Architects on the Frontline / Safety for Health Workers
Fiona Mckay
Photo Credit – Hopkins Architects
A growing number of UK architects are joining the front line fight against coronavirus by using their design expertise and technology to address the safety of health workers. It would be impossible at this fast-moving stage to keep track of all the architectural firms involved, but – just as a start – the work of a few of the early players has been brought to AIA UK Chapter’s attention by our membership.
If your firm is working on something particularly innovative, please let newsletter@aiauk.org know and your efforts can be added to the projects below before this Blog morphs into the AIA UK Newsletter later in the year.
HTA Design is being joined by 20 architectural practices – including HOK, Hopkins Architects, PLP and Perkins & Will – to make protective masks at the rate of 50 a week, and are publishing their design (see HERE).
As well has donating office fruit/food delivers to NHS hospitals, Hopkins Architects is using its model shop to print PPE masks and has provided a video of the production HERE.
Perkins & Will has multiple offices around the world and they are also adding to the story. Of particular interest is a design for a ‘Do It Yourself’ face mask from Schmidt Hammer Larsen (P&W in Denmark).
Foster + Partners is making general-purpose visors – suitable for cleaning and re-use - for mass production at a rate of 1,000 visors a day. It is sharing the design to encourage investigation into the ‘potential of digital and laser cutting machines as an alternative to 3D printing technology’ (see HERE).
As part of 3D Crowd UK, a community of over 5,000 3D printer owners who have come together to make face masks, model makers from Make Architects are producing 100 headbands a day from home.
KPF are working with 3D Crowd UK to make visor frames and one can download the design from their press release HERE.
KPF face shield frames. Photo Credit – KPF News.
Hugo – the R&D group of Corgan – is looking at the longer term response to a pandemic by promoting enhanced hygiene. It has entered a design competition hosted by Bompas and Parr and the British Red Cross to re-imagine the hand sanitizer pump. The Hugo/Corgan solution is called Pera and is planned to change behaviour at low cost (see how it works HERE).
Corgan competition submittal. Photo Credit - ©Corgan.
