International architecture firm BVN has branched into a grass roots solution for Covid, bringing people together safely and supporting hospitality businesses that are re-opening after lockdown. The solution they found for New York, might just be the answer for Melbourne’s Covid summer.
Re-ply, the brainchild of BVN’s New York studio, capitalised on the plywood hoarding that shop fronts installed in the wake of Covid and nationwide protests. As the city slowly started to open up, and restaurants were allowed to have outdoor dining, BVN repurposed the redundant plywood to create outdoor furniture for the bars and cafes. Roads once full of cars became extensions of the sidewalk, and re-ply’s furniture started to populate the new alfresco spaces.