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Username
Elsa Mullin
Proposer First Name
Elsa
Proposer Email
emullin@thorntontomasetti.com
Proposer Last Name
Mullin
Proposer Phone
(207) 272-5753
Proposer Job Title
Project Director
Proposed Session Description
With climate change resulting in increased heat and precipitation, coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and other hazardous events, the built environment is experiencing increased vulnerability, damage, and disruption. The goal of resilient design is not only to protect critical project components from current climate hazards but also to reduce downtime following a hazardous event and to prepare for and adapt to future challenges. This session will review three Passive House case studies, evaluating design solutions that incorporate the results from both passive survivability and climate resilience assessments. Each case study identifies unique, site-specific climate-related shocks and stresses which pose challenges and provides a framework for identifying opportunities for risk-informed, future-focused resilient, and sustainable design solutions. The session will identify performance-based design parameters for individual project components including, but not limited to, building envelope, structural systems, MEP systems, and site design, considering both passive survivability and resilient solutions, while also maximizing opportunities for co-benefits and future climate adaptation.
Why is this session important?
Current building codes consider only past events, but our passive survivability and climate resilience assessment approaches also consider projected changes to establish both current and future site-specific hazard levels based on the project’s useful lifespan. This session provides an overview of a performance-based design approach that goes above current building code requirements rather than a prescriptive code-based approach. By taking into account future climate change projections, the projects are set up for success both on day one as well as into the future.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
Passive survivability and sustainability approaches aim to slow the impact of energy and resource consumption and put the world back into balance, while resilience looks for ways to manage and thrive in an unbalanced world. Using these approaches is critical to achieving social equity as many of the most vulnerable neighborhoods and geographical regions to climate change are also those which are low-income and under-resourced.
Learning Objectives
Understand the approach for assessing both current and future site-specific climate hazards to develop resilient design solutions.
Identify the ways in which resilient design can reduce the impact of hazardous events and support solutions for passive survivability.
Specify performance-based design parameters for individual project components including, but not limited to, building envelope, structural systems, MEP systems, and site design.
Describe how project-specific design interventions can facilitate much larger goals including, slowing the impact of energy and resource consumption, thriving in an unbalanced world, and increasing the equity of housing across different demographic and geographic landscapes.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.
Session Format
Interview or structured conversation among panelists
Debate between opposing viewpoints

Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2021

Comments about your speaker roster
Elsa is a project director in sustainability and is an expert in Passive House consulting. Julie is a VP in the Resilience practice.
Reviewer 1
Ziv, Dorit
Reviewer 2
Grant, Tristan
Curator
Grant, Tristan
Proposal #
129
Session #
203
Committee Decision
Accepted