You know the old adage—luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
And one way to prep is to be armed with a thorough understanding of the economic and social issues that are inextricably tied to the work of our industry.
Welcome to Deep Dive, where we go full nerd on the content we’re consuming to stay in tune with the building materials industry and its evolution. In this edition, we’re looking closely at a trend we’ve been tracking for the last several years: building resilience. Materials that perform well under duress are increasingly the focus of stakeholders across the building industry, from engineers to product manufacturers.
Here are a few of the reads and listens helping us stay informed:
Hazard-Resilient Buildings: Sustaining Occupancy and Function After a Natural Disaster
This congressional research report on building hazard resilient buildings is an extremely useful read we recommend to everyone in the industry. It reinforces what we already know: not addressing the need for hazard-resilient buildings will be extremely costly. Natural disasters contributed to more than $2.2 trillion in total losses in the United States between 1980 and 2021. And according to the report, the relevance of resilient building design and materials, including roofing, siding, windows and plumbing, goes way beyond coastal areas.
Building Resilience: From Rooftops to Results
In this interview with Roy Wright, president and CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), we learn about how the industry is incentivizing stronger home design and the challenges of getting more states to adopt modern building codes. According to Wright, many homeowners believe this doesn’t affect them: “It’s a failure of imagination. You look at the impact of Helene ... people go, yeah, hurricanes in Florida. They don’t think hurricanes in south Georgia.”
Building Sustainably: Mass Timber
Mass timber is becoming more and more popular in the U.S., with quite a few large-scale projects planned. We recommend this fact sheet as an easy and quick read to get familiar with some of the resilient qualities of mass timber in earthquakes, storms and even fire. Another resource we refer to is the American Wood Council, another valuable reference on the resilient qualities and trends related to mass timber.
The Case for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure
Here’s a stunning number that really declares the relevance of this issue in stark terms: according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, because the U.S. has historically underinvested in infrastructure, there’s going to be approximately $15.2 trillion needed for improvements by 2043. The article details the context of those investments—how climate change is impacting building infrastructure, and the type of planning needed for the future make things, if not perfectly resilient, at least more resilient and quicker to recover from extreme weather events. An important read.
Hurricanes and flooding: Advancing building strategies for resilience
A report from First Street Foundation in 2023 found that 39 million properties across the U.S. are at high risk from flooding, wildfires or hurricane winds. That number reflects how pervasive the problem is not just on the coasts, but in the Midwest and other parts of the country. This engineer writes to make the case for better flood preparedness measures in building and construction and outlines some of the strategies for designing a stronger building envelope.
Designing for Wildfires Training Series - Module 3: WUI Codes and Standards
While it is highly granular and often technical, FEMA’s “Designing for Wildfires” training series on YouTube is a valuable watch for anyone who wants to deeply understand best practices for wildfire-prone areas. Module 3 dives into WUI codes and standards, specifically outlining planning and material requirements. And it’s free.
Historically, homeowners deferred to contractors. But with the explosion of the internet and social media, that’s changing rapidly. Learn why the increasing savvy of homeowners is a trend every building product manufacturer needs to pay attention to, now.
We scouted the sights, surveyed the booths, and drew up a list of the most interesting trends we saw at the International Builders’ Show 2026. Learn more about how the industry is tackling labor shortages, climate change, new audiences and more.
If you’re a building materials manufacturer heading into the new year feeling like the ground keeps shifting under your feet, you’re not imagining it. Get informed insights in to market challenges for the year ahead—and actionable advice on how to face them—from our CEO Bill Rossiter.