Disability architecture and the push for accessible spaces, plus other headlines

For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, architect Jaime Silva on disability architecture and his advocacy for disability rights in the Philippines. In other news, Beijing’s leaders vowed to resolve “risks” plaguing China’s economy but were yet to offer any concrete steps. Lastly, as organisations embrace GenAI, they need to upgrade and modernise data centres.

Disability architecture: Architect Jaime Silva on the push for accessible spaces in the Philippines

How are we thinking about disability architecture in today’s world? For architect Jaime Silva, creating more accessible buildings is a constant effort to pursue the proper accommodations for persons with disabilities (PWD).

BluPrint sat down with the architect to discuss his advocacy for disability rights in the Philippines. This discussion included his involvement with the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRD) and a rundown of the evolution of accessibility measures in the country.

Chinese officials vow to ‘resolve risks’ plaguing country’s economy, but few clues given as to how

Beijing’s leaders vowed Thursday to resolve “risks” plaguing China’s economy but were yet to offer any concrete steps to pull the country out of its financial woes.

The world’s second-largest economy is grappling with a property debt crisis, weakening consumption, and an ageing population. All eyes were on how the Third Plenum meeting of the Communist Party in Beijing, attended by President Xi Jinping, might tackle that deepening economic malaise.

But few new policies were announced as the meeting wrapped up Thursday.

State news agency Xinhua said they had agreed to “prevent and resolve risks in key areas such as real estate, (and) local government debt”. Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis, said in HKFP that the readout offered “nothing out of expectation as it just confirms existing policies.”

Evolving a data centre into an Artificial Intelligence factory

The industrial landscape is transforming. Traditionally, foundries have converted raw materials into basic components while factories assemble products. However, emerging AI factories and foundries now represent a novel approach to product creation and innovation. These new creations are poised to fundamentally alter software development, resource consumption, and management. This shift is impacting how businesses operate and the value they deliver.

Companies are increasingly leveraging Generative AI (GenAI) to enhance productivity. Hitachi Vantara, for instance, utilises GenAI copilots and large language models (LLMs) to support customer service, marketing, and sales teams. Businesses are also integrating AI and machine learning (ML) into their software, enabling data-driven decisions based on real-time customer insights and use cases, rather than static rules.

DataCenterNews Asia reports that as organisations embrace GenAI and software with embedded AI and ML, they need to ensure their IT infrastructure possesses the necessary power and flexibility. This presents an opportunity for collaboration with trusted partners to upgrade and modernise data centres.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].