Building Plan to Resist against Damaging

Effects of Weather
Eesha Kumar

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 Table of Contents
I. Introduction/Background Information…………………………………Page 3

II. Materials/Foundation…………………………………………………..Page 4

III. Additional Safety Features…………………………………………….Page 9

IV. Cost reduction/ Affordability…………………………………………Page 12

V. Conclusion……………………………………………………………Page 15

VI. References……………………………………………………………Page 16

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 Introduction/ Background Information

Throughout the world, many buildings are damaged and people are killed as a result of

natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes. A large part of why the effects of these natural

disasters are so widespread, is because buildings are not built to withstand the damaging effects

of the natural disasters, while protecting the people inside. Additionally, the issue of protecting

people from natural disasters is becoming more prevalent as disasters continue to devastate so

many people around the world. Developing a way to keep people safe inside a building has not

been figured out yet, as whenever a natural disaster strikes, people are forced to go into shelters

and inner portions of the building​. ​In addition, billions of dollars are spent every year in repairs

for the buildings that are damaged from natural disasters. With a stronger building design and

foundation, buildings will not be destroyed so easily, which results in less money being spent on

rebuilding them.

My design will hopefully ​ be able to endure the effects of natural disasters, and keep the

people inside safe. Additionally, I will have to implement my knowledge about materials science

in order to develop a design that will be safer and more affordable than anything that exists

already​. Incorporating a strong foundation is extremely important in making sure the building is

sturdy enough to resist harsh conditions. In addition, more safety features will need to be added

to make sure that any type of natural disaster will not affect the building. Developing a design for

this building will be beneficial to society in general as it provides people with a way to be safe

during natural disasters without having to go hide in a shelter. It serves as a real-world

application as my design can change the way buildings are constructed in the future to keep

people safe when natural disasters occur.

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 Materials/ Foundation

Choosing the right materials, or even combining materials, to use their properties to our

advantage is a crucial step to the process of building design. Certain materials may suit a specific

purpose much more efficiently than others based on what they are designed to accomplish.

Utilizing the right materials to fit a specific task is necessary in creating a strong foundation to

resist the damaging effects of natural disasters.

UPHC

The material that most of my building will be constructed with is ​ultra-high-performance

concrete (UHPC)​. ​UHPC can bend, yet is six times stronger

than regular concrete. It’s made of very fine aggregate, often

from recycled materials such as fly ash, and silica fume. The

addition of carbon metallic or polyvinyl alcohol fibers to the

concrete allows the material to bend and carry loads even

after some cracking has occurred. The diagram shows the

composition of materials in UPHC which work together to

make it sturdy. UPHC also has a past record of making sure buildings do not collapse when

hurricanes devastate many other buildings in the area. Using UPHC to construct my building will

make sure that the building will not fail even if a lot of pressure is applied to it, keeping the

people inside safe as well.

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Bautex

In addition, my building will also incorporate a new cement composite called Bautex,

which simplifies construction and improves building performance by combining materials that

perform better combined than each of the ingredients alone. Bautex combines materials, such as

cement, which is durable and non combustible, and expanded polystyrene, which is highly

insulating and lightweight. Because of its high R-value, expanded polystyrene aids in insulating

the building very effectively. These materials combined, produce a composite which is

lightweight, insulating, and fire and storm resistant.

Central Concrete

In order to ensure that my building does not collapse under harsh conditions, it will be

constructed around a central space of well anchored concrete. This will give the building a strong

foundation as well as protect it from the strong winds.

Self Healing Concrete

The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can cause concrete to deteriorate faster, so in order

to make sure this does not happen in my building, I will use self-healing concrete which uses

bacteria to seal any splits that may appear in the surface. This will make certain that my design is

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resilient and will not break apart over time even when exposed to harsh conditions. The picture

shows how a crack in the concrete was fixed on its own due to the self healing concrete which

sealed the crack before it could damage even more.

Roofing

In order to make sure my building is resistant to wildfires I will need to use less

flammable material for the roofing such as asphalt, clay, or aluminum which can prevent fires

from affecting the building. These materials will also help in making the building cost effective

because they happen to be some of the cheapest options out there, but still very beneficial to use.

Frames and Sheathing

My building will incorporate steel frames to reinforce the structure and ensure it will

remain strong for long periods of time, as well as plywood and gypsum sheathing on top.

