

Jencks referred to Corbu as “protean,” meaning a tendency or ability to change frequently or easily. The great architect was variously and serially the leader of the “heroic period” of Modern architecture, the founder of “Purism,” a leading thinker of a new and unfortunate urbanism, and later the originator of “Brutalism.” My own perception of Le Corbusier favors viewing him as passionately and consistently committed to fundamentally changing how humans interacted with buildings. Unlike Philip Johnson, who famously declared “I do not believe in principles” and flitted effortlessly and without conviction between superficial styles, Le Corbusier appeared consistent in his belief in moral absolutism and its implications for modern life, architecture, and urban design.

Pavilion Le Corbusier, Zurich (photo by Roland zh / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0))

Of all the significant buildings found in Le Corbusier’s oeuvre, it is the enigmatic chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut at Ronchamp that is most appealing. Regrettably, while I did visit his Villa Savoye in Poissy-sur-Seine, the Cite’ de Refuge in Paris, the Fondation Suisse (also in Paris), and the Pavilion Le Corbusier in Zurich during my 1979 backpacking trip through Europe, I failed to make the pilgrimage to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region in the east of France to see what I consider my favorite Corb building. When the expressionistic design was first publicized, critics were taken aback by what they viewed as a marked shift away from the spare, functionalist forms of modernism Le Corbusier had earlier promoted; however, as Charles Jencks noted, there was nothing really new about the chapel insofar as Corbu’s rational approach to design is concerned. Jencks regarded Ronchamp as the “most religiously convincing building of the twentieth century.” Though he was an atheist, Le Corbusier’s attitude toward “cosmic truth and natural law” was “in every way as serious and profound as the attitudes of conventional religion.”   

Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp (photo by Valueyou, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License)

Few of Le Corbusier’s many followers would ever come close to matching his mastery of the austere aesthetics he pioneered. Taken in small doses, the best work in his idiom is poetic, viscerally emotional, and—yes—beautiful. Unfortunately, too many inferior examples of “Corbusian” designs were produced by architects of far lesser talent. The lesson here is one even Corbu (or Wright) failed to appreciate: the outsized influence of genius has its limitations and cannot effectively be replicated.   

 

Corner Stores

Park Grocery, Vancouver, B.C. (photo from the City of Vancouver Archives)

The building in the old photograph above figured prominently during my childhood years in Vancouver, British Columbia. I knew the 1911 building as the Park Grocery. Originally referred to as the Woodside Apartments and later as the Beacon Hill Grocery, the heritage property at 2598 Eton Street in the Hastings-Sunrise neighborhood is now listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. It stands today as a reminder of a time when you could find many similar stores serving the needs of their immediate neighborhoods throughout the city.

My family lived across the street from the Park Grocery. We frequented the store regularly, purchasing food staples like milk, bread, and fruit, as well as miscellaneous sundries including toilet paper, matches, and detergent. Good friends of ours lived on the second floor, in the apartment that occupied that entire story. The store itself was a magnet to the neighborhood’s free-range, baby-boomer children because it always featured a remarkable assortment of chocolate bars, other candies, and ice cream. My parents allowed my brothers and me to buy treats for ourselves every now and then (the amount of candy a dime could buy us back then was amazing).

The Park Grocery (and the other corner stores that proliferated during the early years of the 20^th century in Vancouver) certainly passed the so-called “popsicle test” of a well-designed neighborhood: If an 8-year-old kid can safely go somewhere to buy a popsicle, and get back home before it melts, chances are it's a neighborhood that works. I was that 8-year-old-kid and that was my neighborhood. 

Park Grocery, today (Google Street view)

The Park Grocery was only one such corner store well within a few minutes’ walk from our home. The McGill Grocery was a block to the north, and another dubbed the “Little Store” was a block away in the opposite direction. There were literally hundreds of similar stores scattered across the city, each serving as centers of well-connected, walkable communities—places where you interacted and bonded with your neighbors. The few that survive today are vestiges of an age predating the rise of Euclidean zoning policies that segregated uses into specific zones and precluded the inclusion of convenient retail services within both established and new residential enclaves. Those stores that remain (their approved use is “grandfathered” in) continue to offer opportunities for nearby, spur-of-the-moment shopping—opportunities that are otherwise lacking due to exclusionary zoning regulations.

