- 9 hours ago
From garage doors as a weak point to amphibious houses: New studies show which structural measures truly protect against hurricanes, fires, and floods — and which regulations are necessary.
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00:07The war in Ukraine, the conflicts in the Middle East, and the resulting energy crisis dominate
00:14the media's attention today.
00:19Economic concerns are also pushing one issue into the background, climate change.
00:25Record temperatures, more and more CO2 in the air, droughts, tornadoes, and floods are causing
00:36annual costs of $38 trillion, including from damage to buildings.
00:42How can this be avoided?
00:44Through clever construction.
00:47And these are other topics today at MAID.
00:50From prefabricated to high-tech, the modular building comeback.
00:56The German economy under pressure, why companies are moving away.
01:01And Cuba in crisis, how the embargo is ruining livelihoods.
01:17In January 25, wildfires burned down entire neighborhoods in LA.
01:23But this house barely had a scratch.
01:25In 2018, Hurricane Michael left Mexico Beach looking like this.
01:30It looks like it was hit with a bomb.
01:32Destruction here as far as the eye can see.
01:35But this house was still standing.
01:38And look at these two houses.
01:40One was severely damaged by flooding, the other completely fine, even though they're right
01:46next to each other.
01:47So what's the secret behind these houses?
01:52The typical house in the US looks like this, this or like that.
01:57But the house I showed you earlier and these that also survived hurricanes are different.
02:02They are round.
02:03They were actually built with that exact scenario in mind.
02:08When a house is round, the wind flows around the home.
02:11So there's much less surface for it to push against compared to a rectangular house.
02:16But don't worry if you don't like the style.
02:19You don't have to live in a round house to be protected.
02:22Several studies that looked at post-hurricane damage in the US had encouraging findings, at least
02:28for new builds.
02:29As far as wind-related failures, we have not seen structural, you know, very, very rare to
02:34see a structural failure in a modern, you know, code-compliant home on the coast, which
02:41is really amazing progress.
02:43Many US homes have weak spots, like the garage door.
02:47It's usually the largest opening in a home.
02:49And once wind gets in through it, it creates lots of pressure from the inside.
02:53These videos are tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.
03:01It's a non-profit research organization that studies what makes homes more robust in extreme
03:06weather situations like hurricanes.
03:10So some garage doors have special components like strengthened jams and brackets and bracing
03:18that allow it to withstand those winds.
03:20So if your garage door, you know, can withstand the hurricane winds, the rest of your house,
03:25including the roof, is much more likely to survive that storm.
03:28Another important safety measure is to have every part of the house firmly connected.
03:34This makes sure the wind's forces are transferred into the ground without any part failing.
03:40That was hurricanes.
03:42But what about fires?
03:43This is LA's Palisades area after the fires in early 2025.
03:49But this house survived the flames.
03:52You see that the whole neighborhood's gone, right?
03:55Everything you've known since childhood is just smoking ruins for the most part.
04:00And to kind of turn the corner and see that house standing was amazing.
04:10While he credits part of the survival to luck and also to the distance to the next house,
04:15there were some choices that made a difference.
04:18One is that the house didn't have eaves hanging over the sides.
04:21As eaves are often an entry point for embers, the metal roofing and siding material also played
04:27a role.
04:28It basically increases the heat capacity of your home.
04:33In simple terms, a material such as timber has a low heat capacity.
04:38That means that it heats up and ignites quickly when it faces high temperatures.
04:43A material such as cement or metal as siding can resist high temperatures and is not combustible.
04:48We're hoping that we slow down the ignition of homes because our home heat capacity is much higher.
04:56Preparing your home does help and you should do it.
05:00But it's just as important to look at the condition of entire neighborhoods.
05:04When newly building or rebuilding neighborhoods, especially in areas with fire risk, there are a few things to look out
05:12for.
05:12Through zoning, cities can control that houses aren't built too close to each other.
05:18They can also make sure that streets are wide enough for fire trucks to easily get through
05:23and that there are enough fire hydrants to use.
05:27The last threat we're looking at is floods.
05:30We probably all know stilt houses.
05:33They are often built in flood-prone areas as a way to protect homes when water rises.
05:37But in some regions, even those can be at risk because of rising sea level and more intense rainfall.
05:44The traditional heights are not enough anymore.
05:49It can be very difficult to add more height onto an existing assembly.
05:57That's where these houses come in.
05:59The indigenous Manobo people in Agusan Marsh in the Philippines have had a fitting solution for generations.
06:06During dry seasons, some of the houses sit on the ground and when floodwaters hit in rainy season, they simply
06:13float.
06:13Homes like these are called amphibious because just like amphibians, they can exist on land and water.
06:20Just have a look at this image I showed you earlier.
06:23The house on the right is an amphibious one that rose with the floodwaters and was therefore not damaged.
