Early thoughts on Architects for Humanity's 'Plan for Haiti' -- and what we need NOW

As Haiti-watchers may know, innovative architects, engineers, urban planners and designers have rushed to respond to the Haiti crisis and provide assistance to Haitian colleagues and NGOs engaged in the global humanitarian response to the Jan. 12 earthquake.

They include Architects for Humanity, led by Cameron Sinclair. Sinclair was on the ground in Haiti days after the quake hit, working to help Haitian officials develop a plan to address the enormous task of assessing the damage caused by the quake, and laying out a post-disaster plan for rebuilding. He and Architects for Humanity have been on the frontlines of the growing global conversation related to emergency and transitional housing needs in Haiti.

Below is a plan Sinclair's group has been discussing since the days after the Jan. 12 Haiti quake. It was posted two days ago. He continues to argue for slowing down - that is -- taking the time necessary to consider what needs to be done, and recognizing that certain steps will take time. For example, in his plan, building transitional housing -- housing that can withstand another earthquake, but may be portable, happens in month 6 to year 2.

Unfortunately, Haitians without any shelter have no time. Torrential rains have started to fall, and tropical storms may come as early as April. AS he notes, Haiti is likely to suffer its seasonal share of hurricanes -- a serious future threat.

While tens of thousands remains without any kind of shelter, those who've been given tarps to huddle under are now standing in mud, and are getting soaked or damp in areas where their plastic sheeting doesn't prevent rain from seeping in. The rain will carry waste into areas where people are sleeping in the tent cities, and the threat of disease and people getting more sick increases with these rains.

We've already seen the tragic effects of landslides this week - mud that covered a school and killed several children. With the earth and people displaced, many homeless people are living in ravines where the risk of flood and mudslides is great.

The need for Something.. more than a plastic sheet:

The addition of rain, and the threat of storms to come, has already upped the terrible pressure to provide some shelter for the many quake-homeless. There really is a race to determine where - how - what - types of stronger shelter can be built or delivered within a few weeks, when, recent years have shown, the storms are likely to arrive. While many people worry about hurricanes, Tropical Storm Jeanne last year caused 2000 deaths in Haiti (but only a fraction of that number in the Dominican Republic - again, partly because of the difference in housing for people....). Even a bad storm could have a huge, negative impact on Haiti if some alternatives to plastic sheets are not delivered.

It may make very good sense to delay that process for another four months - but people can't afford to live in complete exposure. Some might not survive a major storm with only plastic sheets. That is the difference between best- or well-laid plans and pressing reality.

In the current extremely harsh reality, people and groups are pressing forward to build shelters, compelled to find or build some temporary shelter, even if it may collapse in the next-after shock. They have to do something now - before the bad April rains hit, even if, as Sinclair points out, what they do won't be what's really needed in the longer term, or to withstand another quake.

(Note: Claude Prepetit, Haiti's official geologist has predicted a 6.0 earthquake will strike the north of Haiti within six months, based on measurements taken of seismic activity. Meanwhile, Prepetit-Calais predict a 7.6 quake will strike Haiti (and the Caribbean region) within 20 years, give or take a few years. This information is based on an interview I did recently in Haiti with Prepetit. I'll be posting more on that in blogs to come...)

Given this worrisome prediction -- and the fact that myriad groups are furiously hurrying to deliver more emergency tarps and sheeting (not so much tents anymore... no room to put them, anyway) (while others are starting to put up rough corrugated tin and wood shelters), there's an urgent need to share information related to building now that could benefit many in Haiti who want to find shelter or rebuild.

Here are three items at the top of my 'To Do' SOON list related to Rebuilding Haiti that I consider very important - essential steps - that should be shared with the Haitian public: They complement Sinclair's proposal (below, under Disaster Preparedness) to build a Hurricane Recovery Center in Port-au-Prince. (Here I'm focusing more on steps to take now-soon to help individual Haitians prepare to survive another natural disaster, and possible steps community groups could take now related that threat.).

1) identifying and applying some criteria for evaluating what structures and materials are suitable (or not) and why, and where -- location) for Transitional quake-resistant Housing, and some simple guidelines or standards for those building provisional structures.

