The physical, economic and social impacts of flooding can be both severe and wide reaching. In the UK, 1 in 6 properties are at risk of flooding, a figure expected to double in the next 20-30 years and it’s therefore vital that both new and existing communities made resilient to flooding. 

This seminar introduces the fundamental principles of flood resilient design. Strategies for adaptation and resilience are discussed at the catchment, community, street and building scale. The session begins by discussing the various types of flooding that can occur and explains the range of tools and techniques available for understanding a historic, present and future flood risk context. Flood resilient design at the building level is then discussed in relation to the new ‘Code of Practice for Property Flood Resilience’ (PFR) which sets out the key standards, requirements and process through which to be working on this topic and applies to both new build and existing contexts. The training also covers strategies for Natural Flood Management, including SuDS interventions and making cities and streets for blue/green. 

Throughout the training it is made clear that each type of flooding has different characteristics that will influence the suitability of any given design strategy. When one factors in different construction materials, house types, ground conditions, conservation policies and user preferences, it becomes clear that every approach needs to be developed to be appropriate for a given context, which is why its important to be up to speed and well informed of the range and suitability of different interventions and the fundamentals of flood resilient design.