The majority of Vancouver’s corner stores were independently owned and operated by first-generation immigrants. Most of these proprietors were from Asia—being Chinese, Korean, or Japanese—since operating such businesses represented one of the few entrepreneurial options available to them. They often lived above or behind the shop, which enabled them to operate both early and late in the day and on Saturdays.(1) Typically, store employees comprised members of the owner’s extended families. The shopkeepers knew all their customers because they were their neighbors too. 

 The Federal Store, 2601 Quebec Street, Vancouver (Google Street view)

Each corner store had its own unique and unaffected charm; none were or are franchises of faceless corporate enterprises like 7-Eleven or Circle K. And none were expressly designed to accommodate motorists, so they seldom were accompanied by off-street parking. Patronage almost always arrived on foot or on bicycles.

Even though many recognize their value, Vancouver’s corner stores have disappeared en masse in recent decades. Most were victims of Vancouver’s dramatic rise in property values and the concomitant increase in property taxes. Their meager profit margins could not keep up with increasing expenses. Many owners sold their shops; in turn the stores were often razed in favor of more profitable developments (usually outsized “McMansions” if the sites were zoned R-1). 

The Mighty Oak, 198 West 18th Avenue, Vancouver (Google Street view)

My decision to write about Vancouver’s historic corner stores goes beyond wistful reminiscing. I consider the subject of corner stores topical.(2) During the current global pandemic, how we live (and work, play, teach our children, and shop for essentials) has been turned on its head. Because we’re staying closer to and spending more time in our homes, the implications are profound for cities everywhere. Eugene is no exception. I recently predicted one outcome may be a trend toward “hyper-localism,” which favors the value of differentiated neighborhood centers. I suggested our neighborhoods may assume a degree of preeminence over Eugene’s greater identity, and that people may come to regard Eugene primarily as a constellation of neighborhoods, each with its own unique character and attractions. I believe small corner stores, locally owned and operated and serving the needs of immediate neighbors, can be part of that trend. The convenience and independence they can offer individuals with limited mobility options—such as persons who don’t own cars, individuals with disabilities, and seniors aging-in-place—are added benefits.

Hyper-localism may be a byproduct of the current stay-at-home orders and a movement toward increased flexibility in work arrangements. Employees may choose to continue to work from home even after the COVID-19 emergency subsides. People are becoming accustomed to walking more and avoiding places frequented by crowds. An attractive alternative to strategically planned trips in the SUV to pick up many bags of groceries at the mega-market may be opportunities for more frequent and convenient visits to a small corner store within walking distance.

Cardero Bottega, 1016 Cardero Street, Vancouver (Google Street view)

Despite social distancing dominating our lives, we crave human contact. We innately understand the importance of connections with others. Loneliness can take a toll during a pandemic. So, what does our need to maintain bonds with our neighbors and the broader community demand of urban design? Again, I believe hyper-localism and the availability of nearby centers offering the opportunity for frequent (and safe) interaction are keys. Such interaction is necessary to strengthen social cohesion and feelings of belonging. Back in the day, the corner store served as a nexus for impromptu sharing of news and gossip between neighbors. These impromptu interactions helped forge healthy community bonds.

A challenge, of course, is securing the financial health of independent, mom & pop businesses. One effective direction taken by several of Vancouver’s historic corner stores is to additionally become chic coffee shops. The high premiums commanded by their gourmet latte, espresso, and biscotti offerings help pay the bills. These corner stores continue to serve their original function but have transformed themselves to become part of the local café culture. Their small size assures numbers gathering are likewise kept small. The new owners of the Park Grocery plan to reopen their store along these lines. 