06:29And these don't have to be fancy or expensive.
06:33The Mekong Delta is especially vulnerable as it is threatened by both sea level rise and increasingly intense rainfall.
06:40The region is important for the people and the economy as it produces a lot of fish and rice.
06:46So it is really important that planning decisions, particularly land use planning decisions, are not based on risk assessments that
06:56were undertaken 10 years or 20 years ago.
06:59Because the risk has changed and it continues to change.
07:03The retrofitted amphibious houses that English focuses on don't work for all types of flooding.
07:09She says they probably won't hold up in a flash flood or a storm surge.
07:14And there can be legal challenges in regions with strict building codes as there is a lack of regulation for
07:20amphibious structures.
07:21The Netherlands is working on adapting the regulations for floating structures and they already have quite a lot of them.
07:28These are amphibious houses built on a river, for example, and these are floating homes in Amsterdam.
07:35All these extreme weather events we looked at are likely to become more frequent or more intense in the future
07:42because of climate change.
07:43The measures we've seen often are extras, individual choices rather than standards.
07:49But there's one powerful way to change that.
07:52Building codes.
07:53Changing the codes.
07:54Realistic standards.
07:55Regulations.
07:56career conditions.
07:56It can help to update building codes, making sure there are minimum standards that protect everyone.
08:08Modular houses can also offer better protection against disasters.
08:13A stable frame construction on a solid foundation can withstand extreme winds.
08:19But if a module is destroyed, it can be easily replaced.
08:25Some are built on stilts to withstand floods.
08:30Fireproof materials are also possible.
08:33More importantly, they are much faster, more efficient and cheaper to build.
08:39Ever since I moved to Berlin, I've had a morbid fascination with this neighborhood's architecture.
08:45This district, Lichtenberg, is loaded with cheap prefabricated or prefab constructions called Plattenbau.
08:53In the aftermath of World War II, Berlin needed to rebuild lots of housing, and F.A.S.T.
09:00In the communist eastern part of the city, Plattenbau were the solution.
09:05Huge, precast concrete slabs were assembled on-site for F.A.S.T., easily reproduced projects.
09:11Eventually, more than a million apartments were built in East Germany,
09:15and the same thing happened all over the Eastern Bloc.
09:19Plattenbau were highly sought after. These days, not so much.
09:25These aging beauties are everywhere, and have basically made this neighborhood a punchline.
09:31Many people don't just crack jokes about the architecture.
09:35Plenty of the buildings are worse for wear, and some of their neighborhoods struggle economically,
09:40all of which creates a real stigma.
09:42But despite the reputation, lots of people want to bring them back, big time.
09:47And say they could be a solution to one of our biggest problems.
09:51So what gives?
09:55Part of the answer is nearly 700 kilometers west of Lichtenberg.
09:59We headed to this huge plant in the Netherlands.
10:03You need a safety vest.
10:06Oh, yeah.
10:07Thank you very much.
10:08And I'll give you a nice helmet.
10:10Oh, ho, ho.
10:11It's massive.
10:12I mean, it's like multiple football field-sized warehouse factories.
10:17It's pretty impressive.
10:19This hulking plant looks like plenty of other factories, but instead of cars or appliances,
10:24they're building entire houses.
10:26It's kind of like Plattenbau on steroids and a lot sleeker.
10:30While the old housing blocks we just saw were identical concrete walls fitted on top of each other,
10:36this factory transforms massive concrete slabs into fully equipped modules.
10:41These self-contained boxes will either be entire studios or combined together to form bigger apartments.
10:47After an automated ride through the factory, they'll be ready to be shipped off and installed later.
10:52It moves through the hallway and every 45 minutes it changes the position to another workstation.
11:00So another co-worker can do other assembly work there.
11:05And after 17 workstations, the module is completely finished.
11:10Instead of doing all this over months at the construction site,
11:14pouring concrete, framing timber, adding insulation and plumbing and waves,
11:18Daiwa House says that they can build one module in about 12 hours.
11:22That's pretty amazing.
11:23They just dropped in an entire bathroom already set up.
11:27After installing completed bathrooms and kitchens, placing the walls and windows,
11:31they're set aside to make room for the next module.
11:35We also got a preview of what these look like when they're done at Daiwa's showroom.
11:39Though they added furniture, all the appliances are built in from small student digs built from
11:44a single module to multi-family homes built out of three.
11:49They all just look like apartments.
12:01They even have a model set up for US-style apartments, complete with American outlets,
12:06and an extra spacious fridge and oven.
12:09I feel right at home.
12:10You could fit a Thanksgiving turkey in that bag, boy.
12:13Back in the factory, workers at each station are highly specialized,
12:16and there are fewer of them than you'd usually see at a construction site.
