The tornadoes that devastated the southern U.S. raise questions about climate change—and also about fracture-critical design.

The massive tornadoes that hit the southern U.S. this spring left more than ruined neighborhoods in their wake. Questions about climate change have resurfaced, as has speculation about how to prepare for future disasters. The frequency and severity of natural disasters is sound cause for concern. “By now, most people get that you can’t attribute any single weather event on global warming,” Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon told The Dallas Morning News. “But some thing are clear: Temperatures have been going up, and models all agree that the temperature rise will continue unless we get some massive volcanic eruptions or the sun suddenly becomes much dimmer.” [...]

Today’s advanced technologies will drive the future of fabric structures.

Fabric is one of the oldest materials humans have used for shelter; it remains an important material with diverse applications in design and construction today, and it will play an even more important role in the constructed environment in the future.

Predictions of energy scarcity and resource depletion, exacerbated by the burgeoning middle class in developing countries like China and India, point to ensuing decades of high commodity prices and fuel shortages. In these circumstances, existing resources and structures will be valued more highly, and traditional, energy-intensive practices like “raze and rebuild”—in which buildings are demolished to make way for others—will be less attractive. Instead, architects and builders will have to be more resourceful in their treatment of existing contexts and materials. [...]