Few would dispute that when confronted with Mother Nature’s awesome violence, human beings seem to be terrifyingly vulnerable and perishable creatures. While we share with other animals a mortal and easily-harmed body, one thing distinguishes humanity: a refusal to bow to fate. The human capacity for ingenuity has helped us manage some of the worst catastrophes nature has thrown at us, and engineers and architects have been especially innovative in developing daringly clever technologies and designs for buildings that can survive the tumults the earth and its occasionally savage climate hurls at them.