Rebuilding Haiti / Chile Sustainable and Green

My Thoughts About Rebuilding Haiti / Chile / After Recent Earthquakes
(Or Anywhere On Earth That Has An Abundance Of Concrete & Needs Low Cost Housing)

My first thought is that here is an opportunity to make small amends to the Haitian People for the egregious behavior that has characterized how Haiti has been treated for about two hundred years. Now is the time. To keep up on the latest developments see: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100216/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_earthquake

I am a builder not a social worker. I have been researching the design of a home for a client here in Oklahoma that specified lightweight aerated concrete as being the basic material for the entire structure. A steel post and beam frame supports a second floor system and a steel roof system with tin. There is no wood involved. It will never rot, is insect proof, fireproof and would withstand (in my opinion) an Oklahoma tornado or a sizable earthquake. The idea is to build the most sustainable, energy efficient, green home possible.

The thought has come to me that a much scaled down version of this home would be a perfect fit for Haiti or now Chile or for that matter anywhere that had lots of concrete and needed thermally efficient, low cost, strong and sustainable “green” housing. The concrete is to be lightweight cellular concrete for thermal efficiency and savings on concrete and foundation costs. The cellular concrete will be mixed on site with a foam generator producing the foaming agent to aerate the concrete. This may sound complicated but I am assured by experts it is quite simple and way cheaper than standard concrete.

This would be a very simple and easy to construct building. The steel frame could be prefabricated in a welding shop and assembled on a footer. It would require a welder on site to tack the frame together. Once the steel frame was up anything at hand could be used to sheet the walls. Tin would be needed for the roof if possible or...? In time the walls could be poured around the steel frame creating a super insulated shell for the home. The roof should also be poured with cellular concrete for insulation. There are ways to actually build all the furniture and cabinets with concrete but... that is another story. This building system would maximize using Haitian labor and materials. In the process you would be creating a work force of Haitians that could carry this building system into the future.
I am working with GLOW Ministries International to develop very small homes for Haiti relief. You can download a .pdf file of the current plan by clicking HERE.
Glow Ministries International http://www.glowmi.org/visionmission.html is putting this idea into action. They have a great vision of what is needed because they are an old grassroots organization in Haiti. GLOW Ministries deserves your donation.

• Properly done cellular concrete is a proven very cost effective, strong, thermally efficient and green building material that has been around for a long time - see:
http://www.alliedfoamtech.com/Appconc.htm

• The collapse of the structures in Haiti was due, in large part, to poor building practices. Anything that is going to be a permanent structure should be built to specifications that would resist the next earthquake, hurricane or what ever nature throws at them. Cellular concrete would be a great choice for strength - see:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/231846

• Haiti has an enormous problem with sanitation. The earthquake has made the problem worse. There is a simple and cheap solution.

It looks like, to me, the Haiti disaster offers a perfect laboratory to perfect building technologies and systems that would be applicable world wide. Not only for disaster zones but everywhere. Making cellular concrete using recycled aggregate from the rubble seems almost to good to be true.

Cellular concrete is a prime candidate for green, cost effective, thermally efficient (comfortable), sustainable, green construction in Haiti.
Cellular concrete was developed in Sweden in 1914. It is not pie in the sky, over the rainbow technology.
This would not be the first time cellular concrete has been used after a tragedy.
Cellular concrete was used extensively to rebuild Europe after WWII - See:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-21053118.html

I have been looking into using an inexpensive steel post and beam frame with a Magnesium Oxide Board skin which would be filled with cellular concrete. The roof would be a light wieght (but strong) steel frame with a corrugated steel deck. The steel deck would be used as a form to pour a cellular concrete roof. For expedience the post and beam frame could be erected with the roof structure and covered with anything at hand. When time and resources were available the MgO board could be installed. When more time and resources were available the cellular concrete walls and roof could be poured. This would allow quick, inexpensive housing to be put up and get people in out of the weather. The structure could be finished later and in stages. Additions to a small home would be easy so you could start very small and expand.
You can download a .pdf file of my in progress plan by clicking HERE. An alternative to the MgO board sheathing may be doing ferrocement over chicken wire for the sheathing? Check out: http://ferrocement.net/flist/index.php for an overwhelming amount of information on FC.

