Alexis Sutherland
Retrofit of Buildings for Flood Resilience and Adaptability
Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in New Zealand, causing significant damage to infrastructure and affecting people's lives. While floods are a natural occurrence, they have become more problematic because of where people live and factors like climate change, urbanisation, and land use. Currently, about 65% of New Zealanders live in areas prone to flooding. As flooding events become more frequent and severe due to climate change, it's essential to incorporate adaptation and resilience measures into building design as part of a wider flood risk management plan. My research aims to identify and develop flood-resilient design strategies for existing buildings in New Zealand and explore how to implement them. The goal is to reduce the negative impacts of flooding and enhance overall flood risk management. Other research in this area highlights the importance of incorporating local and indigenous knowledge and fostering community involvement to improve the effectiveness of flood-resilient design strategies. The insights gained from existing literature will be used to create a suitable methodology for the New Zealand context.
Supervisors
Professor Robyn Phipps & Dr Aniebietabasi Ackley
Publications
Sutherland, A., Ackley, A., Phipps, R., Longley, I., Mackenzie, S., Jermy, M., Chen, J., Gronert, R. (2022). The Impact of Natural Ventilation During Winter on Thermal Comfort. Ministry of Education, New Zealand.
Sutherland, A., Ackley, A., Phipps, R., Chen, J., Jermy, M., (2022). The Performance of Portable HEPA Air Cleaners in Naturally Ventilated Classrooms. Ministry of Education, New Zealand.
Ackley, A., Longley, I., Chen, J., Mackenzie, S., Sutherland, A., Jermy, M., Phipps, R., Gronert, R. (2022). The Effectiveness of Natural Ventilation - A Case Study of a Typical New Zealand Classroom with Simulated Occupation. Ministry of Education, New Zealand.
Conference Presentations
4th Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change Conference 2024. Increasing the Resilience of New Zealand Housing from Flooding. Robyn Phipps, Alexis Sutherland, Tonya Sweet
Qualifications
Master of Architecture (Professional), MArch(Prof), Victoria University of Wellington, 2022
Bachelor of Architectural Studies, BAS, Victoria University of Wellington, 2020
Awards
Wellington Doctoral Scholarship