FORTIFIED (Home and Commercial)

Jul 18

FORTIFIED is the national standard for resilient construction. Watershed uses FORTIFIED Home™ and FORTIFIED Commercial™ assessment and certification to deliver durable, resilient homes to our architectural clients.

FORTIFIED Certification can result in significant immediate savings in insurance costs and long term savings in reduced damages. The program is through The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and employs an incremental approach toward making existing and new buildings more resistant to damage from hurricanes, tropical storms, hailstorms, high winds and wind-driven rain associated with thunderstorms. With three levels of FORTIFIED designation available—Bronze, Silver and Gold—the program allows owners to choose a desired level of protection that best suits their budgets and resilience goals.

Whether you’re building a new home or commercial building, re-roofing, or renovating an existing property, FORTIFIED is affordable and effective at protecting your home. Contact us to see if your project is a good fit for FORTIFIED available certifications.

IBHS created FORTIFIED Home™ to help homeowners protect their investment in the face of hurricanes, high winds, hail, and severe thunderstorms.

FORTIFIED goes beyond emergency and disaster preparedness to give you peace of mind knowing your home is structurally resilient and will better withstand severe weather.

FORTIFIED Commercial™ focuses on community-based and light to moderate commercial structures such as:

Multi-family residential/residential (when not governed by the IRC)
Template (“cookie-cut”) stand-alone buildings
Franchises (e.g., quick-service restaurants)
Hotels
Convenience stores/gas stations
Pharmacies/retail stores
Business services
Schools/municipal buildings
Mixed use

Excluded occupancies include high-hazard and appurtenances such as barns and sheds. Please see the FORTIFIED Commercial standards for more information.

FORTIFIED Projects:

Featured

The Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability

The Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability is a campus of resilient green buildings set in a restored coastal forest with both indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

Oakdale Cottages

These affordable, healthy, and resilient homes are now under construction in Mobile’s historic Oakdale neighborhood.

Pier Street Zero Energy Ready Home

This Zero Energy Ready home is located in a historic neighborhood with narrow lots, just a block away from Mobile Bay.

Fortified Gold and Zero Energy Ready Home

This residence is the first project ever to to achieve Zero Energy Ready Certification and FORTIFIED™ Gold, but homeowners didn’t start out looking for the honor.

Mobile Bay Green Inspiration Home

The Green Inspiration Home celebrates a healthy coastal lifestyle and a healthy environment, with beauty and style.

Center for Living Mindfully

An addition and deep renovations of an historic office building in Fairhope’s Central Business District, to create a welcoming, safe and healing space for meetings, workshops, events, and yoga classes, alongside a thriving clinical practice.

Eastern Shore Chiropractic

A center for health and healing designed with biophilic principles, energy efficiency, and resilience.

Tara Jala

A fortified and flood protected treehouse retreat, nestled into a large tract of dense woods and wetlands overlooking Fish River.

Gulf State Park Lodge

The Gulf State Park Lodge is now the first SITES® hospitality project in the world and the first certified FORTIFIED™ Commercial Building in the world, raising the bar globally for resilient structural design and land development projects.

Gulf State Park Master Plan

An overarching vision for every visitor to be able to connect with nature. Watershed is proud to be part of the master planning team for Gulf State Park, led by internationally recognized Sasaki Associates, and supported by a team of local experts.

The Learning Campus at Gulf State Park

The Learning Campus is sited on 16 acres of upland forest at Gulf State Park, adjacent to park headquarters. The facilities include “bunk room” style lodging facilities, an auditorium, indoor and outdoor classrooms, and a restaurant.

Knoll Park Residences

Charm, durability and ease of maintenance meet downtown living. Located just two blocks from the heart of downtown Fairhope, Knoll Park Residences looks out over historic Knoll Park and Mobile Bay.

The Simple Life

A clean, energy efficient design for the next phase of life. It’s not unusual for Watershed to field requests to design a home around a tree, but this couple added a few twists.