With many throughout the UK now facing the arduous journey of restoring their homes after winter floods that reached new destructive heights, it’s clear that we must prepare better and faster for flooding – and not just in the UK
Retrofitting for Flood Resilience: A Guide to Building and Community Design is the newest release from RIBA. This timely guide equips homeowners, design professionals and policy makers with a comprehensive understanding of the topic and the practical knowledge to make a difference.
“The issue of flooding is increasingly pertinent,” author Edward Barsley explains. “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.”
Featuring over 300 original illustrations created by the author, Retrofitting for Flood Resilience is highly visual and accessible to all. 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 takes inspiration and guidance from several of his practices award-winning projects: including the Sunday Times ‘Resilient Home’ competition winning ‘Home for All Seasons’ and ‘Shifting Shorelines’ study. His work is showcased alongside and a multitude of exemplar international research studies and projects from around the world.
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 award-winning 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.