Here are seven ways to build for climate resilience without breaking the bank.
The threats posed by climate change, extreme weather events and environmental degradation are growing, and for vulnerable coastal and flood-prone areas, there is no choice but to adapt. Whether you’re constructing something new or renovating an existing structure, incorporating sustainable and flood-resistant designs helps buildings withstand future challenges.
The long-term benefits of sustainable and flood-resilient buildings—such as reduced energy costs, and lower maintenance and repair expenses—often outweigh initial expenses. However, the upfront investment represents a significant barrier for many developers and property owners, who are discouraged by the higher prices.
This is one reason the Norfolk, Virginia nonprofit Elizabeth River Project developed the Ryan Resilience Lab, a sustainable building designed to showcase cost-effective materials and solutions for builders and homeowners facing the challenges of floodwaters and climate adaptation.
Affordability efforts during design of the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk, Virginia, included careful consideration of building code requirements, comparative roof structures, and the type of sustainability technology employed.
As the lab demonstrates, builders and homeowners who embrace creative thinking and off-the-shelf solutions can achieve the desired result without spending a fortune. Here are seven tips for doing just that, drawn from my experience designing the lab.
1. Natural Light
Positioning a building to maximize natural light is a great example of a low-cost decision that pays off big in energy savings. For the Ryan Resilience Lab, we strategically oriented the building to take advantage of ample, glare-free northern light while shading south-facing windows to limit hot summer sun. This not only cuts down on the need for artificial lighting but also makes the space more pleasant and productive for everyone inside.
We also chose to include operable windows, which are rare in projects where developers usually prefer to keep everything hermetically sealed. But with this being a small building used by a single, close-knit team, we talked with the clients and agreed they could manage temperature and humidity, reducing the reliance on air conditioning. This approach lets us skip the need for pricey control systems. It also provides a degree of interior climate control during power outages that may be caused by severe weather events.
An emphasis on natural light cuts down on the need for artificial light and makes the indoors more pleasant and productive for occupants.
2. Choose a Heating and Cooling System That Makes Sense
Geothermal heating and cooling is a preferred system for builders looking to ensure the highest degree of sustainability, but it comes at a cost. In addition to the dollar amount (which can extend into tens of thousands of dollars), these systems require enough land for a wellfield that can ensure sufficient conductivity in the subgrade. This includes conductivity tests and installing specialized units inside the building that operate under very high pressure.
For the Ryan Resilience Lab, we chose a multi-zone heat pump that operates at a commercial-residential scale, at a cost 20-30 percent less than that of a more complex commercial system. We did opt for a model with a higher efficiency rating, which does come at a slightly higher cost for homeowners due to specialized components such as higher-efficiency valves and fan units. This is a marginal cost increase that I believe is worth making. Also, instead of drilling 100 geothermal wells, we simply mounted the mass-produced units on the rooftop of the building.
Instead of more expensive geothermal wells, Work Program Architects opted for multi-zone heat pumps with higher-efficiency valves and fan units mounted to the roof.
3. Go With an Efficient, Common-Sense Water System
Many sustainable buildings have the capability to recycle 100 percent of the water they collect, including runoff from gutters, and filter it for reuse as potable water through reverse osmosis technology. This is extremely expensive and requires special exceptions to the plumbing code. Our goal at the Ryan Resilience Lab was to recycle rainwater, but we opted for a greywater system instead. This involves filtering rainwater to remove impurities and organic matter to make it available for non-potable uses, such as flushing toilets.
Our decision to capture rainwater for such purposes was driven by practicality and sustainability, given the frequent rainfall in our area and the anticipated high number of hosted events in the building, which serves as a community gathering space. Treating that water to meet minimum safety standards incurred some costs, but it is significantly lower than the expense of making it drinkable. By adopting this approach, we reduce water bills and the amount of pollution that enters the river system.
4. Design to Let Water Pass Without Paying a Premium
At the Lab, we set the first occupied floor above the floodplain and treated the ground level as a deliberately floodable, semi-outdoor zone. The design team often joked it was “built like a beach house,” but the strategy was serious: Raise the living areas out of harm’s way and allow water to move freely through the ground level. Instead of fragile breakaway walls, we used flood damage-resistant materials such as concrete block, corrosion-resistant metals, and pressure-treated wood.
