Resilient Buildings

Basics

• Buildings that are "disaster proof" to a certain extent
• Main issues are:
• High Wind (Hurricanes + Tornadoes)
• Flooding (Floods, Hurricanes)
• Fire (Internal, or caused via external fires (other buildings, wildfires) )
• Lightning Strikes
• Pests (Termites, Carpenter Ants/Wasps, etc)
• Flying Debris (Even strong storms can throw debris and break windows etc

Current State

• Varies with Building Codes , and culture, but many USA homes are wood framing, on ground level, and thus are vunerable to many of the aforementioned hazards

Hard Data

• Need some

Retrofittable Options

• External Window Shutters

Design Principles

• Elevated foundation (for floods many houses are on "stilts" or the first ground floor is garage/storage only
• External Window Shutters
• Less "Flat" / "Square Design" (more aerodynamic/less drag = less likely to be destroyed by wind
• Various fireproofing measures

Trashcan for Info Sources

• "Home design and retrofitting techniques for wildfire defense" from the youtube channel "California Fire Science Consortium"
• A USA Today Article on a Home Designed to Be WIldfire Proof in LA California USA
• "Fireproof Homes – The Answer for Building in High Fire Areas"
• Flood Resistant Wall Design

Internal Links

• Resilient Design Institute
• Monolithic Domes
• Geodesic Homes
• Air Formed Domes
• OBI Aesthetics

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on The RBC
• The Wikipedia Page on Hurricane Proof Buildings
• The Wikipedia Page on Tsunami-proof Buildings
• The Wikipedia Page on Earthquake-Resistant Structures