The Herman Trend Alert
July 20, 2022
Making Homes More Resilient
With the rising temperatures in the United Kingdom and the forest fires in France and Spain, Europe is beginning to experience some of the challenges that the US and Australia have been facing in the past. These new problems highlight the fact that climate change is accelerating, and the issues are not confined to heat and the increased vulnerability to forest fires.
Climate Change is Blowing Down Houses
For years now, a warming atmosphere and rising sea levels have increased the likelihood that buildings will be confronted with major storms and hurricanes. Moreover, storms with wind, including hurricanes, have been becoming increasingly stronger and their winds are becoming more destructive. According to a recent analysis by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 38 of the 50 United 5tates have a low rate of adopting hazard-resistant building codes. And not surprisingly, less than a quarter of cities in the most exposed of the States including Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Massachusetts have adequate building codes. Facing the threats of extreme wind, hurricanes, and tornadoes, these areas need solutions, and they need them fast. Using resilient design can save our homes and other buildings.
Losses are Getting Worse as Well
Extreme winds not only cause financial hardships, but also affect communities by displacing people and disrupting operations and logistics. Even windstorms that are not category five hurricanes can cause substantial damage.
Global Engineering Firm Arup to the Rescue
Arup sees this challenge as a design problem, and we agree. The company recently released a set of resilience-based design guidelines. These guidelines will help designers and building owners prepare homes and businesses to better withstand extreme winds. Arup's guidelines focus on three areas: building resilience, site resilience, and operational resilience.
Building Resilience Guidelines
For the building, the guidelines focus on what's called "the building envelope," including preventing harm that can break windows, cause leaks, or otherwise breach the entire exterior. From using stronger roofing materials to installing storm guards to upgrade windows and doors, adhering to these guidelines can save buildings from a huge amount of damage.
Site Resilience Guidelines
To follow the site resilience guidelines requires thinking about what is in the immediate area around a building and considering anything in the area that could pose a danger during an emergency. Flying debris is a particular threat to big buildings because they offer a larger target. Site selection is also important. Choosing a site next to an older building with loose outside panels is a recipe for future disaster. Even neighboring trees and vegetation can sometimes pose risks under high winds.
Operational Resilience Guidelines
Finally, this area of operational resilience is one of the biggest considerations, because though a building may be adversely affected by an extreme weather emergency, that doesn't necessarily mean it cannot continue to serve its purpose. Whether the building is a house, an office, a hospital, or some other kind of facility, its ability to recover from the damage can be built in. Having backup generators, off-grid renewable power supplies, and flood-proof electrical systems can help buildings handle grid outages and remain operational.
Arup at the Forefront
Arup's design guidelines are just one aspect of a larger initiative to enhance the way buildings can withstand the threats presented by climate change. For builders and governments smart enough to be paying attention, this growing collection of guidelines, titled the Resilience-based Design Initiative (REDi), is helping these folks to future-proof by adding to existing building codes to address all kinds of threats, including seismic activity and flood risk. Arup wants to help the world better anticipate and design for climate risks. They see that building codes, though slow to change, may be positively influenced, improving areas' resilience by encouraging the steady adoption of some of the ideas proposed in these guidelines.
Guidelines Mostly Adopted by Commercial Structures
Due to the potential for significant financial or societal costs, at this point the buildings most likely to be designed with these considerations are facilities like hospitals, government buildings, and large offices. However, they are equally applicable to homes and other buildings, especially in areas particularly prone to extreme windstorms.
Common Sense?
If these guidelines seem to be just common sense to you, as they seemed to me, we must all remember the Voltaire quote, "Common sense is not so common."
Special thanks to Fast Company and to Mark Nelson, an associate principal at Arup who led the development of these extreme windstorms' guidelines, and who provided most of the source material for the Fast Company article. To read the entire article, visit https://www.fastcompany.com/90755925/climate-change-is-blowing-down-houses-this-could-save-them
Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: Artificial Light at Night: Friend or Foe
Artificial light at night may keep us safe but it also has a significant effect on trees and shrubs. In this Alert, we'll take an in-depth look at ALAN (Artificial Light At Night) and determine what can be done to make it less detrimental to the plants and trees that makes our lives so colorful.
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