Sustainable Construction, 5th Edition

Appendix DResilient Design Strategies at Building Scale

(Source: The Resilient Design Institute)

• Design and construct (or renovate) buildings to handle severe storms, flooding, wildfire, and other impacts that are expected to result from a warming climate.
• Locate critical systems to withstand flooding and extreme weather events.
• Model design solutions based on future climatic conditions as much as possible, rather than relying on past data.
• Create buildings that will maintain livable conditions in the event of extended loss of power or heating fuel through energy load reductions and reliance on passive heating and cooling strategies (passive survivability).
• Create durable buildings using such features as rainscreen details, windows that can withstand hurricane winds, and interior finish materials that can dry out if they get wet and not require replacement.
• Create beautiful buildings that will be loved and maintained.
• Reduce dependence on complex building controls and systems. Provide manual overrides in case of malfunction or temporary power outages.
• Optimize the use of on-site renewable energy.
• Carry out water conservation practices and rely on annually replenished water resources, including, potentially, harvested rainwater, as the primary or back-up water supply.
• Provide redundant water supplies or water storage for use during emergencies. For deep-well pumps, provide either stand-alone solar electricity or hand pumping options where possible. Where there is no option ...