Thursday, September 30, 2010

Concrete in Haiti

I'm not a big fan of block-and-concrete construction. It's ugly, costly, and the production of the building materials is environmentally destructive.

Nevertheless, I recognize that in Haiti much of the construction today is in concrete. In the countryside, many houses are built with wood framed and wood paneling, and in Port-au-Prince and other earthquake-affected cities it seems like buildings in wood and/or brick held up much better than concrete buildings. However, I don't think it's ecologically feasible for Haiti to rebuild destroyed homes in wood, especially not in densely-populated cities. In light of this, I thought these two articles were interesting. One article acknowledges that concrete is the most "indigenous" construction material in Haiti right now. The second gives recommendations on how to improve the existing concrete production process so it is safer and of better quality.

1 comment:

  1. Greg,
    Thank you for your honest thoughts about concrete construction.
    I agree that in Haiti it is concrete that they will use for most of the rebuilding. Until they can find ways to grow and produce a different material, cement-based products will have to do.

    They just need to find ways to improve their quality control of these products.

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