When Hurricane Sandy made landfall in October of 2012, more than 186 people were killed, over 600,000 homes were damaged, and infrastructure was devastated across New York State. During the “Snowvember” storm in November 2014, 70+ inches of snow fell in Western New York, causing 14 fatalities, and numerous roofs to collapse. These two events suggest that building design in New York needs to shift to address varying weather patterns caused by climate change.