Minot, North Dakota, June 2011 by DVIDSHUB/CC BY 2.0
Resilient design is a step beyond what we think of as green design; it’s also bulletproof. I covered Alex Wilson’s article on resilient design at BuildingGreen in an earlier post; since then it has grown into a fascinating series that’s worth reading, and that isn’t behind the BuildingGreen paywall. The series started with Making the Case for Resilient Design
Resilience: Designing Smarter Houses is, I think, one of the most important posts; it stresses the importance of building in the right place, at the right height, but also with appropriate materials and scale:
Resilient Design: Dramatically Better Building Envelopes points out the importance of insulation, of building a house that can survive with very little energy input.
Interestingly, Alex doesn’t jump on the Passivhaus bandwagon, but recommends a lower (and more affordable) standard for both insulation and air tightness. In the comments, another expert, Robert Riversong, suggests that there is a danger in building too tightly; when the power goes out, so does the mechanical ventilation system.
Resilient Design: Passive Solar Heat makes the point that the sun still comes up every day, even if the oil delivery truck doesn’t.
LA/Public Domain
The latest is a subject dear to my heart, designing properly to reduce the need for air conditioning. Resilient Design: Natural Cooling covers the issues of window placement, building orientation, porches and shutters.
I think that he missed a few points here in this section, which I have covered in 10 Overlooked Low-Tech Ways of Keeping Your Home Cool.
The most important point in the entire series goes back to Alex’s first line quoted at the top of the post: The strategies that make your home resilient are the ones that make you green. It is a really valuable contribution to the discussion at BuildingGreen.
