Impact
People, place, and the planet shapes our work.
Impact
People, place, and the planet shapes our work.
CLIMATE ADAPTATION FOR ARCHITECTS: A DESIGN TOOLKIT
Climate Adaptation for Architects: A Design Toolkit by Allison Anderson, FAIA, was published by Routledge on September 16, 2025. The book presents a comprehensive reference for adaptation strategies to create a more resilient built environment at the community, site, and building scale.
About half of the world’s population lives in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change as hazards continue to intensify, with global disasters projected to reach 560 events per year by 2030, or 1.5 events every day. The accelerating frequency and intensity of disasters underscores the urgency to prepare for severe events to protect people, communities, and essential systems but also to protect the natural environment which provides shelter, livelihoods, cultural heritage, and public functions.
The author’s research on resilience and adaptation began as the direct result of Hurricane Katrina, which decimated her hometown of Bay St Louis. In the wake of the storm, issues of sustainability were superseded by a concern for the durability and continuity of the built environment in the face of accelerating challenges posed by heat, flooding, windstorms, and resource scarcity. In the 20 years since the storm, unabridged Architecture has incorporated the principles of climate change mitigation and adaptation into projects across a wide variety of scales and into professional resources such as the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, AIA Resilient Project Process Guide, Architect’s Guide to Business Continuity, and the AIA Climate Action Business Playbook.
Climate Adaptation for Architects: A Design Toolkit is available from Routledge (ISBN 9781032702964) and available to order from Amazon, Bookshop.org, and local independent booksellers.
A DECLARATION ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION
Climate is the force which most directly shapes architecture but we are reckoning with a destabilized climate system, altered by mankind through epoch-shattering consumption. We acknowledge a future marked by more frequent and more severe events; the current built environment will fail to shelter occupants and protect investments. Architects participate in creating the built environment but we need to create a future that is more resilient, more just, and more sustainable. unabridged promotes adaptation to the future through the following principles:
We adapt by assessing hazards and designing to mitigate risk and consequence.
We adapt by avoiding sites of future inundation or elevating above foreseeable floods.
We adapt by creating multiple lines of defence within the landscape and at the building edge.
We adapt by armouring critical facilities to the highest level of protection.
We adapt by designing for an extended service life for new buildings and the reuse of existing buildings.
We adapt by choosing materials to combat environmental conditions.
We adapt by considering embodied and operational carbon in our buildings.
We adapt by restoring the complex ecosystems that can better accommodate disturbance.
We adapt by creating beloved places that serve the community.
Our projects inspire a deeper look at architecture and the forces that shape the built environment. We seek to discover the uniqueness
inherent in each place and amplify it. Our projects cross boundaries: building and landscape, site and community, vernacular and
modern. How can we help you adapt to the future?