Investigation: Designing for a Changing Climate
Buildings last. Those we design and retrofit today will likely still be around in 2050 and beyond—a period of time that science has confirmed will have a drastically different climate than the one we’ve known to date. This Investigation summarizes the underlying science of how climate change affects the weather, and how changes in weather tomorrow should in turn affect the design of buildings today.
February 16, 2025 | Posted by Kate Sector, Matt Cooper, Ben Hartigan
The Case for Resilient Design
Our society lives in a period of transition between a stable and generally understood climate to one where our historic assumptions can no longer be relied upon to predict the future. This Investigation provides a guide for adapting an architectural design process to a changing climate through resilient design strategies, analytic tools, and effective communication. A library of resilient design strategies organized by specific climate change impacts is provided, as well as suggested reading on climate science research and strategies for data collection and client communication.
The Investigation describes a process intended to facilitate a proactive response to climate change through the use of selected climate analysis tools, best practices for communicating this information with clients, and a list of specific design strategies for different climate threats.