12:19There are around 30 people working here right now, and they are producing 10 to 15 homes a day.
12:26In a traditional setting, I'd say at the double crew.
12:32So 60 people to build that kind of number of homes a day.
12:38According to the company's own calculations, producing housing this way can reduce costs and
12:43cut the time it takes to complete projects by up to 50 percent.
12:46Precise planning also cuts down on wasted material, and there's a long-term benefit to using modules.
12:52It's more sustainable than in a traditional building.
12:55You can't tear, you can't move a traditional building.
12:59You need to tear it down when the function or the location needs to be changed.
13:04A modular building, well, you can take it apart,
13:08like Lego blocks, and put them on a truck and replace them on another location and reuse them again.
13:16Daiwa House has relocated a school made of modules and plans to move 800 student apartments from Amsterdam
13:22to another city soon. Reduced waste and reusability are important, because how we build our houses is a real problem.
13:31Construction accounts for 13% of global energy-related carbon emissions.
13:36And it's not just about putting up buildings.
13:38When structures are demolished, a majority of the waste usually ends up in landfill.
13:43In Europe, construction and demolition account for about one-third of all waste.
13:49Back in Lichtenberg, the neighborhood oft derided as Peakplattenbau is now a testing ground for Berlin's return to prefab glory.
13:56This sprawling site is going to be about 1,500 new apartments, all built out of modules.
14:02In this case, shipped from a similar factory in Germany.
14:05It's one of the largest modular construction projects in Europe.
14:09Here, half the job is moving modules as they're stacked next to each other and secured.
14:13Roughly 25 of these go up a day.
14:17The Lichtenberg project will be public housing built for Gewobag,
14:21one of Berlin's subsidized public housing organizations.
14:24Smaller apartments will rent for about €200 to €300 a month.
14:28This organization manages 75,000 apartments, but this is their first foray into modular building.
14:35At a normal construction site, you can't do much until you've prepared the foundation.
14:40Sebastian Schmidt's housing organization has over 150,000 tenants.
14:46Meanwhile, modules are put together in the factory, so you can do a lot of work simultaneously.
14:52This project will be finished in roughly three years,
14:55which according to Sebastian is about 20 percent quicker than comparable projects,
15:00translating to cost savings of about 20 percent as well.
15:03The cost security is high, as each model has a specific price, which is fixed.
15:10That means there are no surprises.
15:14Modular building is new for Gewobag, but the project is surrounded by old-school Plattenbau.
15:19Is it just more of the same?
15:22When you look at Plattenbau from the post-war period,
15:25they were installing single concrete slabs as walls, and the quality wasn't particularly high.
15:32Here it's totally different. It's all technologically planned, with good materials, and it's sustainable.
15:40This is more sustainable and comprehensive than just pre-producing concrete walls,
15:45even if it's a spiritual successor to the post-war building boom.
15:49Clean construction and longevity weren't exactly front of mind when the Eastern Bloc was building as
15:54fast as possible, and modular construction uses less energy once it's standing.
15:59It also cuts down on wasted time and material, which means you have to be precise.
16:06Of course, you have to plan a lot more carefully.
16:09So before we can start building, everything has to be totally planned through, and you can't change much.
16:15While a couple thousand people will live here soon enough,
16:18it's just a drop in the ocean of Berlin's housing crisis.
16:28It's not just the construction sector that's in crisis.
16:32Many other economic sectors in Germany have also been stagnating for years.
16:37Weak growth, structural problems, high energy prices, and too much red tape mean that
16:45Germany is once again seen as the sick man of Europe.
16:49An overview of the economic situation with a gloomy outlook and a small glimmer of hope.
16:58Germany's economy is under pressure. Tariffs, high production costs,
17:03and geopolitical uncertainties are reshaping its industrial landscape.
17:07And as more companies move production abroad, the question is, how worrying is this trend?
17:12In 2022, Germany was still ranked 15th in global competitiveness.
17:17Then it slipped further. Only in 2025 did a slight recovery begin, back to 19th place.
17:24But that's still far from a full turnaround.
17:29We've lost competitiveness. And that's clearly not encouraging.
17:36Growth forecasts for the next five to ten years predict growth of about 0.2 to 0.3 percent.
17:45That's essentially zero growth.
17:48We're not in a strong competitive position. You can see it especially in industry,
17:54where value creation is declining here, while in other countries it's rising.
18:00This is also reflected in exports, the backbone of the German economy. Here too,
18:06the figures point to a slowdown. After a record year in 2022, German exports dipped, albeit only
18:13slightly. From almost 1.6 trillion euros to just over 1.5 trillion in 2024, a decline of around 1
18:22percent
18:22year on year. Only last year did they show a modest increase again.
18:31Our exports are no longer performing, even though the rest of the world is actually doing quite well.
