By Mackenna Moralez, Assistant Editor

Recent instances of deadly building collapses and shutdowns have put many institutional and commercial facilities — especially hospitals and other healthcare facilities — on edge. These facilities are required to operate 24/7 and have to schedule and plan maintenance around these mission-critical activities.

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados, can have devastating consequences on buildings that are not prepared. Extreme storms with high winds can damage the building envelope, while moisture can penetrate the building assembly, creating additional damage.

Meanwhile, temperature fluctuations from extreme heat can be taxing to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Flooding also has become more common, and facilities are addressing the need for resilience by designing upgrades and new facilities to the 500-year flood standard and placing critical equipment and functions on higher floors.

“It is important now to plan for these events by winterizing, developing building envelopes that withstand wind-driven rain events, and incorporating passive cooling strategies, which will protect your investment, reduce liability, and contribute to resilient building in the face of these weather events,” says Julie Frazier, director of healthcare planning and associate principal with Perkins&Will, a global design firm. “There is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution when considering climate impacts to a project. It is essential to start with a clear understanding of the weather events the project is susceptible to, specific to its location.

“When beginning a project, the three questions one must ask, what are the climate projections particular to this location, what vulnerabilities this exposes to my building, and what design solutions I will implement.”

In November, Norwood Hospital broke ground on its replacement facility after it was forced to close last year due to extreme flooding. The damage cost the hospital tens of millions of dollars as water reached the facility’s basement, parking lot and HVAC system. Now, designers must create buildings that are more resilient to extreme weather and are adaptable to specific climates, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions while increasing occupant thermal comfort.

“Climate has a major impact on building longevity,” says Pablo La Roche, principal with CRTKL, a global architecture, planning and design firm. “A building in a hot climate with features such as shading will not look the same as a building in a cold climate with equatorial-facing windows for passive solar gains.

“Climate change is bringing further considerations, and designers must now not only consider existing climate but also future climate, and buildings must be designed with futureproofing for the climate in mind, considering potential threats, like more frequent and more intense heatwaves and more intense rainfall events.”

As climate change plays a more critical role in determining building longevity, sustainable materials — for example, mass timber that is sustainably harvested for structural purposes— can be used to ensure durability. La Roche says wood sequesters carbon from the atmosphere to grow reduce the impact on the environment when it is used instead of high-intensity materials like steel.

“Durability in buildings is a key sustainability consideration,” La Roche says. “A more durable building will be a more sustainable building because the resources used for its construction will be used for a longer time. This includes the embodied carbon in the materials, which can have a significant impact on climate change. Building materials should be carefully selected based on their function in the building, their durability, and their environmental impact. Materials that are more durable and have less embodied carbon and less environmental impact are preferred.”

Mackenna Moralez is assistant editor with Healthcare Facilities Today.