Building resiliency can be described similarly to a human’s resiliency. A building should be able to support all critical systems in the event of a loss of supply of basic building necessities. Passive survivability refers to the ability of a dwelling to remain survivable even when all services to it have been disrupted in an emergency. It is a termed used in the green building field to describe the measures that architects should incorporate into the building design that enables it to shelter occupants for an extended period of time during and after extreme weather conditions like hurricanes, ice storms, power or water shortages. Passive survivability is suggested to become a standard in the design for buildings that can be used as a shelter in the community.
These resilient buildings, while super-insulated and air-tight, can also be able to be naturally ventilated, heated by passive solar and other renewable systems. Water infrastructure (access and waste disposal) are provided in the absence of electrical support. Site work to protect the new structure’s exposure to weather conditions is also a first design measure in considering passive survivability.
