Good Design Helping Haiti & Chile Recover from Disaster

Good Design Helping Haiti & Chile Recover

Posted on 11. Jun, 2010 by Sesshu Design in Blog, Uncategorized

One of our longtime favorite causes to support is Habitat for Humanity because of their philosphy of helping families get decent affordable housing that they have a part in building and paying for. After the recent earthquakes in both Haiti and Chile this year, they went into action immediately, working with established partners in the affected areas to get help to the residents. In the aftermath of disasters, they work to put families in permanent, durable housing.

Recovery is slow in earthquake devasted Haiti

With experience in Sri Lanka after the tsunami in 2006, and in New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, they “have learned that people will only return to a sense of normalcy when they have a place they can call home,” according to Habitat CEO Johnathan Reckford.

The cornerstone of rebuilding efforts in Haiti are what they call Core Houses- small, sturdy structures which are designed to be added on to and expanded as the family needs and when their circumstance allow. The concept has been tested in Asia/Pacific and in Chile, and proved effective. The buildings in Haiti are earthquake resistant with steel bars embedded in concrete block walls and reinforced footings, columns, and beams. Designs are region specific – in Haiti they are one room with a seperate latrine area, while in Chile they are two rooms and a bathroom. The wooden structure of the homes in Chile are set on concrete foundations with insulated “sandwich” roof and wall systems.

We are proud to contribute to this important work. If you would like to help, visit Habitat for Humanity. You can also learn more about Habitat’s efforts to build sustainable and energy-efficient homes to protect both people and planet.