As part of the Designing Recovery Competition held by the American Institute of Architects, Sustainable.TO Architecture + Building came up with a concept for a hurricane-proof design. The single-family dwelling is designed to be disaster-resistant and environmentally friendly in response to the devastation faced by areas of Queens, New York by Hurricane Sandy.
For the design of its Resilient House, the Toronto-based architects of Sustainable.TO were inspired by the extreme temperature changes they face. Sustainable.TO principal Paul Dowsett notes that “by leveraging our own crazy climate as the key driver of our creative process, Sustainable.TO has developed a solution for virtually every climate type.”
Some of the winning features of the Resilient House include an elevated foundation that puts living spaces above the floodplain and windows for natural ventilation, which contributes to an overall reduction of annual energy use by 30%. As well, the entire design can be traditionally constructed, with a material cost of only $50,000.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Disaster-resistant Architecture
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop affordable and sustainable housing solutions that can withstand natural disasters.
- Environmental-friendly Design
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create eco-friendly homes that prioritize energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
- Climate-adaptive Construction
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Design buildings that can adapt to various climate types and extreme temperature changes.
Sectors Adopting This
- Construction Industry
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrate resilient design principles and cost-effective materials to revolutionize construction practices.
- Architecture and Design Industry
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore creative solutions that combine functionality, aesthetics, and disaster resilience in architectural designs.
- Energy Efficiency Industry
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop technologies and practices to optimize energy usage in buildings, specifically related to natural ventilation and reducing overall energy consumption.
