In this week's reprint from Metropolis Magazine, authors Madeline Burke-Vigeland, FAIA, LEED AP, a principal at Gensler, and Benjamin A. Miko, MD, assistant professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center explore how uniform standards applied across the built environment can protect our communities from COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, architects, designers, and engineers have provided input on the efforts made to address this ongoing health crisis. Together with biomedical advances such as rapid testing platforms, novel therapeutics, and vaccination programs, design interventions will help rebuild trust between individuals and physical space as people begin to re-engage with their communities. However, despite the hope for post-pandemic normalcy, it is clear that we live in an era characterized by emerging infectious diseases. Over the past twenty years, we have been faced with near-constant pandemic threats: West Nile virus, novel H1N1 influenza virus, SARS, MERS, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease. Add the ongoing threats of antibiotic resistance and bioterrorism, and it becomes clear that communicable diseases will continue to pose a substantial risk going forward. What does this mean for the places we inhabit?