18:37And for the first time in many, many decades, Germany's export sector is no longer benefiting
18:43from the global economic recovery.
18:47This is particularly clear in the key sectors of German industry, areas that earned solid profits
18:54for decades, driven by exports to the rest of the world.
19:02Germany is losing market share in mechanical engineering and the automotive industry.
19:07These were our global flagship industries. This was what Germany stood for, what Made in Germany stood for.
19:13And the figures speak for themselves. We're losing market share worldwide, especially to China.
19:21Made in Germany is still Made in Germany, but we do face competition.
19:26The quality gap with Asian products is no longer as big as it once was.
19:34According to a study by Deloitte and the Federation of German Industries,
19:38one in five companies has already shifted parts of their production abroad.
19:43The IMD business efficiency rating shows how efficiently companies can operate in each country.
19:50And here's what the data shows.
19:53Germany has slipped from 21st to 35th place in just two years.
19:58It later recovered slightly to 29th, but still remains well below earlier levels,
20:05perhaps reflecting a broader softening in Germany's attractiveness for companies.
20:17Unit labor costs are very high in Germany. In fact, they're among the most expensive anywhere.
20:24And although productivity is strong, it's not strong enough to offset these costs compared with our competitors.
20:35On top of that, the country faces high energy prices and heavy bureaucracy. Together, these factors discourage new investment.
20:45Building a production facility in Germany takes a lot of effort.
20:49There are many regulations to comply with, and getting approval can take a long time.
20:55That creates costs for companies that they wouldn't face in many other locations.
21:01There's a growing concern that the relocation of production could be just the beginning.
21:07That research, development and even corporate headquarters might follow.
21:11A kind of shift that would further weaken Germany's position.
21:18For now, it doesn't look like we're losing our know-how.
21:22But we need to make sure we can hold on to it, and keep developing it.
21:30Now it's up to policymakers to ensure that research and development do stay in Germany,
21:36and strengthen the country's competitiveness over the long term,
21:39before more firms consider relocating operations abroad.
21:49Cuba is currently in an even deeper crisis.
21:53Massive and frequent power cuts have been happening here for a long time,
21:58leading to complete breakdowns of the national power grid across the entire island.
22:04And since oil supplies from Venezuela have failed to materialize,
22:08and Donald Trump has imposed an oil embargo on the Caribbean state,
22:12the situation has also worsened dramatically for the most important source of income – tourism.
22:21Varadero, Cuba's dream beach and a destination for tourists.
22:26Vacationers were sunbathing here not too long ago, but due to the tightened U.S. embargo,
22:31oil imports to the country have vanished and flights have been cancelled.
22:35These musicians are looking for customers.
22:41Now that so many hotels are closed, and there's hardly anyone in the streets,
22:46we have very little work, and we're feeling it.
22:54Everything is much harder for us now.
23:02Not long ago everything was better, but a lot has changed.
23:06Our business is suffering, and so is the country's economy.
23:12I usually work as a mariachi, but now everything has come to a standstill.
23:19We walk along the beach and try to earn a little and survive.
23:25In the center of the coastal town, it's the same problem.
23:29This art market used to be crowded, now there's hardly any visitors and many stalls are closed.
23:36The transport is expensive, because gas is scarce.
23:44But we need work, and we need tourists to help us,
23:49and buy our beautiful handicrafts that we have here.
23:56We journey towards the capital.
23:59In Old Havana, we meet Armando, who drives classic cars.
24:05We're here at Maestranza Park. The square was always full of classic convertibles.
24:11Before the crisis, we used to find driving jobs here.
24:14We drove tourists or large groups to all the provinces.
24:19It's difficult right now, little tourism and little work.
24:23I returned my license more than a month ago, at the beginning of February.
24:28Now his car is in the garage. We asked him if things will settle down in the coming months.
24:36In four weeks? Well, nobody knows. Really, nobody knows.
24:41We've had economic problems for years, and now we are worse off than ever before.
24:46And there's no solution in sight. There's nothing new to show that tourism is booming again,
24:53or that the economy is recovering. There's no sign of that.
25:00The city is falling into disrepair, and people are trying to make ends meet.
25:05In the city center, residential streets are now trading zones.
25:09Many with different professions and qualifications are now trying their luck as vendors here.
25:16I have a degree in hydraulics, so I should be a welder. But I earn more money here.
25:22It's a good business. With a steady job, you never have any freedom.
25:28Back in Varadero, this duo is now serenading a tourist from Argentina.
25:33But the mood isn't the same as it used to be.
25:43That's all for today on MADE. We've shown you how to build resilient houses to withstand climate change.
25:49How modular construction could solve the housing problem in Germany.
25:55Why the German economy is weakening, and how Cuba is suffering under the U.S. embargo.
26:00Take care. Bye-bye.
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