Plywood sheathing delivers outstanding stiffness, strength and versatility, and increases the

overall stiffness of the panels in wall and roof assemblies in weather protected applications. In

addition, gypsum sheathing is manufactured with a water-resistant core and faced with

moisture-resistant paper, and is used for exterior, fire-rated sheathing applications. Using steel

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frames, and plywood/gypsum sheathing will allow my building to be stiff and water resistant at

the same time, creating a combination that is perfect for weather resistance. The diagrams below

show some of the configurations of plywood and gypsum sheathing along with the other

insulation components and framing

EIFs

Another element I will be incorporating in my building is an Exterior Insulation and

Finish System (EIFS), which is a non-load bearing, exterior wall cladding system that consists of

an insulation board attached either adhesively or mechanically, or both, to the substrate; an

integrally reinforced base coat; and a textured protective finish coat. My building will consist of

EIFS with Drainage, which is the predominant method of EIFS applied today. As the name

implies, EIFS with Drainage helps to eliminate moisture before it has an opportunity to enter the

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wall cavity. This will aid in keeping water out of the building when there are hurricanes, and

floods, so that the foundation is not affected by the rainwater. The diagram below shows a

typical EIF configuration demonstrating how the insulation is attached to the substrates, and

explains that the EIFs can be fastened to the exterior of the sheathing as well.

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 Additional Safety Features

Bendable Glass

In most cases, windows are the first components of buildings to fail, even before the

exterior wall as a result of strong gusts of wind. For this reason, my building will incorporate

bendable glass, which relies on engraved “microfissures” to allow it to bend without shattering.

Jigsaw-shaped engravings in the glass stop fractures from spreading, making the glass 200 times

stronger than standard glass. This will allow the windows to stay in tact through harsh rain and

winds, and keeps the people inside safe from broken glass and debris which would have resulted

with standard glass. The image demonstrates how

the bendable glass is persisting instead of

shattering when large amounts of pressure is

applied to it. Incorporating this glass into my

building for the windows will ensure that they

will be strong enough to withstand the damage

that natural disasters cause.

Stone/ Concrete Barrier

My building will also incorporate a barrier made out of stone or concrete to keep waves

and large amounts of water out. By surrounding the perimeter of the building with a barrier, any

large build ups of water will not be able to affect the building’s foundation.

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Elevate Building

If my design was going to be constructed in a location very close to the coast, the most

efficient way of making sure water does not affect it Another simplistic way to protect a structure

from floods is to elevate it out of the way of the water. This way, my building can be above any

water that might damage it, and ultimately allow it to be more resilient.

Paving System

In order to make sure the water does not get inside my building, there will be a paving

system at the base which will have connected channels to collect and distribute the water that it

captures from roofs, streets, and parking lots and delivers it to nearby spaces such as parks that

can absorb the water. This way, the water is deflected away from the building and will not cause

flash flooding.

Terraced Garden

In addition, integrating a terraced garden on the roof of my building will allow for more

water absorption, when excess amounts of water could potentially destroy the building. The

garden also serves as a warning system because when it starts to flood, it lets people know that

the building could potentially be affected by the water, so that other safety features can kick in to

prevent that from happening.

Waterfall from Roof

Incorporating elements such as ponds to filter runoff, or a waterfall from the roof on rainy

days, and other similar structures will aid in draining water to the exterior and are viable ways to

ensure that there is not a huge buildup of water near the building.

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Shock Absorbers

I will include shock absorbers in my building so that when an earthquake happens, the

sensors will control the flow of liquid to balance the destruction. The image below shows shock

absorbers that were put in some buildings in Japan in order to combat the large amount of

earthquakes there. They are put in place to control the strong vibrations that the earthquakes

produce and keep the building from collapsing.

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 Cost Reduction/ Affordability

As there are many new advanced features that will be incorporated into my building, the

cost is a huge factor to address in the application of my building design. Because of this, it is

very important to think of other factors which will aid in reducing the overall cost of production.

High Efficiency Motors

Incorporating high efficiency motors into my building design will allow for overall less

energy usage to keep the costs as low as possible. These motors will make heating and cooling

the building much more efficient so that the cost is reduced.

Shading/ Insulating Windows

Using shading/ insulating glass for the windows will also reduce overall energy costs as it

still lets daylight inside, while also providing shade and insulation at the same time. This way,

more money is not unnecessarily spent on insulating the building with additional materials. The

diagram below displays the different components of shading/insulating glass and how it uses

controlled fabrication, and slumped windows to control the opacity values of the window.

