Anybody got a strategy for making new shelter out of rubble ? Gabion walls ? What other means are there for rapidly creating shelter, ideally from local resources ?
i think the biggest hurdle is 'rubble' isn't standardized, i.e. you have ginormous chunks on down to dust. so in order to make it feasible, you'd need a method of sifting, or some mechanism to crush the bigger pieces.
"There is no need for an external finish: the walls can be covered with greenery." Now, that's green !
So. someone has to manufacture these (folding) mesh cages off-island, and get them there. Then there needs to be a way of breaking up collapsed slabs, etc -- including breaking or cutting the rebar ? Then, there's roofs. . .
due to the lack of heavy / lifting machinery, i think light weight quick-to-assemble materials would be the reasonable way to go. tents, pneumatics,.....etc. rubble, cob, bricks...take too long and too much effort which wouldn't be available there.'with what i hear, there's virtually no logistical infrastructure. Habitation plans would have to be staged...staging/coordinating amongst themselves from ground zero is really what the UN, US Army and all the parties who are flying in are focusing on right now. i don't imagine emergency habitation would be any different.
what is the method of transport to deliver the habitation kit?
how heavy is this material/kit that needs to be flown in and how compact is it to maximize the number of kits? the number of persons per structure? per family or number of families? with so many family members deceased, it would be a more humane and realistic to afford a space large enough to accomodate widows, orphans..etc..including families so as to build a community spirit. geography of distribution and how to transport people to main assembly points and/or transport these kits to people?
how easy and intuitive is it for the lay person to assemble? how many experts trained in assembly will be required?
this is the first emergency stage. the following stages would probably augment the sanitation and basic health and nutrition facilities. then following that, would have to be the more permanent housing stage. studies would have to be conducted to identify the remnants of previous communities and how to sustain previous neighbourhood bonds while encouraging new ones.
how to coordinate between building up the infrastructure and the urgent need of housing?
also, really, how horrible would it be to piling up the rubble and discover blood and..well, you know. and would the survivors want to live in the very material that killed their family?
Makes sense. Homogenous material is always ideal (for stability, etc), but maybe there's a way. The heavier material would go at the base. Rubble might at least make a useful fill and leveling medium for uneven ground. You can't build a yurt (for instance) on a slope -- as far as I know !
Temporary balloon form to support a matrix of light rubble in some fast-setting resin foam ? Translucent ?
SDR you're right about the timing--for now, Haiti is stuck with the solutions that are entrenched in the various aid organizations--emergency tents primarily. I would suggest that bamboo reforestation efforts in the region could lead to the solution for emergency shelter--as well as low cost permanent housing, soil stabilization, etc etc. But that is several years out at best
The "border" of bamboo at the rear of the lot that Schindler's Kings Road house occupies, had grown to an astonishing size when I saw it 10 years ago. I recall some of the stalks being 10" in diameter. Great building material !
Creating standardized chucks of concrete from rubble is actually a pretty standard technology that's been used for decades if not centuries as the technology for rock crushers has really not changed much.
I think there's some drawbacks and some benefits though. Things are already going to have to be cleaned up. So, crushing and recycling concrete can be economical if viewing from this perspective.
Rock Crushers are not very big machines and the ones used for recycling could easily be hauled by a semi.
I think, given proper planning ahead, that one could make an easily transportable kit of all the machines necessary to start clearing, recycling and processing damaged buildings.
But... this would require forethought and financial commitment... not something emergency management is entirely known for nor do charities really want to commit to.
The only problem I would see with this would be the immediate impact on health cause by dust from crushing and sifting. Easily preventable with adequate misting.
That's the big problem here. Water.
And Haiti seems to not have any. To get a recovery construction process going, you're going to need a lot of water. Not just for mitigation but for mortar, cement and even adobe.
Now, you may get somewhere if you can find a way to mix raw sewage with concrete or clay in a manner not debilitating to health.
But that would be another issue all together that Hispanola doesn't seem to be known for vast clay reserves and liming can be an expensive industrial process without sufficient technologies or fuel.
Which all of the above would require is access to fuel.
Adobe and cob may have work arounds... but without sufficient clay, you'd have to import it. And if you're importing heavy bags of construction materials... you should just be importing concrete anyways.
Bamboo would be a good option as bamboo charcoal is wildly sustainable and Haiti has a pretty big wood collecting industry.
Bamboo can be turned into gas... which can be used to make charcoal. And bamboo charcoal can be used to make water purification systems.
So that solves the clean water, charcoal and source of energy dilemma. Would also stabilize the ecosystem in the short term but I fear what the consequences might be from a mass introduction of a foreign species (which rarely proves itself to be anything other than selfish).
And to LML, bamboo can be economically feasible within 3 years of planting for wood, 5 for charcoal.
