By RDI’s Alex Wilson (who is speaking tomorrow at the GAF Commercial Partners in Growth conference in Nashville), was interviewed recently by Building Capacity Blog. Here’s a link, and here’s a snippet, in which he responds to the question of whether sustainable building and resilience may sometimes be in conflict: I
Interview with Alex
Sustainable Industries has posted this interview with RDI’s Alex Wilson. From the interview: The biggest challenge we face in trying to make our buildings more resilient is to dramatically improve the energy performance of existing homes. That’s a huge challenge. It will require innovative outboard insulation systems, high-performance window treatments,
By 2012 CERES Insurance Industry Study: Progress Slow, Urgently Needed
Climate-change-related disasters threaten industry profitability, and may drive less-prepared companies from a variety of asset and risk classes. A reduction in the availability and affordability of insurance and risk management services can threaten the economy…
By RDI got a nice shout-out from Thornton Tomasetti
Thornton Tomasetti is a highly regarded structural engineering firm–and the structural engineer of six of the ten world’s tallest buildings that are built or under construction, including the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, which at over 1,000 meters will be the world’s tallest. In recent years, the firm has expanded
The New Orleans Principles
My interest in resilience was first kindled by work I did with many others in 2005, following Hurricane Katrina. Seeing the devastation wrought on the Gulf Coast by this storm, several chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council, particularly St. Louis and Little Rock, wanted to do what they could
Introducing the RDI Advisory Board
I am thrilled to introduce this eminent group of experts that comprise the Resilient Design Institute’s Advisory Board. Not only do I have the good fortune to call these individuals friends, but they are leaders in their fields: architects, engineers, professors, consultants, and environmentalists—people who are making a tremendous difference
By Brattleboro event: Lessons from Germany’s Energy Transition
In 2000 Germany set a goal of achieving 20 percent renewable electricity production by 2020. At that time they were at 3 percent. Now, just 12 years later, they are already at 25 percent. How is Germany transitioning to a renewable energy economy so quickly? Long-time renewable energy advocate Bob
NYC sustainability advocate blogs about Alex Wilson
Alex was in New York for meeting of the Municipal Art Society about preparing the city for future emergencies like Hurricane Sandy. Here’s an excellent summary by Dan Miner, who blogs at BeyondOilNYC. The historical data is showing huge increases in intense storm events, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. With our
Oak Park to Demonstrate Resilience With Smart Grid
A recent story on Grist.org describes how the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois is embarking on a far-reaching program to demonstrate a resilient power grid using smart-grid technology. With support from the Korea Smart Grid Institute, which carried out a similar demonstration on Jeju Island off South Korea, and
Alex presenting at an all-day workshop on resilient design in Boston
I’m one of four presenters at an all-day workshop, “Skills for Building Resilient Communities,” on Tuesday, March 5th, immediately preceding the NESEA Building Energy Conference in Boston. The other presenters are architect Dan Watson, FAIA (author of the recently published book, Design for Flooding: Architecture, Landscape and Urban Design for
Alex speaking at the Sustainable Cities Roundtable – Kirkland, WA
Alex will be presenting (via teleconference) at the Sustainable Cities Roundtable this Thursday, January 10th, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 Pacific Time, in Kirkland, Washington. From the website: King County GreenTools has pulled together an exciting lineup to launch the 2013 Sustainable Cities Roundtable Series theme: “Beyond Net Zero: Resilience,
RDI’s Alex Wilson interviewed by Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune’s Mary Umberger spoke with RDI’s Alex Wilson about how builders can make homes much more disaster resistant — and how his thinking shifted from “passive survivability” to “resilience.” Generally, I think the building industry is starting to pay attention. It’s a tricky issue for builders, because it
Presentation in NYC on January 22nd
I’ll be speaking at a Green Drinks SPARK event Tuesday evening, January 22nd at The Moderns near Union Square in New York City. The topic will be “Resilient Design: The New Imperative.” Green Drinks SPARK is a networking event, so there will be plenty of time for conversations over drinks
Good neighbors make resilience
In an NPR interview, sociologist Eric Klinenberg reminds us that resilience involves not only smartly designed systems, buildings and infrastructure (our focus here at RDI). It’s also about the quality of communities and neighborhoods. “Vibrant, tight-knit neighborhoods could fare better in a disaster.” Interview is based on Klinenberg’s article “Adaptation”
Kunstler’s calamities
If James Howard Kunstler’s predictions for 2013 (warning: salty-language) turn out to be right, we are going to need lots of resilient design to cope with the impacts. The peak-oil prophet lays out his case for calamities that include a market crash to Dow 4000, massive US gasoline shortages, continued Midwest drought,
