Building design is key to saving energy, water, and reducing the risks for disaster.

There are many different ways to achieve good building design.

In building a new building may look to to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 

Energy efficiency and environmental design while important may not address important issues of disaster reduction.

One of the best strategies for combinging energy efficiency, environmental desgin, and disater reduction can be found in the Monolithic Dome.

The Monolithic Dome uses about 25% the energy as conventional construction, uses environmentally friendly building materials, and is unequaled in reducing disaters.  FEMA rates this contstruction process as "near absolute protection" meaning that they are 100% fire proof, insect proof, tornado proof, earthquake proof and can withstand hurricane winds up to 300 mph.

The Monolithc construction is comparable to conventional construction for buildings up to 2000 square feet.  Larger buidings then become exponentially more cost effective than conventional construction.

Because the buildings are build to last not decades but centuries, the mantenance costs are also less and some buildings have obtained lower insurance costs as well.

This building using monolithic construciton took a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan and yet suffered only minor damage to its staircase while buildings around it were destroyed.

The monolithic architecture and construction can also be adapted to any sustainble tourism theme as can be seen in the Xanadu Island Resort video below.  Building design for sustainable tourism can be cost effective, energy efficient and be designed for disater reduction. 

To learn more aboub integrative building design and how to apply to existing buildings

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