If there was ever a year when you could overlook the visual drama of construction, 2020 was it. All the spray disinfecting, temperature-taking and fussing with masks; all the worries about the virus outside and inside the gates. Those are the themes that will dominate our collective memory. Face coverings became an important tool to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

But for those who did not previously have to wear them as a regular part of the work day, they could be an afterthought, a style statement or—more likely—a nagging, voice-muffling, heat-trapping distraction. You could endure the patch of fabric across the bottom of your face, but you couldn’t enjoy it.