Developing a decision framework for multi-hazard design of resilient, sustainable buildings

Resilient and sustainable multi-hazard building design can significantly benefit from a holistic approach that considers hazards in the context of the full building life-cycle. Sustainability of a building is dependent not only on well-defined impacts from initial design, construction, and operation, but also those associated with uncertain future hazards. Currently available methods are adequate in addressing individual issues related to resilient and sustainable building design but fail in addressing the complexities and interconnectedness in a multi-hazard environment where these dependencies exist at multiple levels. There is a significant knowledge gap in terms of integrated decision support methodologies to reconcile these types of design considerations in a systematic framework. A decision framework under development provides robust estimates of resiliency and sustainability over a broad set of soil, foundation, structural and envelope (SFSE) systems, and multi-hazard considerations. Assessment occurs in three modules that perform the following tasks: (M1) generation of site-appropriate SFSE systems; (M2) probabilistic assessment of multi-hazard performance and operation; and (M3) multi-objective and multi-attribute optimization of performance metrics to prioritize and refine the design of candidate systems. The three modules are adaptable and generalizable to multiple building types, hazards, and performance metrics. Building on previous research in performance-based assessment, the decision framework offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to the selection of SFSE systems during conceptual design. Initial development of the decision framework focuses on mid-rise commercial buildings exposed to hurricane, earthquake, and tsunami hazards