Implementing resilience in sustainable building design: Testing selected resilience criteria in a case study

Climate change is causing unprecedented changes in precipitation, extreme temperatures, and weather-related threats. Without effective intervention, these changes are expected to escalate in the coming years, potentially causing substantial damage to buildings. Paradoxically, the buildings themselves possess the potential to both exacerbate and alleviate climate change. To achieve a balance, the design of the building must adhere to minimal sustainability standards, taking into account resilience. Popular building rating systems, currently skewed towards sustainability, often neglect resilience principles. This paper aims to assess five selected resilience criteria from a new module incorporated into an existing building certification system, SBToolCZ. Validation occurs through a multi-residential building case study in Prague, evaluating the effectiveness of the criteria in terms of feasibility, accuracy, consistency, and time/data requirements. The results of this criteria test determine the clarity, achievability, and informativeness of the selected criteria. If gathering information and meeting benchmarks within a specific time frame proves challenging, adjustments to the criteria may be necessary for attainability and specificity. Integrating resilience features into sustainability rating systems, typically used in the early stages of design, can encourage designers to incorporate resilience into their projects. This proactive approach could lead to long-term reductions in environmental, social, and economic impacts, especially during weather-related hazards.