John Edwards in Haiti

Earthquake Statistics

On January 12, 2010 a powerful 7.0 quake hit the impoverished nation of Haiti. It was followed by more than thirty strong aftershocks. The Haitian government reported that an estimated 230,000 people had died, 300,000 had been injured. A year later, 1,000,000 people remain homeless.
In Port-au-Prince, 28% of surveyed buildings were collapsed, with 33% requiring repairs. In Léogâne, 62% of buildings collapsed and 31% require repairs. Buildings failed due to lack of earthquake-resistant design—including inadequate structural engineering, member dimensions, and detailing practices. Poor concrete construction was one of the primary causes for the destruction and loss of life.

Conceptual Design for building

This is a basic conceptual idea of the building that I will be researching. It is a simple design, but i will be working on the building plan more in Revit over the next month as my term project for ARET 2120.
It is a constructed of a concrete building system, not yet specified, and incorporates an easy to build, low-cost design.

Thesis Statement

I have been working on trying to figure out an appropriate thesis question that my project will define, so here it is.

" What type of concrete building system would be most appropriate to construct a three
story multi-unit hotel building that could withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti?"

the term, "most appropriate" gives several variables for the project to answer, such as: the cost of the project, the materials available, as well as the labor and equipment necessary to build it.

PreCast Concrete Construction

I found a report on Precast Concrete Construction by: Svetlana Brzev (BCIT) and Teresa Guevara-Perez (Architect, Venezuela). It is a research that goes into detail about different Precast Concrete systems and it also does into some detail on seismic and earthquake resistance.

I don't think Precast concrete would be best choice for my particular project as it is mainly used for taller building. I also am not sure if Haiti has the appropriate equipment for the construction of such a building.

Reading Break

Well it's been fun, got to see my family and friends in Prince George over reading break. It's been so cold here that I've managed to get alot of research done. Between working on my car, visiting and doing research I think it'll be more relaxing when i get back to school.. haha.

Precast concrete is an interesting idea... If Haiti had a manufacturer and a crane, I'm sure they could use this technology to their advantage in rebuilding their cities. I will look into it, it might be a good idea to use for my building.

The Earthships are another really resourceful and environmentally friendly idea as well. Thanks Chris. I think Michael Reynolds is doing a really good thing introducing his idea to a nation that will indefinitely put it to practise.

Research Topic Redefined

After speaking with my mentor, I have selected a smaller building to do my research project on. Instead of researching different earthquake design technologies for a high-rise hotel in Haiti, I will research it for a 3 floor condo style 4plex (12 units) made of concrete construction. The purpose of the research will be to find an appropriate earthquake resistant technology for the concrete design to withstand up to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The project is still based around bringing tourism back to Haiti, but the report will be more of a technical report rather than analyzing the economics of the building.