Le Marche St. George, 4393 St. George Street, Vancouver (Google Street view)

Michael Kimmelman of the New York Times recently questioned whether city life will survive the coronavirus:

“The coronavirus undermines our most basic ideas about community and, in particular, urban life. Pandemics prey on this relentlessly. They are anti-urban. They exploit our impulse to congregate. And our response so far—social distancing—not only runs up against our fundamental desires to interact, but also against the way we have built our cities and plazas, subways, and skyscrapers. They are all designed to be occupied and animated collectively. For many urban systems to work properly, density is the goal, not the enemy.”

The solution is to do density right. Community resilience in the event of future pandemics will be a function of several factors. Strengthening local services to cut back on travel so the spread of infections is reduced is a strategy I believe will gain traction. Emphasizing local services is necessary to preserve the most desirable characteristics of vibrant and compact urban developments in the face of arguments in opposition to density. And providing hyper-local, convenient places in which to shop for daily essentials and cross paths with your neighbors is key. This is all about the concept of the “20-minute neighborhood,” which requires giving people the ability to meet most of their everyday needs—including grocery shopping-- within a 20-minute walk of their home. I’m optimistic we may see broader acceptance of the concept and a resurgence of the neighborhood-oriented corner store as a ubiquitous component of resilient communities. 

(CC BY State Government of Victoria)

(1)    Sunday shopping in Canada was prohibited until the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the Lord’s Day Act in 1985 on the grounds that it contravened the freedom of religion provision in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

(2)    An article by former Vancouver planner Sandy James found at the link below inspired me to write this post and recall my own memories about corner stores:

https://pricetags.ca/2020/06/01/post-pandemic-trendsthe-return-of-the-corner-store/

A Moral Obligation

Black Lives Matter rally, Eugene, May 31, 2020 (photo by Melissa Nolledo)

I published last week’s blog post with some trepidation. I chose to not immediately address the senseless death of George Floyd, the ensuing outrage and pain, and why American society has allowed similar tragedies to occur so frequently and for so long. Instead, I reported on the most recent virtual meeting of the CSI-Willamette Valley Chapter. By doing so, I risked being labeled as “tone deaf” for ignoring the elephant in the room; however, I believed it was important to be as thoughtful as possible before weighing in.

 

Because I have this forum, the wrong thing to do is to say nothing. If I fail to acknowledge what is going on in the world, I am part of the problem. On the other hand, insincere virtue signaling is likewise problematic. Expressing outrage while doing nothing of substance is disingenuous.

 

I will keep my perspective in check because now is a time to listen and learn from the aggrieved and from those who seek justice for them. It’s certainly not about me, regardless of the fact I’m a member of a racial minority that can point to its own history of repression. The current, necessary, nationwide conversation about institutional, systemic racism is specific to the experience of African Americans. Distressingly, the shameful examples of abhorrent, state-sponsored violence directed toward them are far, far too numerous.

 

Since this is a nominally a blog about architecture and urban design, I am obliged to consider how everyday designers of the built environment can contribute toward righting the wrongs of the past and present. I don’t immediately know in what ways design can help crack entrenched and confounding societal problems. I do know many architects feel a moral obligation to help solve them.

 

Various organizations and spokespersons for the design professions have taken very public stances in response to the events of the past two weeks. The following are excerpts from some representative bodies (accompanied by links to the full statements):

The American Institute of Architects (https://www.aia.org/pages/6301167-aia-board-statement-on-systemic-racial-inj)

“AIA understands the disappointment of our past inaction and inadequate attention to the issue of systemic racial injustice. We were wrong not to address and work to correct the built world's role in perpetuating systemic racial injustice, including the use of slave and forced labor, designing housing that marginalized communities of color, helping to design communities that excluded people of color, and participating in municipal projects that destroyed or weakened thriving African American, Hispanic, and Native American communities.” 

 

AIA Oregon  (https://www.aiaoregon.org/newsfeed/2020/6/1/statement-from-aia-oregon-2020-president-amy-vohs-aia)

“As a predominately white profession, Oregon architects have a responsibility to use our privilege to push for lasting change. It is the mission of the AIA Oregon Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (CoEDI) to better reflect the global & demographic richness of our population through advocacy for under-represented groups in our profession. We remain focused on educational and training opportunities for our members to openly discuss inequities within our profession, and to listen and learn from people who are working to change viewpoints on race, gender, and identity within architecture. We will announce these opportunities as they arise.”