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Geothermal Pump Cycle

Renewable resources are also much cheaper and more sustainable for long periods of

time. Using these renewable resources in a geothermal pump cycle will cool and heat my

building efficiently while also saving money. The diagram below demonstrates how a

geothermal pump system works in terms of how the energy from the ground is transferred to heat

and cool the building using an evaporator, compressor, and condenser.

Rainwater Energy

My building will also use the rainwater that collects over time as a way to provide its

own water and power to overall reduce the costs of the building. The rainwater that can be

potentially damaging to the building, can be repurposed to benefit it by lowering the expenses

that would be required already.

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Cheap Roofing Materials

As was stated before in the materials/foundation section, using roofing materials such as

asphalt, clay, or aluminum both protects my building from wildfires, and happens to be some of

the cheapest options out there as well. By using these materials for my buildings’ roofing, money

can be saved while also protecting the people inside.

Strong and Resilient Material

Using resilient and sturdy materials to construct my building, such as ultra high

performance concrete/ self healing concrete will ensure that the building will not collapse, or

break when exposed to harsh conditions. Billions of dollars are spent every year in repairs for

buildings which were severely damaged due to natural disasters, so making buildings which will

not need to be repaired constantly every time a natural disaster strikes will save money in the

long run.

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 Conclusion

Developing sustainable building designs is becoming increasingly important for the

future, as serious natural disasters continue to devastate more buildings each year and costs

billions of dollars on repairs and rebuilding. My design will be able to both keep the building

from collapsing under harsh conditions as well as keep everyone inside safe. The additional

measures I took to the make the building more affordable and sustainable for the future will

definitely save money in the long run. This combination of materials and safety features,

although expensive at the beginning, will be most efficient in protecting against natural disasters

and save money in the long run.

My building design could be implemented all over the world, but would be increasingly

efficient on the coast where hurricanes with heavy rain and harsh winds occur regularly. In

addition the Break Even Mitigation Percentage (BEMP) needs to be considered. This calculation

predicts the amount of damage that will happen to a building in a certain location, by considering

the building type and construction. Using this data will allow me to determine whether it will be

worth it to construct my building in a specific area or not, based on the overall cost savings.

Keeping this analysis in mind will also allow me to understand where natural disasters are most

likely to strike, and which areas will most benefit from my building design.

Ultimately, the many components of my building design work effectively together in

order to decrease the impact that natural disasters have on buildings and people around the

world. Hopefully, with the implementation of my design and strategies, people will feel safer and

less buildings will be damaged when dangerous natural disasters strike.

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 References

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Chamberlin, John. "Resilient design solutions that stand up to the elements: with stricter building

codes, improved resilient design and innovative building products and systems have

surfaced in the industry." ​Walls & Ceilings​, Feb. 2017, p. 38+. ​General OneFile​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491595739/GPS?u=j043905011&sid=GPS&xid=9e

ec2d6a. Accessed 29 Nov. 2018.

“Earthquake Resistant Buildings and How They Work.” ​Firewalking Myth vs Physics​,
www.pitt.edu/~jsm79/trends.html​.
“High-Performance Composite Material.” ​Disadvantages of Structural Insulated Panels | Bautex
Systems - Bautex Systems,​
www.bautexsystems.com/bautex-wall-system/composite-material/​.
Mandel, Jenny. "Agencies design state-of-the-art building for weather and climate prediction."

Govexec.com,​ 13 Apr. 2006. ​General OneFile​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A209055022/GPS?u=j043905011&sid=GPS&xid=fe

c15933.

Mortice, Zach. “Hurricane-Proof Construction Methods Can Save Buildings, Communities.”

CAD Software | 2D And 3D Computer-Aided Design | Autodesk​, Redshift EN, 17 Apr.

2018,

www.autodesk.com/redshift/hurricane-proof-construction-methods-can-save-buildings-co

mmunities/​.

Parshley, Lois. "BUILT TO OUT LAST: AS CLIMPITE CHANGE INTENSIFIES,

ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, AND SCIENTISTS ORE DEVISING BETTER WAYS

TO DEAL WITH ALMOST ANYTHING NATURE THROWS OUR WAY." ​Popular

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http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A561565563/GPS?u=j043905011&sid=GPS&xid=9b

045f1b. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

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