Resilient Design
Resilience is the ability of a building to respond to and bounce back from a disaster.
Resilient design involves the use of passive systems, energy production and storage, and other strategies to help ensure a building can (literally) weather the storm. It is increasingly important as our climate changes but also can help buildings respond to other risks such as earthquakes and cyberattacks.
Resilient Design
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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How a Hurricane Forged New Hope for Resilience
Feature Short
Hurricane Maria is inspiring design that has the next natural disaster in mind
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Instructions on Rebuilding a Resilient Puerto Rico
Feature Short
A resilience manual for building disaster-resistant homes in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Florida Keys will be published in 2019.
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Elevated New Orleans Buildings Pass a Flood Test
Feature Short
A housing project that replaced one damaged by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was designed high enough to withstand a recent flood.
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Waste Water, Want Water
Feature
Options for small-scale, onsite wastewater treatment and reuse are improving-but can we solve a global crisis one building at a time?
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Green Buildings Should Bounce Back, Says Resilience Report
News Analysis
Does climate adaptation mean we're giving up the fight against global warming? No, says USGBC: resilience and green building go hand in hand.
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Two for One: Growing Food and Solar Energy Together
News Analysis
As more projects are plugging into off-site solar, dual-use installations are gaining favor to minimize adverse impact.
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Building Industry Helps Disaster Victims Recover
News Analysis
How an architectural firm, timber company, and carpenters’ union are helping communities rebuild after Maria, Harvey, and the California wildfires.
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Resilient Retrofits for Fires, Floods, and Quakes
News Analysis
Resilient design is all very well for new construction, but how do we deal with billions of square feet of existing building stock?
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Build Green on a Budget: Lessons from Affordable Housing
Spotlight Report
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Assessing Climate Hazards: The First Step in Resilient Design
Feature
The tools for conducting a multi-hazard exposure analysis are available if you know where to look.
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Build More or Build Green? Affordable Housing’s False Choice
Feature
The housing crisis is also a climate crisis and a social equity crisis. If we change our ways, we can address them all at once.
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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