We went a step further by specifying a preservative treatment that reduced the risk of toxic leaching during tidal flooding—a small but important choice when building on the edge of the Elizabeth River.
We also avoided a costly mistake. Early in planning, we considered under-building parking, but code would have required nearly the entire ground floor and first structural level to be concrete, which is massively expensive.
By moving parking outside the footprint, we were able to frame the building in wood, saving on costs while still meeting code. This decision gave us a taller, slimmer building that freed up more of the site for stormwater absorption. In short, planning for floods forced us to make smarter choices—and those choices paid off in resilience and affordability.
The Ryan Resilience Lab’s living areas are above the floodplain, while a floodable ground level allows water to efficiently flow below.
5 Utilize Off-the-Shelf Products for Floodproofing
Because flooding impacts different kinds of spaces in different ways, we made sure to utilize affordable, off-the-shelf solutions appropriate for each space. The incursion of water into the elevator lobby, for instance, could lead to major systems and materials damage.
We took a “dry floodproofing” approach to that limited space. Deployable aluminum flood logs stack into side brackets in the external doorway and seal tight against floodwaters. They’re rated to withstand about four feet of water pressure and are common retrofit products, which made them a cost-conscious choice that any homeowner could use.
By contrast, the stair tower was “wet floodproofed” with smart vents—pressure-activated openings that only release under standing water load. Installed on opposite sides of the structure, the vents equalize hydrostatic pressure and prevent walls from buckling. (Without those balanced openings, a single-sided vent could actually worsen damage by letting waves or water pressure push unevenly against a wall.)
Equally important was moving sensitive equipment out of the danger zone. At the lab, electrical panels, solar switchgear and HVAC units were elevated four feet above grade, safely above the design flood elevation. This was partly about code compliance, but also about common sense: replacing submerged mechanicals is far more costly than designing them out of harm’s way in the first place.
This means Elizabeth River Project staff can keep the lights on and operations running even during a flood event. For homeowners, the same principle applies: Raising utilities onto a simple platform can mean the difference between quick recovery and thousands in replacement costs.
A stair tower that is “wet floodproofed” with smart vents—pressure-activated openings that only release under standing water load—equalize hydrostatic pressure and prevent walls from buckling.
6. Use Simple Green Infrastructure to Manage Stormwater
The lab’s site is designed as a patchwork of green infrastructure—rain gardens, bioswales, vegetated areas, and pervious paving—that soak up stormwater rather than funneling it into already-overloaded municipal drains. Norfolk’s aging stormwater system often backs up during heavy rain, leading to “nuisance flooding” that can overwhelm streets and doorways. By capturing and infiltrating water on site, we reduced flood risk and pollution running into the Elizabeth River.
Importantly, these systems don’t need to be complicated or costly. One of the rain gardens at the lab is essentially a sunken planter bed filled with salt-tolerant marsh grasses. It’s not a highly engineered basin with underdrains and overflows, but it still does the job: absorbing stormwater, filtering pollutants, and thriving even when submerged.
For homeowners, this approach is highly replicable. A simple, strategically placed rain garden or pervious path can make a property more flood-resilient without requiring specialized infrastructure.
The lab’s site is a patchwork of rain gardens, bioswales, vegetated areas and pervious paving, which soak up stormwater rather than funneling it into overloaded municipal drains.
7. Choose retrofit-friendly green roof systems
Green roofs often carry a reputation for high cost and heavy structural demands, but there are affordable, accessible options that deliver many of the same benefits.
At the lab, we installed a shallow, tray-based green roof with only four inches of planting medium. Unlike deeper, intensive systems, this retrofit-friendly product doesn’t require extensive reinforcement of the roof structure. In fact, it’s marketed specifically for existing buildings, making it a strong option for anyone looking to improve resilience without major renovation.
This modest system still pays dividends: It extends the lifespan of the roof membrane, provides a bit of insulation, and reduces runoff by absorbing rainfall before it ever hits the drains.
Builders and homeowners don’t have to choose between “all or nothing” when it comes to resilience features. Even a lightweight, modular green roof can make a measurable difference, at a cost that is far lower than most people assume.
Sam Bowling is an architect and associate principal at Norfolk, Virginia-based Work Program Architects (WPA). He leads the firm’s office in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Affordable to the Extreme
Here are seven ways to build for climate resilience without breaking the bank.
