Resilience-based design integrates enhanced design, contingency planning, and risk verification to ensure that owners can resume operations and/or provide livable conditions quickly following disaster. It is focused on continued functionality and protection of assets in addition to life-safety. This definition of resilience-based design was specifically developed for the REDi framework.

REDi is a set of prescriptive guidelines for owners, engineers, and architects to implement resilience-based design to achieve beyond-code resilience objectives. The guidelines are focused around four4 pillars of resilience-based design: Operational Resilience, Building Resilience, Site Resilience, and Resilience Assessment.

REDi outlines three rating tiers (Platinum, Gold, and Silver) that are each focused on continuity or recovery of core services, which is the single best measure of resilience. The prescriptive guidelines are written to achieve the corresponding pre-identified tier.

Modern building codes generally target life-safety objectives but do not aim to limit damage or maintain functionality after major natural hazard events. REDi was developed to help address the gaps in the traditional design approach and provide resilience recommendations that go beyond code requirements.

REDi was developed for developers, owners, engineers, and architects, and was deliberately written like a building code for ease of use. Owners can specify the desired REDi rating tier while also utilizing the guidelines to implement preparedness measures at an organizational level. Architects and engineers should use it to guide design and analysis.

Platinum and Gold rated buildings are both designed to be relatively undamaged after major natural disaster events. The major difference between the two is that Platinum rated buildings will have back-up systems to enable operations in the event of utility outages, as well as other contingency measures to ensure site access, while Gold rated buildings may not be operational until utilities and site access is restored.

Silver rated buildings are expected to sustain some damage and may not be re-occupiable or functional for several months. This performance level is still likely to exceed the anticipated performance of similar buildings designed to code.

This depends on the organization’s resilience objectives. For critical facilities that need to provide continuous service, such as hospitals, data centers, and emergency response facilities, a Platinum rating should be pursued. For facilities that need to provide safe shelter to occupants, such as multi-unit residential buildings, a Gold rating should be pursued (at a minimum).

There are individual REDi guidelines that focus on Earthquakes, Extreme Windstorms, and Floods. Additional guidelines for other hazards are also planned for future release.

Yes, a new version that incorporates lessons learned from implementation is anticipated to be released in Q1 2024.

Yes, the REDi design and planning criteria can be applied to major retrofits of existing buildings. The criteria can also be assessed retroactively to recently constructed buildings to determine compliance. The risk assessment methodology can be applied to all buildings.

REDi defines best-practice for resilience-based design and aims to be the de facto guideline for implementing hazard-specific resilience in buildings.

Our mission is to make resilience mainstream and for it to be easier to embed in the design process. REDi aims to transform the way resilience is measured and implemented in the built environment and lower the barrier to entry for developers, architects, and engineers, helping owners achieve their organizational resilience goals.

REDi was developed by Arup with contributions from subject matter experts from many other organizations. It is publicly available to be used in resilience-based design projects.

REDi can be used without needing to pursue certification. If certification is desired, the owner should pursue a voluntary self-certification by hiring an independent peer reviewer to assess whether the REDi design and planning criteria, as well as the resilience objectives, have been satisfied.

Yes. LEED credits are available through IPpc99 for Silver ratings or better.

Our experience suggests that the cost premium in relation to a code-designed building is on the order of 0-5% of the construction hard costs. However, this is based on a limited number of projects and it is rare to track the costs of two parallel designs in order to verify these premiums.

REDi™ is provided to you by Arup under the License, as defined below, subject to the following conditions.

Arup grants to users of REDi™ a limited, worldwide license to use REDi™ for non-commercial and commercial uses, on the condition that:

1. REDi™ and Arup are appropriately credited using the REDi™ logo;

2. No alterations or citations of REDi™, in whole or in part, change, misconstrue, or materially adapt the contents published here; and

3. REDi™, in its entirety or in parts, is not re-purposed for other rating systems.

4. Without limiting other conditions in the License, the grant of rights under the License will not include, and the License does not grant to you, the right to Sell REDi™ for uses other than a rating system.

For purposes of the foregoing, “Sell” means practicing any or all of the rights granted to you under the License to provide to third parties, for a fee or other consideration, a product or service whose value derives, entirely or substantially, from REDi™.