People on the ground also need basic information on how to reduce risk and how to strengthen their temporary lean-to shelters -- a kind of 'harm reduction' plus Do-It-Yourself guide to retrofitting a house.

They also need a simple guide to help them know What To Look For when assessing possible physical damage to your home. There are practical tips housing inspectors commonly share with homeowners - these should be made more available to Haitians. (This may be covered in the Earthquake Resistance Housing Guide that Sinclair refers to below that will be given our to community groups and NGOs(a practical tool being translated into Kreyol, and adapted for use in Haiti)

2) Disaster Preparedness: Information (a small guide) with practical steps people can try to take to reduce their exposure to environmental and health risks, including the risk of landslides,floods, exposure to flowing waste, more aftershocks, etc.

3)Disaster Preparedness - Communication: Given the disruption of telecommunication, radio and print newspaper communication within Haiti, there's need to inform the public about the threat of natural disasters, including tropical storms or hurricanes. How will officials inform people, or get reports from people if a major tropical storm arrives?

For example, an SOS SMS number or SMS hurricane SMS TEXT alert system (like the 4636 Digicel incident reporting number used for reporting after the Jan. 12 quake) - would be important to set up and widely publicize BEFORE the next seasonal disaster. So would information about revised national, local and regional hurricane or tsunami response plans.

Similarly, community forums addressing emerging and future Disaster Preparedness and Response needs are important, even as people cope with the catastrophic post-quake environment. What steps can displaced people and communities take to be organized, to communicate, etc?

Other Steps:

There are other steps Haitian official and UN Shelter Cluster and NGO members should concentrate on as the rainy season intensifies:

4)continued mapping and warning displaced communities or people living in ravines/near possible mudslides about their increased risk of exposure to natural threats linked to the rain. Greater effort should be made to inform the public about the need to relocate people living in ravines, on the sides of hills or mountains, to more level areas further away from mudslide risks.

5) The collapse of hills and loosening of the earth has left some structures vulnerable to mudslides and possible future collapse. Engineers should be directed to structures or areas where the addition of rubble from the quake might help fill in or level the ground, decreasing the risk of a further collapse due to intensive rains, or a mudslide.

6) Given the risk of flooding, more attention is needed to DIGGING rainwater and Sewer/Waste runoff, especially in the tent cities and close to open pit latrines. This is happening, but is also something that Haitian people can engage in in areas where they are sleeping, if they are informed about why it's so important, and how to do this.

Back to the transitional building models and possible houses....

I would like to suggest (and am sharing this idea with colleagues in the engineering / urban planning area and funders) that Haiti consider creation of a Technical Review Board or committee with experts in engineering, urban planning and architecture that could review Transitional building proposals and models that are now being sent to funders or are being introduced by different groups now.

This new housing Technical Review Review board or committee could be part of Haiti's Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA Haiti) structure or provide technical advice to that body on proposed housing projects, using the agreed upon criteria.

The Problem now: At the moment, donors and development agencies have little way of determining how good or bad a 'model' or innovative alternative housing project may be for Haiti: they need Haitian experts and those with field experience implementing alternative building models to critique and support proposals for Haiti.

If some minimal criteria were established (and shared) for new buildings that addressed the need to be quake-resistant (and protect from future hurricanes), this would at least provide some assurance of quality and protection.

For now, it's a bit of the Wild West.

There are lots of great ideas, but they're not always field-tested or relevant to the context of Haiti. (For example, some groups are excited about structures that use wood, without recognizing that wood will rot in Haiti's humidity.)

Centralizing the information....

Communication - sharing best-practices: While a few new 'Rebuilding Haiti' websites and blogs have quickly cropped up, and lively discussions are taking place among builders, architects and designers in and outside Haiti, it's important to have some collective place for plans that are being considered or have been deemed 'best practice' to be available for public review.

Right now, there is legitimate concern that outside groups with experience at, say, retrofitting cargo containers, will be given the contracts that could and arguably should go to Haitian groups, or should at least might require a twinning or training partnership so that Haitians can be taught to adapt and manufacture this type of transitional housing in the very short term ahead.

