Complimentary Webinar: Designing for Uncertainty: Resiliency, Climate Change, and Other 21st Century Perils

Posted by & filed under Events.

Presented by:
Dion N. Cominos, Esq., Firmwide Managing Partner, Gordon&Rees Scully Mansukhani
Andrew D. Mendelson, FAIA, Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Management Officer, Berkley Design Professional

Thursday, December 9, 2021
10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific Daylight Time
1.5 AIA Learning Units
1.5 RCEP Professional Development Hours
Health Safety and Welfare Qualified

Berkley DP policyholders who participate in this program can qualify for a 15% Risk Management Education credit. Contact your agent for further information*

This webinar has been recorded and is available on demand for Berkley Design Professional policyholders and our appointed agents and brokers on the BDP Risk® Learning Management System.

bdp Risk® lms login

In today’s complex design and construction environment, disputes will occur. Often the difference between success The practice of architecture and engineering in the 21st century can be forbidding. Today’s increasingly complicated and uncertain landscape includes climate change, aging infrastructure, pandemics, and a host of other manmade and natural phenomena. The importance of incorporating adaptation strategies and anticipating extreme weather events are just two areas that are shaping the standard of care for design professionals. Through instruction and actual case examples, this webinar offers valuable insights on applying the principles of resilient design for buildings that are able to withstand extreme weather and remain habitable, infrastructure that supports a sustainable ecosystem, and community design that manages stormwater and mitigates wildfire. Participants will learn strategies for facility planning, HVAC, and other design considerations in the post-Covid-19 built environment, and best practices for performing adjacent structure-design, structural condition assessments, and other inspections.

(more…)

Resilient design for a safer, more secure future

Posted by & filed under Published Articles.

By Andrew D. Mendelson | July 12, 2021

The consequences are undeniable. Global climate change has affected everything from the design and building of roads, bridges, homes and office complexes to the upgrading of our nation’s electrical grids and pipeline systems.

Unfortunately, the forecasts of many of the world’s leading climate research agencies are less than optimistic. According to NASA, the effects of global climate change are likely to continue “over this century and beyond” as the growing intensity and frequency of severe storm events, heat waves and wildfires increasingly wreak havoc on the nation’s infrastructure and ecosystem. In fact, the National Centers for Environmental Information, recently reported that 25 storm-related disasters in the U.S. caused more than a billion dollars in damages each from 2018 to 2019. Of these, the top five combined to cause more than $75 billion in damages.

As a result, a renewed emphasis has been placed on the creation of buildings and infrastructure that not only withstand severe natural events but remain habitable under extreme conditions. Even President Biden’s American Jobs Plan proposed wide-ranging initiatives promising that infrastructure projects developed under the plan would include funding to prevent, reduce and withstand the impacts of the climate crisis.

(more…)