Introduction
With major and unfortunate events such as hurricanes and earthquakes serving as a wakeup call to remind designers and city planners of the need to keep the long-term picture in mind when designing, the preparation of buildings to withstand possible disasters is a necessity. Today, the term “sustainability” often conjures up an image of an ecological approach. “Sustainability” literally means “to endure”. Any so-called “green” designs and plans that don’t stand the test of time are not truly sustainable. As our attention is turned towards climate changes, the possibility of increasingly likely disaster scenarios, resilient design serves to remind us to design for durability over time as well as being environment friendly.
Resilient and responsible architecture is where the design process is initiated by careful thought into the typical usage scenarios of the building, common points of stress as well as the most likely disaster situations in the surrounding environment. The local environment always plays a critical role in determining the factors that make a building resilient or not, and so a resilient design is always specific to the geographical state.
We know we can't design for every unpredictable event, but we can make sure our buildings and cities are resilient and adaptable. In this regard, IEREK organizes the international conference on Resilient and Responsible Architecture and Urbanism (RRAU) – 7th Edition to highlight the role of architecture and urbanism in making our cities more resilient and sustainable.
The RRAU is a great opportunity for researchers, designers, architects and planners to get involved in long-term thinking about worst-case disaster scenarios, as well as more common, everyday wear. Though the variables which contribute to resilience are many, and often complicated – the larger lesson is simple: buildings need to be resilient in order to be truly sustainable.
