Impact
A Guide To Climate Change Impacts, On Scotland’s Historic Environment, published by Historic Environment Scotland in October 2019, defines impact as: ‘the potential result of a ‘hazard’ occurring. In the ‘Impact Tables’ the description highlights the causative factor (hazard) and the effect of its occurrence.’
AR5 Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Glossary, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines impacts (consequences or outcomes) as: ‘Effects on natural and human systems. In this report, the term impacts is used primarily to refer to the effects on natural and human systems of extreme weather and climate events and of climate change. Impacts generally refer to effects on lives, livelihoods, health, ecosystems, economies, societies, cultures, services, and infrastructure due to the interaction of climate changes or hazardous climate events occurring within a specific time period and the vulnerability of an exposed society or system. Impacts are also referred to as consequences and outcomes. The impacts of climate change on geophysical systems, including floods, droughts, and sea level rise, are a subset of impacts called physical impacts.’
Impact assessments might include:
Impact may also refer to an object coming forcibly into contact with another. In terms of structural design, this is a form of live load.
Impacts may result in impact sound, a form of structure-borne sound that occurs when an object impacts on another, resulting in the generation and transmission of sound.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
The future workforce: culture change and skill
Under the spotlight at UK Construction Week London.
A landmark moment for postmodern heritage.
A safe energy transition – ECA launches a new Charter
Practical policy actions to speed up low carbon adoption while maintaining installation safety and competency.
Frank Duffy: Researcher and Practitioner
Reflections on achievements and relevance to the wider research and practice communities.
The 2026 Compliance Landscape: Fire doors
Why 'Business as Usual' is a Liability.
Cutting construction carbon footprint by caring for soil
Is construction neglecting one of the planet’s most powerful carbon stores and one of our greatest natural climate allies.
ARCHITECTURE: How's it progressing?
Archiblogger posing questions of a historical and contextual nature.
The roofscape of Hampstead Garden Suburb
Residents, architects and roofers need to understand detailing.
Homes, landlords. tenants and the new housing standards
What will it all mean?
The Architectural Technology podcast: Where it's AT
Catch-up on the latest episodes.
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.