 

AIA Minnesota (https://www.aia-mn.org/broken/)

“What comes next in the wake of all that has happened depends upon us shedding our cynicism and lifting up what we already know: that the best of the built environment, the best of any product, system, or community, has always been the result of deep collaboration; and that the more diverse, equitable and inclusive the collaboration, the more creative and lasting the solutions. Instead of architects assuming we know what is right and jumping in to assert our experience, expertise, and good intentions, we need to step back, listen and be ready to learn, unlearn, and adapt.”

The National Organization of Minority Architects (https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14664-national-organization-of-minority-architects-publishes-statement-on-racial-injustice)

"As the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), we are calling on our members and our broader professional community to condemn racism and take an active role in eliminating the racial biases that account for a myriad of social, economic, and health disparities, and most importantly, result in the loss of human lives – Black lives. As architects, we are professionally responsible for protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The tragic execution of Black Americans at the hands of people infected by racism has plagued our nation for generations . . . As architects, how can we protect the health, safety and welfare of the public if our country is not properly including Black Americans as full members of our society?"

AIA New York and the Center for Architecture (https://www.aiany.org/news/dismantling-injustice-and-systemic-racism/)

“Now is the time to have more difficult conversations about what our community and profession can do to make change, and to work for justice and fair access to opportunity and wellbeing. An architect offers society specific skills that are not accessible to everyone and is often in a position of privilege; thus it falls on our community to put our hard-won problem-solving skills to work in the struggle for a more just and equitable society. This cannot be done if our profession continues to fail to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (https://savingplaces.org/press-center/media-resources/statement-on-death-of-george-floyd-and-the-aftermath#.Xt1eGG5Fyhd) 

“Each of us, in our own communities, businesses, and institutions at all levels, must commit to do all we can to create constructive spaces where justice and peace can flourish—including in those places that reflect our history as Americans. If we are successful, we will find our way to a more unified society, where outbreaks of pain and outrage will become only a thing of the past. We have much work to do in this country to acknowledge and shift a legacy begun hundreds of years ago, but I firmly believe we can find a way to healing and peace by respecting the humanity of every person, and by making that evident in the very fabric of our communities.”

 

Screenshot of the Miro board created during the June 5, 2020 AIA Oregon Social Justice Listening Session.

 

Of course, words are cheap. We will see if I and my colleagues in architecture truly become part of the solution. The challenge before all of us is formidable but perhaps a cue for action lies within its dismaying and intimidating complexity. Racism does not originate within a vacuum; neither does architecture. It’s clear architects won’t have all the answers. Anyone who is confident they have them has instead an exaggerated sense of their own importance or abilities.

 

Our world and anything we touch is influenced by the environment, structure, and purpose—in a word, everything is part of a complex system, one that is far more than the sum of its parts. Changing one part of the system may affect other parts of the whole system. Better, more inclusive districts, neighborhoods, and buildings are only capable of doing so much but they can be part of the adaptations necessary to correct the system and bolster its resilience. Architects can help here. We certainly can work toward the redesign of spaces that have exacerbated oppression and inequality.

 

Has my perspective on the current national discussion been shaped by what I have seen and read in media accounts? Yes. Do I have all the facts on the matter before me? No, not yet. I need to listen and learn much more. Have I as a person of Asian descent suffered at the hands of bigotry as much as others have? Fortunately, no. Regardless, I can try to empathize with those who have.

 

I do believe the tumultuous baring of racial injustice and the resultant protests—against the backdrop of a global pandemic—may prove cathartic. My hope is it will lead to self-reflection by many. I hope the misguided few will recognize how irrational their hatred for “others” plainly is. I hope many of the rest of us will acknowledge our complicity with a system that has perpetuated societal inequities for far too long. I am optimistic we may see real change, so the lives lost will not have been in vain.