With summer being over and winter quickly approaching, it is important to consider the resilience of your building for current and future weather hazards. Whether designing new business space or corporation headquarters, here are a few things to consider when designing a climate-resilient home.
The Home Site: Knowing the distance between the site and a flood plain or a historical fire zone is critical in order to understand storm surges, extreme drainage, flood path, or fire. Whenever possible, buildings should not be constructed in areas that are extremely prone to climate events such as flooding, fire, tornado, etc.
Ability to reflect heat: Because lighter colors absorb less heat, new-building construction should utilize lighter colors across the site, from roof to pavement to paint, so that the heat is reduced as much as possible.
Sealing the envelope: In rain-heavy areas, the building envelope must be sealed securely and completely for any leaks which can cause mold and structural damage. Developers must take steps to seal the foundation to prevent these structural issues. This reigns true for buildings in areas that are tornado-heavy as well.
These critical factors and more are essential to builders all over, as they try to prevent the strike of natural disasters on their project sites.