Building is something architects are well accustomed to. Indeed, their role demands a well-developed knowledge of the field. However, the kind of rebuilding that Covid-19 requires is, to use one of the most overused words of the pandemic “unprecedented”.
Yet if anyone is capable of meeting such a challenge, it is Elizabeth Diller, architect at Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Usually based at her West 26th Street studio, Diller has found the pandemic has left her unable operate in their conventional manner. She notes: “Usually we work, we draw, we look in each other’s eyes, we argue, we throw things around the room, we make models and break them apart, and somehow stuff gets made.”
With Zoom, “it’s very sanitized, you have to be very organized,” she says. “We’re sending each other drawings and sketches, we’re responding through digital means and then having virtual meetings. Communication is slower. But we’re working harder. We’re figuring it out.”
A result of the pandemic has been widespread project delays and even some cancellations. In April, demand for design services was met with the steepest decline on record, according to the American Instituted of Architects.
Throughout her career, Diller has met challenges head on. Her attitude towards architecture has seen her feature on the Time’s “100 Most Influential People” list. She has also won a MacArthur genius grant alongside her husband. If her past ethos is anything to go by, Covid-19 will not take the wind out of her sails.
Diller concludes: “I hope that our discipline is still vital at the end of this, I think it will be.”
