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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Build Green on a Budget: Lessons from Affordable Housing
Feature Article
Sustainability doesn’t have to cost more—and no one knows that better than affordable housing experts. But every project type can benefit from these 12 cost-reducing ideas that support people and the planet.
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Build More or Build Green? Affordable Housing’s False Choice
Feature Article
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.
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IRA Tax Breaks May Reinforce Inequities, So We Need to Help
Feature Article
Four tax provisions could be used to include disadvantaged communities in the clean energy transition, but equity outcomes are unclear.
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Assessing Climate Hazards: The First Step in Resilient Design
Feature Article
The tools for conducting a multi-hazard exposure analysis are available if you know where to look.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2024
Product Review
BuildingGreen’s Top 10 industry-transforming products this year include innovative heat-pump energy storage, electric construction equipment, PFAS-free textiles, healthier lighting, PV circularity, and more.
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DC Power Supply Integrates AC and Renewables
Product Review
Nextek PhD provides AC-to-DC power at the building scale, integrates renewable energy, and can even save on first costs.
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SIREWALL: The Next Generation of Earthen Walls
Product Review
Made from local earth, rebar, and polyiso, SIREWALL rammed earth walls are beautiful, durable, and are stronger than concrete with less portland cement.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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How to Use the Right Tools to Design for Climate Change
News Analysis
Weather files that help designers plan for climate change will soon be readily available. But legal liability remains until ASHRAE catches up.
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Goodbye, Denial: Free Tools Expose Localized Climate Realities
News Brief
The Climate Explorer and the CMRA translate nerdy climate projections into eye-opening images that should be well worth more than a thousand words in the push for resilient design.
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The IRA’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program: Just the Basics
News Analysis
This program will administer grants and loans to owners or sponsors of HUD-assisted multifamily housing to improve its resilience and quality.
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Future Heat Waves Will Kill Power and AC—and People
News Analysis
Passive cooling strategies are surprisingly effective, even as heat waves become more extreme.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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A Tribute to Robin Guenther, Green Healthcare Pioneer
Op-Ed
Robin Guenther advanced new standards for hospitals that were adopted by the larger green building community and integrated into leading rating systems.
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How to Help Ukraine Now … and in the Future
Op-Ed
What can the green building and resilience communities do to help the people of Ukraine?
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Bouncing Forward from Disasters
Op-Ed
Finding opportunities in the spate of recent devastating natural disasters.
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Pete’s Product Puzzle: VersaDry
Blog Post
Simple folded metal solves a common moisture problem
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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Affordable Housing or Green Housing? We Can Say Yes to Both
Webcast
Yes, available funding for building and rehabilitating affordable housing is inadequate—but that’s all the more reason to get this right when we get the chance.
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Build More or Build Green? Affordable Housing’s False Choice
Spotlight Report
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Assessing Climate Hazards: The First Step in Resilient Design
Feature Article
The tools for conducting a multi-hazard exposure analysis are available if you know where to look.
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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Hurricane Tests Resilient Design—and Family Dynamics
April Fools
A building project brings brothers back together, but a fast-moving storm challenges the project and the family.
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Passive Survivability Standard Modified for Post-Pandemic Office Buildings
April Fools
The LEED Passive Survivability pilot credit just got a lot easier for office buildings in the post-pandemic era.
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Resilient Design Is a Big Load of Crap
April Fools
Why are you taking survival advice from a bunch of pencil jockeys? It’s time to start listening to the pros.
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Bewitching Designs Snag Coveted Resilience Awards
April Fools
Self-propulsion wins the night at this year’s Rizzies, but a controversy brews.