But yeah... securing water in and of itself is a huge hurdle. Perhaps we can send them concrete pipes that can be used as temporary shelters that also double as a way of stocking items used to build a working infrastructural system?
SDR do you just want shelter or something that will make you shit your pants with awesomeness? Check out Anton Garcia - Abril and Ensamble Studio out of Madrid: www.ensamble.info
Competition Description: www.CompetingArchitecture.com is holding a competition to help the people of Haiti who have lost their homes. We would like you to design a temporary structure that can be built for under $400 and assembled with basic construction skills. The structure should be able to protect 4 adults from the elements, support itself on unknown and possibly uneven terrain, provide secure storage, and provide privacy. Please design your structures out of readily available materials; also include a plan for adaptive reuse. How can your structure turn into something that will be useful in the future as its inhabitants start to rebuild their lives? This completion is for designs only the construction and distribution of these structures are not part of the scope.
Submission requirement: Email images of the structure completely assembled, descriptions of the spaces, and diagrams of the structure's uses. Please include assembly diagrams, a budget breakdown, and adaptive reuse descriptions. Send all documents to info@competingarchitecture.com Images of any types of drawings and/or models are acceptable. Please include your name and the name of your structure.
Submission Fee: $20
Competition Due Date: Submissions are due February 28, 2010, by 11:59pm EST. Email images to info@competingarchitecture.com Please keep file size reasonable.
Competition Judging: Judging will be open to the public through www.competingarchitecture.com by emailed vote. Judging will end March 5, 2010, at 5:00pm EST. We will also have guest judges post comments on the submissions while they are being judged by the public.
Competition Prize:To be determined after all submissions are received. The winner will be announced on www.competingarchitecture.com and publicized as the designer of the competition-winning structure and will be awarded a cash prize. The amount of the prize will be determined after all submissions are received.
Feb 5, 10 7:23 am ·
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Haiti shelter
Anybody got a strategy for making new shelter out of rubble ? Gabion walls ? What other means are there for rapidly creating shelter, ideally from local resources ?
cobb house
Oh wait -- I forgot about 3DH !
Problem solved.
there have been a few examples in recent years, although i don't know if any of them can qualify as being 'rapidly created'
rubble house
i think the biggest hurdle is 'rubble' isn't standardized, i.e. you have ginormous chunks on down to dust. so in order to make it feasible, you'd need a method of sifting, or some mechanism to crush the bigger pieces.
I suppose I was thinking that pieces could be broken down just enough to be handled -- and reassembled, given two parallel faces, with mortar ?
I can't "read" the illustrations. Shelter gained via a central (gabion ?) wall and lean-to roofs ?
Holz is like the best person ever.
"There is no need for an external finish: the walls can be covered with greenery." Now, that's green !
So. someone has to manufacture these (folding) mesh cages off-island, and get them there. Then there needs to be a way of breaking up collapsed slabs, etc -- including breaking or cutting the rebar ? Then, there's roofs. . .
due to the lack of heavy / lifting machinery, i think light weight quick-to-assemble materials would be the reasonable way to go. tents, pneumatics,.....etc. rubble, cob, bricks...take too long and too much effort which wouldn't be available there.'with what i hear, there's virtually no logistical infrastructure. Habitation plans would have to be staged...staging/coordinating amongst themselves from ground zero is really what the UN, US Army and all the parties who are flying in are focusing on right now. i don't imagine emergency habitation would be any different.
what is the method of transport to deliver the habitation kit?
how heavy is this material/kit that needs to be flown in and how compact is it to maximize the number of kits? the number of persons per structure? per family or number of families? with so many family members deceased, it would be a more humane and realistic to afford a space large enough to accomodate widows, orphans..etc..including families so as to build a community spirit. geography of distribution and how to transport people to main assembly points and/or transport these kits to people?
how easy and intuitive is it for the lay person to assemble? how many experts trained in assembly will be required?
this is the first emergency stage. the following stages would probably augment the sanitation and basic health and nutrition facilities. then following that, would have to be the more permanent housing stage. studies would have to be conducted to identify the remnants of previous communities and how to sustain previous neighbourhood bonds while encouraging new ones.
how to coordinate between building up the infrastructure and the urgent need of housing?
also, really, how horrible would it be to piling up the rubble and discover blood and..well, you know. and would the survivors want to live in the very material that killed their family?
I've been thinking about superadobe construction using the rubble as fill might work.
might have reasonable seismic resistance too.
Makes sense. Homogenous material is always ideal (for stability, etc), but maybe there's a way. The heavier material would go at the base. Rubble might at least make a useful fill and leveling medium for uneven ground. You can't build a yurt (for instance) on a slope -- as far as I know !
Temporary balloon form to support a matrix of light rubble in some fast-setting resin foam ? Translucent ?