All of these types of conversations are happening at forums like The New Haiti Project (Le Projet Nouvelle Haiti) website or the even newer Rewiring Haiti site of Wired magazine ( a project I pushed to make happen), and on conversation threads within the Architects for Humanity community and forums for designers and urban planners, etc.

What we also need to do now is bring back the fruit of that debate - the really best, most useful, most cost-effective, practical ideas - and allow Haitians who can't access the Internet to be informed about what's being considered. After all, they are the ones who who will be living in these future houses.

That means public forums, radio chats and town-hall types community discussions -- reflecting a commitment to opening up the conversation - taking it from online to offline, from the blogs to the radio, to the nightly discussions happening under the stars, in the open air, under the plastic sheets, by the open sewer, in the rain, in the mud and muck, about what needs to happen next.

My own research:



Over the past two weeks, I've started looking more deeply into different types of transitional shelters and housing schemes that are being proposed for Haiti -- mostly from outside groups - and those that the UN Shelter Cluster is considering for transitional housing, as well as what Haitian architects have to say on the subject.

I was heartened yesterday by an email from a structural engineer who has just returned from a field assignment in Haiti - evaluating the damage sustained by buildings. His view runs counter to what many have been saying recently: that no concrete block houses could -- or should -- be built in Haiti, because people weren't building them right, or skimped on cement and built it too weak. After a close evaluation of the situation on the ground, this experienced engineer feels that Haitians can build reinforced concrete block houses that will withstand an earthquake -- IF they are taught to include a few details.

I plan to talk to him more this weekend, in greater depth, to find out exactly what those 'details' are, and then I'll share this information more widely. I'll also share information about the many other models under review in the week(s) to come. Here's what he had to say:

"Haiti has a large number of construction workers who know concrete block construction well. What they don't know are some relatively simple and important details that will ensure that concrete block houses survive earthquakes. A group of engineers are producing a brochure based on one developed in Peru to education Haitian brick masons on these key factors. Small concrete block houses can be constructed quickly with local labor and local materials. These houses can also be permanent." (my bold, italics included)

CARGO CONTAINERS: AMONG THE MORE PROMISING ALTERNATIVES....

I'm come across quite a few articles and groups promoting Cargo Containers for Haiti that can be retrofitted for as little as $2000 to as much as $100,000. I have friends in South Africa who transformed a shipping container into a great office for their community AIDS project and can personally report that these containers can make for great and surprisingly attractive transitional and semi-permanent, quake-resistant housing.

As many people engaged in alternative and innovative architecture have noted, there are many, many abandoned shipping containers left in lots and warehouses all across America that could provide transitional housing for Haitians who could be put to work with a 'sawzall' - a saw - and cut windows, lay plumbing and likely lower the cost of a retrofit far below the examples we've seen to date.

Yes, $1000-$2000 is more than Haitians can afford for a house - more than a concrete and rebar house. But these retrofitted containers can withstand an earthquake - and often hurricanes. There may be other super models that emerge, but right now, these containers could be delivered en mass to provide some true shelter for a good number of Haitians - while making use of recycled steel containers.

Here's a picture of a container school built in Gonaives, Haiti:




Here are a few links to see models and articles on container houses.

The folks at Clemson U have even dreamed up model communities built around these retooled cargo homes. Their SEED project envisions building a prototype in the Caribbean in the coming year.

(Of course there are many US and other outside Haiti commercial groups who are pushing for this type of housing, too, because they want the contracts to retrofit these containers. They'll do it for a lot more money than Haitians could do it - though they have more experience.

What appeals to me about adapting steel cargo containers is the prospect of providing training and labor to Haitians for a product that benefits Haitians and, because it's not permanent, it can be moved later to make way for more permanent housing on land, once the rubble is cleared, and we really have models to offer Haitians at prices they can afford that will survive the next killer quake.

The price is still high - by Haitian standards. But for offices and more protective CAMPS or IDP communities, recycled, spruced up, solid, quake-and rain-resistant cargo containers look appealing.

