At its most basic level, resilience is defined as ‘the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change’. Whenever severe hardship is experienced – be it through war, natural disaster or personal tragedy – stories of endurance and courage in the face of adversity emerge, powerfully reminding us how resilience helps us to adapt.
Building resilience
Resilience is achieved by being able to absorb and recover from shocks. From the moment we are born, we are learning to adapt. As children, we learn to get up and carry on after falling over, and as adults, the lessons come thick and fast! But for every change, disappointment or crisis – big or small – that we adapt to or manage to put behind us, our resilience grows. We learn from our experience, and it helps develop our resilience muscle. It’s worth remembering that resilience is not a set- and-forget human trait, nor are we born with a finite supply of it – it’s a skill that is learned and mastered with practice.
Resilience in our built environment
In many ways, a resilient built environment is fundamental to nurturing that sense of wellbeing that bolsters our own ability to be resilient. It’s a truly symbiotic relationship.
Resilience in the built environment is also about adapting to changing circumstances, preparing for future challenges and learning from the lessons of the past. In the building system, resilience is achieved through increasing knowledge to guide and improve where, what and how we build – and with what materials.
One of the most important similarities between resilience in life and in the built environment is the need for collaboration. In the case of humans, those who have strong support networks are more likely to recover from a disappointment or crisis. In the built environment, collaboration across the system – between designers, engineers and builders – is more likely to result in buildings and infrastructure that can withstand the challenges of a changing climate.
Another similarity is the importance of being prepared. In both the human and built environment situations, preparedness is key to successfully responding to potential challenges or crises.
Research to improve resilience
Improving resilience in the built environment through collaboration and preparedness is very much at the core of BRANZ’s work. Earlier this year, our research and commercial testing
capabilities took a giant leap forward with the opening of our new structures laboratory as phase one of a significant campus redevelopment.
We are really proud of this new facility, as it will play an increasingly important role in building system transformation and the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s built environment.
BRANZ now has the capability to test the resilience of buildings to the impacts of climate change such as extreme winds and other natural phenomena, including stronger earthquakes. The considerably larger facility also enables more tests to be run concurrently and a quicker response for commercial customers as new building materials, systems and products are developed.
A new world-class fire laboratory is also under construction and due for completion next year. It will be a fully constructed 8-metre, 3-storey building to test the impact of fire risk in modern building practices and products.
Together, these facilities will provide the evidence base to guide better building and improve the resilience muscle of the built environment for decades to come. In so doing, they will help improve the lives – and support the resilience – of communities across the country.