The architecture firm joins other studios including BIG and KPF in designing personal protective equipment.
Architecture practice Foster + Partners has recently released a laser-cut face shield to protect against Covid-19, making it the latest firm to design a piece of personal protective equipment (PPE), following other studios like BIG, KPF and Handel Architects.
Intended to protect health care workers from coming in contact with coronavirus, the reusable mask is specifically designed to be quickly manufactured and easily sanitised.
According to Foster + Partner’s head of studio, Grant Brooker, the practice wanted to contribute to the ongoing fight against the pandemic by protecting front-line health workers.
Using readily available materials, the masks are fabricated from plastic using a laser cutting machine. Each face shield consists of three parts: a visor, headband and strap. While the visor and headband are made from a .5 millimetre and .75-millimetre-thick piece of clear plastic (respectively), the strap is made from silicone.
The masks can be created within 30 seconds and assembled in another minute. According to Grant, Fosters + Partners produced 1,000 face shields in a single day.
The masks have been distributed to health workers in London to test, and the studio is looking at ways to get the design approved for mass production.