There are many questions to ask, including how quickly so many containers might be bought and brought to Haiti. But those are questions of logistics, and a land-and sea-based CONTAINER CONVOY that is already moving along a humanitarian corridor into Haiti could be transformed into a rapid housing development initiative if the money and willpower and planning was brought to bear on this idea.

At least let's debate it - and the other 'hot' ideas that are circulating - and share the debate.

Now have a look-see (below) at Cameron Sinclair's reasoned plea for rebuilding with sense.

Onward!

Haiti Quake: A Plan for Reconstruction

Posted by Cameron on Feb 18, 2010
Related program: Haiti Earthquake Rebuilding
[Updated: Feb. 18] For those not used to working in disasters the first week is chaotic, filled with stories of heroism and despair. The first responders are not the NGO's or medical personal but the families of those who are injured or lost their lives. It is an overwhelming situation to be in. It is also not the time for architects to show up thinking they can rebuild. People are trying to find their loved ones not think about what their lives will look like in 5, 10 or 15 years.

Trying to keep perspective is extremely hard. We've personally lost colleagues, friends and extremely valuable people in the last few days. On Thursday, one phone call ended with 'they are all gone.' For those of us who are part of the reconstruction effort, we need to think about immediate needs for shelter while planning for the next three to five years of rebuilding.

When we are rebuilding, do not let the media set the time line and expectations for reconstruction. I remember vividly well known news personalities standing on the rubble of homes in the lower ninth proclaiming that 'this time next year we will see families back home.' Some well meaning NGOs, who usually have little building experience, are even worse -- 'we'll have 25,000 Haitians back home if you donate today.' In reality, here is what it really looks like:

Pre-Planning Assessments and Damage Analysis (underway, will run for a year)
Establish Community Resource Center and Reconstruction Studio (underway)
Sorting Out Land Tenure and Building Ownership (Month 6 to Year 5)
Transitional Shelters, Health Clinics and Community Structures (Month 6 to Year 2)
Schools, Hospitals and Civic Structures (Month 9 to Year 3)
Permanent Housing (Year 1 to Year 5)
As for a long term plan, our team is growing day by day and thanks to hundreds of individual donations we now have the resources to start enacting a long term reconstruction initiative. The details are being fleshed out, but as here is our plan (so far):

1. Community Based Anchors

We will set up Community Resource Centers to supply architecture and building services to community groups, NGOs and social entrepreneurs on the ground. This is not an 'exclusive' center, it is open and collaborative. We've already talked with a dozen local and international organizations to create the Haiti Rebuilding Coalition. This team will be housed in each of these centers. See below for the value of these facilities.

2. Distribute lessons learned

Translate and distribute a Rebuilding 101 Manual that we originally developed after Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami. If you just read aid agency websites you'd think they never got it wrong. In eastern Sri Lanka I sat with representatives from nine other NGO's and we discovered in our 'no BS sessions' we had made the same $500 mistake. Collectively, that is a transitional school for 120 kids. Don't get me started on New Orleans. If we only share 'best practices' we never really adapt and learn. The handbook of 'what not to do' is far more valuable.

P.S. Read The Man Who Tried To Save The World on the work of Fred Cuny, the original NGO whistle-blower.

[UPDATE: Project Underway]

3. Earthquake Resistant Housing Manual

Adapt, translate and distribute an Earthquake Resistant Housing Manual for local NGOs and community groups. A coalition of partners can collaborate and work on this, including Haiti-based AIDG, Build Change, Engineers Without Borders and other engineering partners. We developed one after the Kashmir Earthquake a few years ago. This time we need to put them on every NGO workers' Kindle and create a training manual for local contractors.

[UPDATE: Project Underway]

4. Provide Building Expertise

Provide teams of architectural and construction professionals to develop and build community facilities, including schools and medical centers. These teams will be local and regional with some international support. The full time staff must also have a unique knowledge of disaster mitigation and long term sustainable development. Also, the team is very site specific. In one of our programs we had an elephant migration expert to help locate buildings so as to not disturb the flow of animals.

