Resiliency means the ability to endure. In green building, this translates to designing and building for longevity, withstanding extreme weather, and consideration for social equity.
In recent years, resilient building has become the response to major environmental stressors. It is about building in harmony with the environment but also about how community wellness is affected. Resilient design is the process of designing buildings, landscapes and entire communities to mitigate the impact of extreme weather and other external threats.
Resilient design focuses on practical and realistic solutions with
- Robustness
- Resourcefulness
- Rapid Recovery
- Redundancy
Climate change and extreme weather have propelled resilient building design to the forefront of green building conversations. Extreme weather events such as power outages and wildfires are fueling the resilient design movement.
Resilient building design applies to projects of all scales and is best when synched with local climate action plans and disaster preparedness. What is unique about resilient building design is the anticipation of challenges and the careful consideration for the use of locally available, renewable, or reclaimed resources.
Where to turn for more information
- LEED Climate Resilience Screening Tool is popular for its practical framework.
- Reli Rating System, which is similar to LEED, can be helpful because it is very prescriptive and assumes emergency response.
- The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit is particularly helpful with making decisions because it explores hazards, vulnerabilities, and risks.
- The World Bank Resilience Rating System offers tools at the country level.
The movement to resilient design is exciting and complex. Best practices for a successful resilient design project include designing for flexibility and future adaptability, designing for disassembly, and always remember to consider risk and vulnerabilities. For more information about resilient building design check out our webinar: Resilient Building Design Strategies.