The threats posed by climate change, extreme weather events and environmental degradation are growing, and for vulnerable coastal and flood-prone areas, there is no choice but to adapt. Whether you’re constructing something new or renovating an existing structure, incorporating sustainable and flood-resistant designs helps buildings withstand future challenges.
The long-term benefits of sustainable and flood-resilient buildings—such as reduced energy costs, and lower maintenance and repair expenses—often outweigh initial expenses. However, the upfront investment represents a significant barrier for many developers and property owners, who are discouraged by the higher prices.
This is one reason the Norfolk, Virginia nonprofit Elizabeth River Project developed the Ryan Resilience Lab, a sustainable building designed to showcase cost-effective materials and solutions for builders and homeowners facing the challenges of floodwaters and climate adaptation.
Affordability efforts during design of the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk, Virginia, included careful consideration of building code requirements, comparative roof structures, and the type of sustainability technology employed.
As the lab demonstrates, builders and homeowners who embrace creative thinking and off-the-shelf solutions can achieve the desired result without spending a fortune. Here are seven tips for doing just that, drawn from my experience designing the lab.
1. Natural Light
Positioning a building to maximize natural light is a great example of a low-cost decision that pays off big in energy savings. For the Ryan Resilience Lab, we strategically oriented the building to take advantage of ample, glare-free northern light while shading south-facing windows to limit hot summer sun. This not only cuts down on the need for artificial lighting but also makes the space more pleasant and productive for everyone inside.
We also chose to include operable windows, which are rare in projects where developers usually prefer to keep everything hermetically sealed. But with this being a small building used by a single, close-knit team, we talked with the clients and agreed they could manage temperature and humidity, reducing the reliance on air conditioning. This approach lets us skip the need for pricey control systems. It also provides a degree of interior climate control during power outages that may be caused by severe weather events.
An emphasis on natural light cuts down on the need for artificial light and makes the indoors more pleasant and productive for occupants.
2. Choose a Heating and Cooling System That Makes Sense
Geothermal heating and cooling is a preferred system for builders looking to ensure the highest degree of sustainability, but it comes at a cost. In addition to the dollar amount (which can extend into tens of thousands of dollars), these systems require enough land for a wellfield that can ensure sufficient conductivity in the subgrade. This includes conductivity tests and installing specialized units inside the building that operate under very high pressure.
For the Ryan Resilience Lab, we chose a multi-zone heat pump that operates at a commercial-residential scale, at a cost 20-30 percent less than that of a more complex commercial system. We did opt for a model with a higher efficiency rating, which does come at a slightly higher cost for homeowners due to specialized components such as higher-efficiency valves and fan units. This is a marginal cost increase that I believe is worth making. Also, instead of drilling 100 geothermal wells, we simply mounted the mass-produced units on the rooftop of the building.
Instead of more expensive geothermal wells, Work Program Architects opted for multi-zone heat pumps with higher-efficiency valves and fan units mounted to the roof.
3. Go With an Efficient, Common-Sense Water System
Many sustainable buildings have the capability to recycle 100 percent of the water they collect, including runoff from gutters, and filter it for reuse as potable water through reverse osmosis technology. This is extremely expensive and requires special exceptions to the plumbing code. Our goal at the Ryan Resilience Lab was to recycle rainwater, but we opted for a greywater system instead. This involves filtering rainwater to remove impurities and organic matter to make it available for non-potable uses, such as flushing toilets.
Our decision to capture rainwater for such purposes was driven by practicality and sustainability, given the frequent rainfall in our area and the anticipated high number of hosted events in the building, which serves as a community gathering space. Treating that water to meet minimum safety standards incurred some costs, but it is significantly lower than the expense of making it drinkable. By adopting this approach, we reduce water bills and the amount of pollution that enters the river system.
4. Design to Let Water Pass Without Paying a Premium
At the Lab, we set the first occupied floor above the floodplain and treated the ground level as a deliberately floodable, semi-outdoor zone. The design team often joked it was “built like a beach house,” but the strategy was serious: Raise the living areas out of harm’s way and allow water to move freely through the ground level. Instead of fragile breakaway walls, we used flood damage-resistant materials such as concrete block, corrosion-resistant metals, and pressure-treated wood.
