Daily coronavirus architecture and design briefing: 23 April

Daily coronavirus briefing: today's architecture and design coronavirus briefing includes a design for safe flying, an opinion piece from Reinier de Graaf and the Coughvid app.

"A non-healthcare building converted to a patient care space is not quite a hospital"

While converting existing buildings into fully functioning hospitals is unfeasible, high schools and large hotels can be used as care space for coronavirus patients, says Jason Schroer, who is director of health at HKS's firm in Dallas. Here he explains how (via Dezeen).

Aviointeriors proposes plastic hood to allow safe flying

Italian design firm Aviointeriors has design a seating system called Glassafe (pictured above) that would separate airplane passengers with glass divides to allow for safe flying when airlines fully open up following the pandemic (via SimpleFlying).

"The current crisis has exposed the structural shortcomings of our healthcare systems"

The coronavirus has exposed fundamental problems with our healthcare systems that we should not forget once the pandemic passes, warns Reinier de Graaf in a letter to the present from the future (via Dezeen).

Imperial College London develop low-cost ventilator

A team of bioengineers and medics at Imperial College London have developed a low-cost ventilator called JamVen that doesn't rely on specialist parts. The team have made the design available for free (via Imperial College London).

Coronavirus could reverse trend for open plan offices

The World Economic Forum has published an article highlighting 10 ways that office design could be impacted by coronavirus, and the rise of closed plan is one of them (via World Economic Forum).

Coughvid app could detect coronavirus by listening to coughs

Researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are developing an app called Coughvid that would use artificial intelligence to determine if someone has Covid-19 by listening to them cough (via Business Insider).

Ben Derbyshire share's his lessons from lockdown

Former RIBA president Ben Derbyshire has highlighted lessons that should be learned from the current pandemic in a piece titled Learning from lockdown: Why placemaking should be at the centre of the recovery (via Building Design – paywall).

Major architecture firms furlough staff

The Architect's Newspaper has rounded up news of major architecture practices, including Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects and SOM, based in the UK and the USA that have either furloughed staff or enacted pay cuts (via Architects' Newspaper).