Hurricanes Helene and Milton emphatically remind us of the built environment’s vulnerability.
The escalating fury and frequency of hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, high winds, floods, and other natural hazards compel the profession to think well beyond minimum codes. The AIA’s hazard mitigation design resource page is a fine starting point to explore different resilient strategies available to you.
The good news is, the power of resilient architecture is astounding. Exhibit 1-A: the Sand Palace in Mexico Beach, Florida.
The seven-year-old, four-bedroom residence—called the Sand Palace—became an internet sensation several years ago. Aerial photographs showed the three-story home inexplicably standing and largely unscathed in an apocalyptic landscape of Category 5 hurricane ruin. As the only habitable structure around, the homeowner kindly allowed FEMA staff to temporarily use the Sand Palace as the agency’s disaster recovery center.
The Sand Palace’s remarkable survival is a masterclass in resilient design. In many respects, the monster hurricane never had a chance: Nearly every structural decision anticipated “the big one.” Those design lessons include:
1. The home rests atop 40-foot-long precast, pre-stressed concrete piles driven 28 feet deep, well beyond code requirements.
2. Steel cables lace the building from the girders above the pilings through the roof and continue down the back wall.
3. A proposed balcony on the east wall was not built as a precaution.
4. The roof overhang was kept very shallow compared with adjacent properties.
5. Some seaside windows were eliminated. Those that remained were engineered to withstand a Category 4 storm (and survived Category 5).
6. Sacrificial walls on the ground floor anticipate an aggressive tidal surge.
7. A simple hip roof minimizes wind uplift.
All resilient-smart choices. Yet, lesson eight may be most instrumental to the Sand Palace’s success:
8. The exterior wall system is built entirely with concrete and insulated concrete forms (ICFs).
If you’ve worked with concrete and ICFs, you shouldn’t be surprised. You know the system for installation speed, energy efficiency, acoustic control and, of course, resiliency:
- Rated to withstand wind speeds up to 250 mph
- Rated to withstand fire exposure for up to four hours
If you’re not familiar with concrete and ICFs, it’s a highly evolved building system that uses Lego-like EPS blocks laced vertically and horizontally with steel rebar to form a cast-in-place, continuously insulated concrete wall. As a building material, there are few equals.
It’s also resiliency without design compromise. Mark Ginsberg, FAIA, partner at Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, notes nearly any design aesthetic suits ICF, including modern, traditional, and Gothic, among others. “Any type of building typically done in a block bearing wall can be done in ICF. There’s nearly endless design flexibility.”
Climate change requires the profession to consider new resiliency methods. Building well beyond code seems to be the only responsible way to stay ahead of weather events, mitigating risk for architect and owner alike.
As you consider your resiliency strategy, keep concrete and ICFs in mind. The Sand Palace illustrates extreme survivability in a coastal setting. Those same characteristics apply with similar performance to a wide range of growing weather threats.
Learn more about concrete and ICF resilience to extreme weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires.
