Special issue of BRI on Overheating in Buildings
When I was at the PLEA 2017 Conference (Passive Low-Energy Architecture) in Scotland a few weeks ago, I learned that the contents of a special issue of the journal, Building Research & Information on Overheating in Buildings are available free through the end of July. BRI is a peer-reviewed, technical journal, and access to BRI’s articles is usually quite pricey. There is a wealth of good information in the technical papers available in this issue—though be forewarned that they are quite technical. The issue of maintaining habitable temperatures in buildings is one of the key...
Read MoreSurviving the Apocalypse vs. Heading it Off
The trend of the wealthy to make provisions to protect only their immediate families will ultimately fail if the only beneficiaries are themselves and not the larger society.
Read MoreMy Resilient Design course at BAC starts soon
The online course, Resilient Design, that I’ve been teaching once or twice a year for the past three years, starts on January 17th. It’s an eight-week, graduate-level course that addresses key topics of resilient design, including vulnerabilities to storms and other natural disasters, and strategies for enhancing the resilience of our buildings and communities. The course is entirely “asynchronous,” meaning that students can participate in the discussion forums on their own time. The readings are drawn from various sources, but mostly from the Resilient Design...
Read MoreA Bold Idea for Addressing Sea Level Rise
On Church Street, starting in July 1868, using more than 150,000 cubic yards of fill, the City of Boston elevated 296 brick buildings by as much as 14 feet; the work was virtually completed by October 1869—ahead of schedule and under budget.
Read MoreMaking Multifamily Affordable Housing More Resilient
We all know that it’s more challenging to make existing buildings energy efficient or resilient than it is to achieve those goals with new construction. Because of the preponderance of existing buildings, though, this is where the heavy lifting needs to happen. A large majority of our existing buildings in the U.S. will still be occupied in 50 years. It is also well-known that when it comes to natural disasters and other disturbances, the greatest impacts often befall those least able to afford the needed fixes. This became abundantly clear in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in New York...
Read MoreLEED Pilot Credits on Resilient Design Adopted!
With the approval of these credits, there is now a mechanism in place for specifying in a building project that a broad array of resilience features will be addressed.
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