As the pandemic continues to affect our lives, its long-term effects on the built environment are beginning to emerge. Requirements for homes, workplaces and community spaces are changing and architects and designers will need to respond to these new needs.

In this issue, we take a look at new office designs that could offer a glimpse into the future of the workplace, and check out whether Pieto Lissoni’s proposal for a self-contained vertical city that would house an entire community and vertical farm could serve as a model for post-Covid urban living. And, as the growing focus on health and wellbeing intersects with the drive for environmentally conscious architecture, we ask how design strategies can accommodate both effectively.

As part of the EU’s €750bn coronavirus recovery plan, the European Commission plans to create new design schools modelled on Bauhaus. We explore how taking inspiration from the past could support economic recovery and the creation of carbon-neutral architecture in EU member states.

Elsewhere, we speak to former HOK CEO Patrick MacLeamy about how the practice re-built its business during the last recession, and what lessons the story may hold for other architect. Plus, we find out what can happen when BIM projects go wrong and what the legal implications are.

We hope you enjoy this issue and the new design. Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @designbuild_mag.

Susanne Hauner, publisher