The term “Resilience” refers to developing strategies that enable cities to effecively withstand and “bounce back” when faced with disasters, whether they be natural disasters such as tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, or disasters triggered by manmade events.
“We support: resilient buildings that allow communities to be ready, not surprised. USGBC believes we must continuously look over the horizon to foreseeable and unforeseeable crises and see what plans are on the table, what preparations need to be made and what assets are in place. And when these tragedies do occur, we need to deploy the resources and assistance to help communities recover smarter, greener and better.”- from the USGBC website on Resiliency ( read the full article here)
Three LEED pilot credits have been recently adopted, according to Alex Wilson, the founder of BuildingGreen Inc. In an article written for the Resilient Design Institute, he states that the three pilot credits are:
- Credit IPpc98 – Assessment and Planning for Resilience
- Credit IPpc99 – Design for Enhanced Resilience
- Credit IPpc100 – Passive Survivability and Functionality During Emergencies
For the full explaination of the three credits, read the complete article here.
In an article published to the US Green Building Council website on Dec 3, 2014, writer Kevin P. Mlutkowski states that “Communities continue to advocate for increased sustainability and resilience, and the American Concrete Institute (ACI)—working with nearly 20,000 members, chapters, and partners around the world—is developing and disseminating the resources needed to improve the sustainable and resilient properties of our communities.”
Because concrete is one of the most commonly used materials used in building construction, the need to construct collapse resistant structures and make concrete stronger and as a result, more durable, is a predictable by-product of this initiative. Redcucing the permeability of concrete, which would aid in the event of flooding, would be one of many ways that Spray-Lock Concrete Protection could be used to help achieve a high standard of Resilience.
When used at time of pour, Spray-Lock Concrete Protection also strengthens, densifies and hardens concrete and protects against environment hazards, such as salt water corrosion. Testing has shown that SCP 327 will increase the compressive strength of concrete by 7-20%. It also makes concrete last longer, thereby conserving valuable resources needed to replace concrete early should it become compromised in any way before it’s expected lifetime has elapsed.
Along with founding the Resilient Design Institute in 2012, Alex is founder ofBuildingGreen, Inc. To keep up with his latest articles and musings, you can sign up for his Twitter feed.