The Bushfire Building Council of Australia (BBCA) has launched FORTIS House, a resilient home building project it has been working on in collaboration with NRMA Insurance and other partners.

BBCA says FORTIS House aims to improve the resilience of homes against floods, bushfires and other weather events.

The non-profit body last week released for free the project’s architectural drawings, construction specifications and handbook guides.

Pre-fabricated FORTIS Houses will also be available for purchase, from $300,00 to $700,000, and can be constructed in as little as 12 weeks, BBCA says.

“Australia is exposed to increasing extreme weather and disasters, yet less than 10% of our houses are resilient to local risk,” CEO Kate Cotter said.

She told insuranceNEWS.com.au the name for the project was inspired by the Latin word for strong.

BBCA says a FORTIS house is designed to last with non-combustible, robust, quality construction and materials, and the project is a brainchild of the non-profit body.

One of its features is a protective outer shell that can be completely closed to provide disaster resilience, energy efficiency, ventilation and security.

On the sustainability front, a house built according to FORTIS design is water self-sufficient, 100% electric and solar powered.

Climate and resilience experts from the NRMA Insurance team worked closely with BBCA and the Shoalhaven community in NSW to develop the FORTIS House resources.

“As an insurer, we see the heartbreaking impact extreme weather and disasters have on our customers and communities first hand, so it has been exciting to see the Shoalhaven community lead the design of FORTIS House,” NRMA Insurance EGM Luke Gallagher said.

Click here for more about FORTIS.