Sustainability Series
Week 3: Designing in resilience
Welcome to Week 3
After a summer marked by devastating wildfires and extreme heat, the importance of resilient design feels more urgent than ever. Concrete has an important role to play in this conversation. Its durability and thermal mass can help buildings and infrastructure perform well in a changing climate, while concrete-based solutions are already supporting sustainable drainage, flood resilience and safer, more comfortable internal environments during periods of high temperature. So for Week 3 of our Sustainability Series, we are focusing on how we can design buildings and infrastructure that are better prepared for overheating, flood risk and the wider challenges of a changing climate.
A highlight of the week will be our ‘Designing in resilience’ webinar on Wednesday 7th October, which I’ll be hosting. I’m looking forward to bringing together our expert panel to explore how buildings can be designed to withstand the increasingly frequent and severe weather events we are already experiencing, from hotter summers and overheating risk to intense rainfall and flash flooding. Through short presentations and a moderated discussion, we’ll focus on practical design interventions that can improve resilience without compromising performance or buildability, and on the measures designers can incorporate into projects today.
To support designers in putting resilience into practice, The Concrete Centre has a wide range of resources available covering everything from overheating and thermal mass to drainage and flooding. I have pulled together some of my highlights below to help signpost practical guidance and useful starting points for designing in resilience.
I hope to see you at the webinar!
Helen Raymond, Senior Sustainable Design Architect, The Concrete Centre
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Where do I start with specifying lower carbon? (Webinar)
Date: Thursday 07 October 2026
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Venue: Online
As our climate changes, buildings must be designed to withstand increasingly frequent and severe weather events. From overheating during hotter summers to managing the impacts of intense rainfall and flash flooding, resilience is becoming an essential consideration in the design of new homes and buildings.
Join our expert panel as they explore practical design interventions that can improve resilience without compromising performance or buildability. Through a series of short presentations followed by a moderated discussion, our speakers will share insights into designing for overheating, flood resilience and other climate-related challenges, highlighting practical measures that can be incorporated into projects today.
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Spotlight on: drainage and flood resilient design
One in six properties in the UK are at risk of flooding, not just from rivers or the coast, but also surface water flooding due to intense rainstorms. So consideration of how to embed property flood resilience into new construction should be a key consideration during design. This webinar from last year’s Sustainability Series covers the key principles.
It is not just the buildings themselves which play a role in mitigating flooding – permeable paving is a key solution for managing rain and floodwater. The Permeable Paving Manual from MPA Precast has recently been updated to reflect the latest developments and solutions in concrete block permeable pavements.
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Spotlight on: mitigating overheating
As extreme heat becomes a more regular feature of UK summers, designing buildings that remain safe, comfortable and usable during hot weather is an increasingly important part of climate resilience. The inherent thermal mass of concrete can play a valuable role by helping to absorb and moderate heat gains, reducing peak internal temperatures and supporting more stable indoor conditions. When combined with good orientation, limiting solar gains, effective shading and adequate ventilation, thermal mass can help lower overheating risk by several degrees, improving comfort and reducing reliance on mechanical cooling. More information on practical design strategies for mitigating overheating, and how these are covered by Part O of the Building Regulations, is available here.
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Spotlight on: water use in concrete
With many parts of the country still being subject to water use restrictions due to the extreme heat this summer, the responsible use of water is vital. Water is important at many stages of concrete production and its constituent parts. It is used for washing during the extraction of aggregates, to granulate blast furnace slag, during the mixing of concrete, for cleaning plant and in dust suppression measures. The Concrete Centre has produced new guidance on water use in concrete is available as part of our Specifying Sustainable Concrete suite.