Why Not -organize a fund to build a prototype and see how it works? If it looked promising get a few more funded. If it worked like I think it would....

Why Not - gear up and produce large quantities of modular concrete forms that could be used to quickly erect, strong, low cost, thermally efficient cellular concrete homes for the displaced people of Haiti? Cellular concrete can be formed into block and panels and erected where it would be hard to get equipment. The block can be easily carried by hand and assembled like the CMU block used in a lot of the construction there now. However if properly done it would be much stronger than the CMU construction they have been doing. It would also be very thermally efficient adding greatly to the comfort level in the home.
Cellular concrete can also be used as poured in place walls. For larger structures and homes easily accessable to bulk concrete.
Precise Forms is a unique concrete form that might fit the job for poured in place: http://www.preciseforms.com/
Here is another great formed in place aerated concrete idea: http://www.casthome.com/home.php
When you are done with the modular forms they could be transported to the next hot spot designated as needing fast, low cost, strong housing and that has the basic materials needed to make this building system effective. That would now seem to be Chile.
This already being done.
LCM™ Lightweight Construction Technology http://www.casthome.com/home.php is in Malaysia and they are doing it. Take some time and look their site over. WOW!
Why are we so far behind Malaysia?

Why Not - take the same cellular concrete technology and quickly build new hospitals, schools, businesses, government buildings, etc.?
At the same time you would be recycling vast quantities of rubble and training Haitians to build using this technology.

Why Not – bring in equipment to re-process all of the steel scrap, from the demolished buildings, cars, etc. into reinforcement for the concrete structures that will be built? Build these new buildings right. Training Haitians to run this equipment would make more skilled jobs. On The Job training is the best kind.

Why Not – use this heart breaking tragedy to develop building systems and technologies that would not only vastly improve the lives of the people of Haiti but be applicable for people world wide?

Why Not - along with cellular concrete for walls, floors & roofs use the myriad other sustainable, green technologies that are available in the rebuilding of Haiti. Wind, wave power, water harvesting, solar hot water, phototvoltaics, efficient lighting, you name it should be part of the package for every home and neighborhood.

Sewage is a big issue in Haiti.
Why Not - Make composting toilets a standard feature of every home built? This is old proven technology. A cheap to construct, efficient solution to the problem. Again you would be training Haitians to construct using technology that can be carried on to improve the whole societies living situation into the future. Win Win. See:
http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/sawdustoilet.html and also http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/composting_toilets.htm

Grassroots energy is what is needed. Small solar panels on every roof.
Why Not - Figure in a minimal amount of solar power for each home. Solar hot water is (I am told) the biggest bang for your buck going. What would the relatively small investment in solar hot water do for the sanitary conditions of Haitians? What would be the return on investment of better health and less medical care? What would enough solar electric to power lights at night do? What about enough to run energy efficient lights and a refrigerator?
I just stumbled onto an organization that looks like a poster child for doing what I am just talking about Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) see: http://www.self.org/ their goals say it all. Please contribute!

Why Not - In this process make sure Haitians are trained in all of these fields so there will be on going progress in building sustainable infracture for Haiti. Organize cooperatives to involve the people in developing their own neighborhoods and the society overall. Keep it grassroots. Eliminate, as much as possible, recreating the top down society they suffer under now.

You may be thinking – who would be able to organize and implement such a grand scheme quickly? Seems daunting.

There are lots of unemployed people that have vast knowledge of every aspect of the construction field right here in the USA.
An organization like the US Green Building Council (or... you tel me ?) would be a perfect place to start finding qualified individuals for such an endeavor.
Selected personel could train the Haitian people to build using all of the latest sustainable systems and technologies. When they leave there would be a trained force of eco-builders and basic industry left behind in Haiti to carry on the rebuilding into a much brighter future.

I have watched with fascination, as Greensburg Kansas rebuilt green after a devastating EF-5 tornado leveled the town May 4^th, 2007. http://www.greensburgks.org/

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I would really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on this idea.

Email Paul Wellman - USGBC LEED™ Certified AP
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