In the wake of COVID-19, the panel will focus on the current state of employment/unemployment and operations in the creative fields (Design, Architecture and Architectural Education). The focus will be the assets and liabilities that we are encountering as a growing number of states have moved into shelter-in-place style lockdowns – forcing all types of creative industries to furlough workers and shift to a work-from-home model. We will look to discuss the historic marriage between hard economic times and the increase in conceptual design work. Furthermore, we will explore the role that emerging technology and software plays in these situations. Some questions we will look to answer are:

• What effect does shelter-in-place have on creative work / workplaces?
• What are the most positive and negative side effects of this shift in work style?
• What technologies have you seen an increased use of since this shift?
• What is missing – technology wise – that could help ease this transition in practice?
• Will this shift in practice and methodologies continue going forward, or is this temporary?
• English author Margaret Drabble says, “When nothing is sure, anything is possible.” What do you think is the biggest possibility or opportunity presenting itself to us in this unsure time?
• What is your advice to a designer, established or emerging, who finds themselves with an excess of time on their hands, either due to decreased workload or unemployment?