ABSTRACT
A “green” building is one that is environmentally friendly in its design, construction and operation. In health infrastructure, green hospitals promote public health and also provide better working conditions for health workers. However, considering the multi-hazard prone nature of our country, these health facilities must also be disaster-resilient. A resilient hospital building is one that can resist the impact of natural hazards and allows the health facility to remain functional during and beyond the immediate aftermath of the hazard. It is often mistakenly assumed that green designs and disaster-resilient designs are mutually exclusive and that one aspect has to be compromised in order to cater to the other. A well-designed disaster-resilient building can follow “green” criteria while enhancing resilience to the hazards that can affect buildings in the region. The concept of green buildings is not unique to healthcare, but hospitals do face unique challenges in terms of sustainability and disaster resilience as they are resource- and energy-intensive buildings. The chapter will provide an overview of how to design and build new health facilities that are green and resilient, focusing on siting and disaster-resilient infrastructure. It will also look at retrofitting strategies to make existing buildings green and resilient.
