Climate-adaptive building means designing a building and its surroundings robustly enough to move with a changing climate: cloudbursts, long dry spells, heat and a fluctuating groundwater table. It is not about cutting CO2 emissions — that is climate mitigation — but about absorbing the consequences that are already arriving.
Adaptation works at two scales at once. At neighbourhood scale it is about water storage, green structure and the layout of streets. At plot scale it is about your own roof, façade, garden and foundation. The recurring themes are flooding from rainfall, drought, heat and river or coastal flooding.
Where it applies
- Keeping rainwater on your own plot — soakaway crates, a gravel trench or a swale instead of connecting everything to the sewer. Many Dutch municipalities require storage in the order of 20 to 60 mm per square metre of paved area for new build or renovation; the binding figure is always in your local stormwater rules
- Less hard surface — permeable paving, grass pavers or simply fewer slabs let rain soak away rather than run off
- Green roof — an extensive sedum roof with 60 to 120 mm of substrate holds roughly 15 to 30 litres of water per square metre and flattens the runoff peak
- Keeping heat out — external shading on south and west façades, overhangs, and shade from trees. Shading outside the glass is many times more effective than internal blinds
- Drought and foundations — on clay and peat soils a falling water table causes settlement and, in the Netherlands, rot in timber pile foundations; do not lower the level unnecessarily
- Detailing — enough overhang, sound drainage, timber kept clear of the ground
Practical tips
- Design for short, intense downpours — a gutter and downpipe that are “usually” adequate will overflow in a cloudburst. An emergency overflow in the parapet stops water entering the building
- Fall away from the building — lay a terrace or driveway with roughly 10 to 20 mm per metre of fall towards planting, not towards the wall
- Combine measures — a water butt of 100 to 300 litres is fine for the plants but far too small to store a storm; pair it with infiltration
- Plan the maintenance — infiltration systems and green roofs silt up if nobody checks them; schedule an annual inspection as a minimum
Related terms
- Climate buffer
- Climate mantle
- Infiltration
- Green roof
- Rainwater drainage
Want to learn more about construction terms? Visit our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.