PICS IBAMA Rendering

Rendering of social space on fourth floor balcony, overlooking inner courtyard. (Courtesy PUBLIC Architecture + Communication).

Explore new tools that support the integration of green building and climate adaptation approaches for multi-unit residential buildings.

In partnership with BC Housing, this University of British Columbia-led project has completed its investigation into how the design, construction and operations of multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) can effectively integrate both climate mitigation and adaptation considerations. The need for this integration stems from the unintended consequences that may result from adaptation policies and practices being developed separately, or as add-ons to more established green building systems for optimizing buildings’ environmental performance. 

The project has created an integrated building adaptation and mitigation assessment (IBAMA) framework and tool now available for use by building industry professionals including architects, engineers, developers and owners of MURBs. Being able to identify solutions that benefit both environmental performance and climate adaptation objectives can minimize project costs and risks associated with strategies that advance one paradigm but could undermine the other. 

The long-term goal is that the IBAMA framework will influence future building codes, standards, and construction best practices in BC and abroad. IBAMA will be piloted on affordable housing and other projects throughout 2021.

Available now for use is the IBAMA Primer, an IBAMA Reference Guide, and IBAMA Excel Tool. IBAMA and associated documents are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Also available is a four-part video series that explains how to implement the IBAMA tools. Watch the videos here.

Opportunity Project: Began April 15, 2019 / Project Duration: Two years. Completed.

Research Partners

Principal Investigators

Stephanie Chang

Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) and Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) University of British Columbia

Researchers

Ilana Judah

Architect M.Sc. Student, Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES), UBC

Solution Seekers

  • BC Housing