what is resilient building?

Resiliency in building is design and construction approaches aimed at maintaining structural integrity, habitability, and system function under climate-driven stressors specific to the project's location such as flooding, extreme heat, high wind, or grid instability. 

Typical approaches that can be utilized are elevating MEP equipment above flood datum (elevation), backup power/generator, enhanced wind and seismic resistance, and passive survivability (the building stays safely habitable during a utility outage).   In other words, resilient building design is a risk-mitigation strategy beyond code minimums.  In our projects, we utilize a resilience checklist to make sure what we design can stand test of time.