We went a step further by specifying a preservative treatment that reduced the risk of toxic leaching during tidal flooding—a small but important choice when building on the edge of the Elizabeth River.
We also avoided a costly mistake. Early in planning, we considered under-building parking, but code would have required nearly the entire ground floor and first structural level to be concrete, which is massively expensive.
By moving parking outside the footprint, we were able to frame the building in wood, saving on costs while still meeting code. This decision gave us a taller, slimmer building that freed up more of the site for stormwater absorption. In short, planning for floods forced us to make smarter choices—and those choices paid off in resilience and affordability.
The Ryan Resilience Lab’s living areas are above the floodplain, while a floodable ground level allows water to efficiently flow below.
5 Utilize Off-the-Shelf Products for Floodproofing
Because flooding impacts different kinds of spaces in different ways, we made sure to utilize affordable, off-the-shelf solutions appropriate for each space. The incursion of water into the elevator lobby, for instance, could lead to major systems and materials damage.
We took a “dry floodproofing” approach to that limited space. Deployable aluminum flood logs stack into side brackets in the external doorway and seal tight against floodwaters. They’re rated to withstand about four feet of water pressure and are common retrofit products, which made them a cost-conscious choice that any homeowner could use.
By contrast, the stair tower was “wet floodproofed” with smart vents—pressure-activated openings that only release under standing water load. Installed on opposite sides of the structure, the vents equalize hydrostatic pressure and prevent walls from buckling. (Without those balanced openings, a single-sided vent could actually worsen damage by letting waves or water pressure push unevenly against a wall.)
Equally important was moving sensitive equipment out of the danger zone. At the lab, electrical panels, solar switchgear and HVAC units were elevated four feet above grade, safely above the design flood elevation. This was partly about code compliance, but also about common sense: replacing submerged mechanicals is far more costly than designing them out of harm’s way in the first place.
This means Elizabeth River Project staff can keep the lights on and operations running even during a flood event. For homeowners, the same principle applies: Raising utilities onto a simple platform can mean the difference between quick recovery and thousands in replacement costs.
A stair tower that is “wet floodproofed” with smart vents—pressure-activated openings that only release under standing water load—equalize hydrostatic pressure and prevent walls from buckling.
6. Use Simple Green Infrastructure to Manage Stormwater
The lab’s site is designed as a patchwork of green infrastructure—rain gardens, bioswales, vegetated areas, and pervious paving—that soak up stormwater rather than funneling it into already-overloaded municipal drains. Norfolk’s aging stormwater system often backs up during heavy rain, leading to “nuisance flooding” that can overwhelm streets and doorways. By capturing and infiltrating water on site, we reduced flood risk and pollution running into the Elizabeth River.
Importantly, these systems don’t need to be complicated or costly. One of the rain gardens at the lab is essentially a sunken planter bed filled with salt-tolerant marsh grasses. It’s not a highly engineered basin with underdrains and overflows, but it still does the job: absorbing stormwater, filtering pollutants, and thriving even when submerged.
For homeowners, this approach is highly replicable. A simple, strategically placed rain garden or pervious path can make a property more flood-resilient without requiring specialized infrastructure.
The lab’s site is a patchwork of rain gardens, bioswales, vegetated areas and pervious paving, which soak up stormwater rather than funneling it into overloaded municipal drains.
7. Choose retrofit-friendly green roof systems
Green roofs often carry a reputation for high cost and heavy structural demands, but there are affordable, accessible options that deliver many of the same benefits.
At the lab, we installed a shallow, tray-based green roof with only four inches of planting medium. Unlike deeper, intensive systems, this retrofit-friendly product doesn’t require extensive reinforcement of the roof structure. In fact, it’s marketed specifically for existing buildings, making it a strong option for anyone looking to improve resilience without major renovation.
This modest system still pays dividends: It extends the lifespan of the roof membrane, provides a bit of insulation, and reduces runoff by absorbing rainfall before it ever hits the drains.
Builders and homeowners don’t have to choose between “all or nothing” when it comes to resilience features. Even a lightweight, modular green roof can make a measurable difference, at a cost that is far lower than most people assume.
By Sam Bowling, Guest Columnist
Sam Bowling is an architect and associate principal at Norfolk, Virginia-based Work Program Architects (WPA). He leads the firm’s office in Raleigh, North Carolina.Also Read