Two weeks ago, Tien Peng, NRMCA’s senior director of sustainability, codes and standards, presented "Resilience is the New Sustainability" to an audience of largely architects and planners at the American Institute of Architects' Iowa Annual Convention. The seminar featured local disaster impacts, design opportunities with voluntary "code-plus" programs and concrete solutions for the design professional. Approximately 80+ participants attended the session on disaster resilience and its link to community health, risk reduction and sustainability.

Peng was asked to submit a proposal to the event by Steve Mallicoat, P.E., of the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association, an NRMCA affiliate. As the regional service manager, Mallicoat is an active participant in the Iowa design community and works to educate and support engineers, architects and contractors. NRMCA encourages its members to participate in local initiatives to incorporate resilient construction programs into local codes and ordinances. For those with strong advocacy skills, NRMCA can support local code adoption with tools and sample ordinances.