A recent realization of the importance of a strong foundational infrastructure through resiliency has been brought up. It was the topic during the US Green Building Ubiquitous LEED Program meeting that hopes to resolve the old problem of substandard buildings which have caused numerous casualties.
Natural calamities such as hurricanes, flooding, droughts, wildfires, landscape changes and terrorism, are said to motivate further loss of life and properties due to weak foundations. Though it may be the usual cause of destruction, it was added that neglected factors which often aggravate the problem, such as water, transit, acoustic, ergonomics and lightning pollution, may further trigger damaging effects. A poor infrastructure, if this is the case, worsens possible life hazards.
Given the problems that might arise if left unresolved, USGBC's steering committee approved the LEED rating system proposed in order to promote safety standards when calamities come. A "resilience in design" campaign was approved last November for the sake of preserving life during natural adversity.
The presented designs aim to strengthen and reconstruct buildings after a catastrophe. The said plan was also presented during the world leaders' conference in Paris that wishes to end the toxic problem brought about by carbon emission. With this matter, Environmental Peru Minister, Manuel Minister Pulgar Vidal, agreed to everything the resilience design aims for. "We must have resilience as a main objective when we talk about climate change," he stated.
Meanwhile, Alex Wilson would have to agree as well, as he was an active promoter of resiliency in the past, especially during the time of Hurricane Katrina that resulted to a tremendous casualty.
Another idea that supports the idea of resilience design is entitled as "Passive Survivability Design Credit," which allows to assist the crowd after a disaster by providing potable water and power resources back-up. Engineers involved in the plan make it a point to give considerations in constructing buildings to preserve life through a "habitability zone" that protects human physiology after a calamity. As of the moment, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is considered as the best example of "resiliency."
Given the possibility to improve future infrastructure for life preservation, Brock Center set another standard through "Living Building Challenges" in order to strengthen the criteria of planning and creating buildings.
As a result of a higher criterion, a gracefully withstanding building during the Hurricane Joaquin was captured by Chris Gorri that amazed the architectural community.
For this cause, due to the benefits of resiliency, it is now applied to Building Design and Construction (BD+C) as part of their rating system today.
