As extreme weather increases, resilient buildings gain prominence

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Designing a building to withstand the ravages of time is something architects strive to do.

They aim to design buildings that are not only functional, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, but will last.

To that end, the effects of climate change may bring heightened awareness to how designers create buildings these days, but it’s not necessarily a trend.

Aside from changes mandated by the International Building Code in the use of specific materials, architects tend to design with sustainability and resiliency in mind.

“What’s happening is, they are bringing awareness,” said Joseph Biondo, principal of Spillman Farmer Architects of Bethlehem. “The concept of resilient design is not new and has been around for generations.”

Buildings constructed in the late 19^th and early 20^th century often had an abundance of natural daylight, robust structural frames and lifetime materials. In addition, they generally had efficient and narrow floor plate designs.

Climate change, however, is making more designers aware of how weather affects buildings.

“We as designers need to understand those local environmental conditions and weather patterns,” Biondo said. “It’s making us aware and it’s pushing the idea of sustainability further. It’s making more people aware of building with quality.”

Designers also should be aware of how they use the materials and consider where it comes from. Architects should also design electrical and mechanical systems so property owners can easily maintain them and respond to disasters, he added.

“I don’t think resiliency is related to new materials,” Biondo said. “Time-honored materials should be considered. We are no longer designing fixed spaces but flexible spaces that can withstand the test of time.”

Those buildings are resilient, he added.

Climate change

The International Building Code is addressing climate change by revising its codes.

“Anytime there’s extreme flooding or hurricanes, you do have architects who do research with other building professionals to understand why the building failed,” said Silvia Hoffman, founding partner of MKSD architects of South Whitehall Township.

Researchers will examine all the components of the building, she added.

In some cases, design changes can result. The building code recently updated the type of fasteners required for garage doors on houses, she said. Increased wind not only can damage doors but also destroy roofs.

In addition, the American Institute of Architects has a resiliency group that does research in this area.

“They are making an effort to work with local authorities and building code modifiers,” Hoffman said.

The building code also has site-specific guidelines, such as more stringent guidelines for California, which has been dealing with fires, and Florida, which suffers more from flooding.

“For us in this area, we are kind of in a lucky space,” Hoffman said. “We don’t suffer extreme conditions. It does impact the building code but not in areas where there’s a slimmer chance of this happening.”

However, in areas where people are building closer to a coastline, guidelines call for building structures higher above ground, usually an entire floor, including all utilities, she added.

“I definitely think there’s material improvements, but more importantly, it has a lot to do with how buildings are constructed,” Hoffman said. “It’s a combination of [the] building code [and the] means and method of construction. Material improvements can make buildings more resilient.”

Getting to zero

Climate change is having a profound effect on how architects design buildings but more importantly, how it affects updating existing buildings, said Illya Azaroff, owner and principal of PlusLab Architect in Brooklyn, New York.

“All our codes are based on what we find after the last disasters,” Azaroff said.

Members of the International Code Council make changes to the code after why a building failed in a weather-related disaster.

“It’s the older buildings we are concerned about,” Azaroff said. “It has a profound effect because how we retrofit buildings is constantly changing. I think some of our challenges come from existing buildings that were built to older code standards.”

As technology has evolved, architects have discovered over the past 20 to 30 years that older buildings often do not meet today’s challenges, Azaroff added.

However, he said, there is a better awareness today of a building’s components and how they rely upon each other.

For example, insulation is thinner and performs better, Azaroff said.

He works in coastal towns in the New York and New Jersey area and has clients across the nation, from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, Texas, and South Florida.

“Retrofit of existing buildings, that’s our challenge,” Azaroff said. “It is the odd client that is not asking about resilient measures.”

About nine out of 10 clients are asking about how to make buildings more resilient.

To address climate change, The American Institute of Architects, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, adopted the 2030 Commitment, a program to create uniform public policies. AIA firms and engineers compile and share energy-use data collected from various, according to a news release from AIA.

Buildings consume nearly 40 percent of U.S. energy, according to AIA. The organization’s 2030 Commitment hopes to eliminate carbon emissions by adopting key energy targets, in addition to providing a comprehensive data tool that allows the companies to track their progress to net-zero carbon-use buildings by 2030.