‘Retrofitting for Flood Resilience: A Guide to Building and Community Design’ is the newest release from RIBA – this guide aims to equip homeowners, design professionals and policymakers with the knowledge to make a difference
Featuring over 300 original illustrations created by Edward Barsley, the author, Retrofitting for Flood Resilience is highly visual and accessible to all.
With many throughout the UK now facing the restoration of their homes after winter floods that reached new destructive heights, it’s clear that we must prepare better and faster for flooding.
Awareness of the causes of flooding
It showcases design strategies at the catchment, community, street and building scale, features case studies from around the world, and discusses flood resilience in relation to existing communities as well as the design of new developments.
Edward Barsley, said: “This book has been written to help raise awareness of the fundamental causes of flooding, as well as the catastrophic consequences that can ensue.
“Crucially, it’s been created to highlight the vast range of different ways in which the built and natural environment can be adapted to reduce the severity of the negative consequences of flooding, and their frequency, so that we don’t just survive but thrive.”
As a specialist in environmental design in architecture, Edward brings together expertise and innovation, drawing inspiration from his work as Founder and Director of the practice, The Environmental Design Studio, and research from council-funded studies exploring how risk is communicated, spatial strategies for adaptation and the value of retrofitting resilience.
The book’s cover artwork was created by New York-based artist Zaria Forman.
Edward concluded: “The process of adaptation should not just be seen as a necessity, given the increase in frequency and severity of flood events, but as an opportunity through which to deliver wider benefits such as improved biodiversity and to enhance the quality of placemaking in communities throughout the world.”
Reviews of retrofitting for flood resilience
Bill Gething, Professor of Architecture, UWE, said: “An impressive book. Comprehensive and authoritative, it conveys a wealth of information on the causes and impacts of flooding, with strategies for tackling these at all scales.
“Illustrated with case studies from around the world, it features clear depictions of design solutions and hundreds of original diagrams that encapsulate points made in the text and act as useful triggers for design and policy thinking.”
Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “People’s lives are being increasingly disrupted by climate change impacts like floods.
“Successful communities will be the ones most able to continue to operate through storms or return to business quickly afterward. This book is a practical guide to improved living during a global crisis.”
Available now from RIBA Bookshops, Amazon and online here.