Of course, after the emergency has occurred is the wrong time to be "preparing" innovative emergency/replacement housing, but. . .
How about a large version of the spiral-framed cylindrical pop-up laundry container ?
SDR you're right about the timing--for now, Haiti is stuck with the solutions that are entrenched in the various aid organizations--emergency tents primarily. I would suggest that bamboo reforestation efforts in the region could lead to the solution for emergency shelter--as well as low cost permanent housing, soil stabilization, etc etc. But that is several years out at best
I like that.
The "border" of bamboo at the rear of the lot that Schindler's Kings Road house occupies, had grown to an astonishing size when I saw it 10 years ago. I recall some of the stalks being 10" in diameter. Great building material !
Hmm,
Creating standardized chucks of concrete from rubble is actually a pretty standard technology that's been used for decades if not centuries as the technology for rock crushers has really not changed much.
I think there's some drawbacks and some benefits though. Things are already going to have to be cleaned up. So, crushing and recycling concrete can be economical if viewing from this perspective.
Rock Crushers are not very big machines and the ones used for recycling could easily be hauled by a semi.
I think, given proper planning ahead, that one could make an easily transportable kit of all the machines necessary to start clearing, recycling and processing damaged buildings.
But... this would require forethought and financial commitment... not something emergency management is entirely known for nor do charities really want to commit to.
The only problem I would see with this would be the immediate impact on health cause by dust from crushing and sifting. Easily preventable with adequate misting.
That's the big problem here. Water.
And Haiti seems to not have any. To get a recovery construction process going, you're going to need a lot of water. Not just for mitigation but for mortar, cement and even adobe.
Now, you may get somewhere if you can find a way to mix raw sewage with concrete or clay in a manner not debilitating to health.
But that would be another issue all together that Hispanola doesn't seem to be known for vast clay reserves and liming can be an expensive industrial process without sufficient technologies or fuel.
Which all of the above would require is access to fuel.
Adobe and cob may have work arounds... but without sufficient clay, you'd have to import it. And if you're importing heavy bags of construction materials... you should just be importing concrete anyways.
Bamboo would be a good option as bamboo charcoal is wildly sustainable and Haiti has a pretty big wood collecting industry.
Bamboo can be turned into gas... which can be used to make charcoal. And bamboo charcoal can be used to make water purification systems.
So that solves the clean water, charcoal and source of energy dilemma. Would also stabilize the ecosystem in the short term but I fear what the consequences might be from a mass introduction of a foreign species (which rarely proves itself to be anything other than selfish).
And to LML, bamboo can be economically feasible within 3 years of planting for wood, 5 for charcoal.
But yeah... securing water in and of itself is a huge hurdle. Perhaps we can send them concrete pipes that can be used as temporary shelters that also double as a way of stocking items used to build a working infrastructural system?
The big dome from the Simpson's Movie would definitely work!
I believe Lebbeus Woods did it best!
SDR do you just want shelter or something that will make you shit your pants with awesomeness? Check out Anton Garcia - Abril and Ensamble Studio out of Madrid: www.ensamble.info
SGAE (General Society of Authors and Publishers)
Also check out Enrique Miralles Archery Center! It will kick your ass and then make you a sandwich!
"Materia Inorganica" -- !! Wow
Competition Title: Helping Haiti Restructure
Competition Description: www.CompetingArchitecture.com is holding a competition to help the people of Haiti who have lost their homes. We would like you to design a temporary structure that can be built for under $400 and assembled with basic construction skills. The structure should be able to protect 4 adults from the elements, support itself on unknown and possibly uneven terrain, provide secure storage, and provide privacy. Please design your structures out of readily available materials; also include a plan for adaptive reuse. How can your structure turn into something that will be useful in the future as its inhabitants start to rebuild their lives? This completion is for designs only the construction and distribution of these structures are not part of the scope.
Submission requirement: Email images of the structure completely assembled, descriptions of the spaces, and diagrams of the structure's uses. Please include assembly diagrams, a budget breakdown, and adaptive reuse descriptions. Send all documents to info@competingarchitecture.com Images of any types of drawings and/or models are acceptable. Please include your name and the name of your structure.
Submission Fee: $20
Competition Due Date: Submissions are due February 28, 2010, by 11:59pm EST. Email images to info@competingarchitecture.com Please keep file size reasonable.
Competition Judging: Judging will be open to the public through www.competingarchitecture.com by emailed vote. Judging will end March 5, 2010, at 5:00pm EST. We will also have guest judges post comments on the submissions while they are being judged by the public.
Competition Prize:To be determined after all submissions are received. The winner will be announced on www.competingarchitecture.com and publicized as the designer of the competition-winning structure and will be awarded a cash prize. The amount of the prize will be determined after all submissions are received.
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