LEED credits on resiliency expected to influence future of building design

New LEED pilot credits focused on resiliency are expected to influence future building designs.

One new pilot credit, the Passive Survivability design credit, is aimed at preparing building designs for functionality during emergencies. The building team would have to design a structure that meets at least two of these three standards: livable conditions after a disaster; backup power; and access to potable water.

In addition, designers would use a "habitability temperature zone" that includes relative humidity and other considerations important to human physiology to make it easier for people to survive extreme conditions if power is lost. The resulting new metrics for temperature require a new way to model buildings.

The other two LEED pilot credits pertain to the site. One, assessment and planning for resilience, requires a design team to assess critical hazards as part of the pre-design phase and complete climate resilience planning or emergency preparedness planning. The other credit, Designing for Enhanced Resilience, asks the design team to take the top three hazards from the and design for safety from them.

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