Architects and Public Health Officials Urged to Collaborate on Pandemic Preparedness

Architects and public health officials must collaborate to prepare for future pandemics, argue Diego S Silva, Enya Moore, and Chris L Smith. The World Health Organisation issued a plea in February 2026 for governments to maintain pandemic preparedness. Historically, emergency responses in the built environment follow cycles of reaction and repetition, with lessons forgotten. During Covid-19, various spaces were adapted: classrooms for isolation, car parks for testing, hotels for quarantine. Socio-economic disparities affected how people experienced lockdowns, with access to outdoor space proving crucial. Post-Covid inquiries in Australia and the UK identified a lack of consideration for designing buildings with future alternative uses. Architects have embedded resilience for hazards like fire and flood; similar thinking could apply to health. Politecnico di Milano professor Gabriele Pasqui advocates for "anti-fragility" through design focused on local maintenance. The exhibition "Coming Together: Reimagining America's Downtowns" at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, addresses post-Covid issues and includes a collaborative City Action Hall. The authors emphasize that architectural decisions during crises are value-laden and serve some groups over others. They call for architects to secure a place at decision-making tables for pandemic preparedness.