When the Whitney Museum of American Art opens its new building in downtown New York City in 2015 it will have watertight doors and glass on the ground level as well as a temporary flood barrier that can be quickly assembled around its perimeter. Of course, none of this resilience was part of the building’s design on October 29, 2012 when Hurricane Sandy roared through the region and the newly constructed basement became one with the Hudson River, which is normally about one block to the west. Fortunately for the Whitney, construction had just begun and architects and engineers were able to retrofit the lobby and basement. Flood protection does not come cheap, however. For the Whitney, it added about $20 million to the project budget. See also: Architectural engineering; Buildings; Floodplain; Hurricane; River

Resilience in building design is not new, according to architect Andrew Yanoviak, AIA, as architects have always addressed natural and human-made hazards. However, Yanoviak said, “With impending severe global warming, climate change, more catastrophic disasters, and non-sustainable land use problems, we are re-confronting a rather long existing, but only partially recognized, complex problem and an incompletely defined problem set for humanity to resolve in short order and with dwindling resources. It's quite a challenge.” See also: Climate modification; Global climate change; Hydrological consequences of global warming; Land-use planning; Risk assessment and management

Resilient building design requires more than the ability to withstand a disaster such as a flood, fire, earthquake, landslide, tornado, tsunami, terror or cyberterror attack; it also requires the ability to cope immediately and recover quickly. Most high-rise buildings, for example, are poorly insulated, do not have windows that open, and lack backup energy sources, water supplies, and sanitation systems. Among the resilient design strategies that have been suggested are backup capabilities (off-grid power, heating, cooling, water supply) on a higher floor and not the basement, low or passive energy strategies (highly insulated buildings, operable windows, maximum daylighting, and LED lighting), durable building materials (to withstand hurricanes, explosions, and flooding without significant damage), and early-warning systems. See also: Air conditioning; Comfort heating; Cyber defense; Earthquake; Earthquake early warning; Heat insulation; Landslide; Seismic risk; Structural design of high-rise towers; Structure (engineering); Tornado; Tsunami; Ventilation