[UPDATE: Partnership formed with AIDG for mason training program]

5. Build A Construction Workforce.

Train and educate incoming volunteers and community members in building safely, emphasizing the need for sustainable materials and construction techniques. It is not about just building homes, but jobs.

[UPDATE: Partnership formed with AIDG for mason training program]

6. Disaster Preparedness.

Hurricane Season! It is primed to devastate Haiti once again. The time line is such that if a hurricane hits Haiti head on, the loss of life will be severe and every temporary housing camp will be wiped out. Last year we had developed a youth sports facility and hurricane resistant disaster recovery center for Port au Prince. We will complete that project and look to implement other centers.

7. Build Schools

We will design, develop and implement community and civic structures for various locally-based community partners. This will include reconstruction and building educational facilities given the particular loss in structures and our expertise in school construction. Beyond the basic human right to give children access to eduction, if they don't have a place to go, parents can't work and there is no economic stability. Schools are the focal point in community recovery. We've talked with elementary and high schools all over the United States to adopt the rebuilding of schools in Haiti.

[UPDATE: Partnership formed with Barefoot Foundation, the Haitian School Initiative and the Bezos Family Foundation. Schools in development]

8. Implement Digital Acupuncture.
Working with groups like Inveneo, Samasource, AIDG and the 50x15 Foundation, we can incorporate ICT into all of the community facilities. Bridging the digital divide, we can give the aid agencies the technology they need to expedite the recovery process but also upgrade the digital infrastructure of Haiti in the long term.

[UPDATE: Partnership with 50x15 Foundation to incorporate digital inclusion in schools]

9. Safe, Secure and Sustainable Housing.

Haitians are not going want to hear ideas; they need shelter. It is our job to build homes that are not only safe but incorporate the needs, desires and dreams of the families that will live in them. Additionally, like after Katrina, we are not just building a roof over someone's head -- we are building equity. To many, their home is their safety net. They don't have 401Ks or investment accounts. If we build homes the same way they have been built before, we are just setting people up for this again. We can force better building codes by building examples of what the future will look like. Again, this will be a coalition of building partners.

[UPDATE: Refining Transitional Housing Developed for Sri Lanka in 2005]

10. Support Social Entrepreneurs and Job Creation

Like in many of our other post disaster programs, we will reach out and work with women's empowerment groups and artisans (like Lulan Artisans) to help rebuild their facilities, speeding up job creation and the ability to distribute micro-loans (aka Kiva, etc.).

11. Open Source and Share Everything

If your focus is social change and not financial gain, it is only innovative if it is shared. We were fortunate enough to win the TED Prize in 2006, and from that we built the Open Architecture Network. All of the works we produce are shared openly, under Creative Commons license, and distributed through the network. In the two years we've run it, hundreds of other organizations and individuals have uploaded humanitarian design solutions.

By connecting with other NGOs and open sourcing construction documents, we can influence many building programs in the region. We can leave a legacy of innovative, locally appropriate solutions to protect from future disasters.

Ironically, we offered this entire system for free to the Obama administration for open sourcing all government infrastructure and making programs more transparent. If anyone in the administration is reading this, the offer is still on the table. I would personally love to see what was done with my Red Cross donation and our tax dollars.

Community Resource Centers

As we have reviewed the damage we've assessed the greatest impact is to open community recovery centers -- much like the ones we help develop after Hurricane Katrina. The Katrina studios, supported by local partners, a myriad of NGO's and staffed with building professionals, were integral in the housing of hundreds of families in Mississippi and Louisiana. If there is to be a community-focused long term reconstruction initiative for Haiti, we need to do the same.

Three reasons this is important:

1) Aid organizations, especially local groups, will know where they can go to get professional design and construction services. We can serve not one organization doing one project, but many. When we get it setup, they know they can walk in any day, at any time, to get professional help. This will prevent a lot of shoddy construction. We can host training sessions in job site safety and in basic building. We can make sure that these volunteers really do have the skills and knowledge they need to build safely in a seismic and hurricane zone. We can engage local officials and coordinate the services we and they provide better.

2) Volunteer professionals who want to come down for a week or a month or just a few days will have a place to check in and be helpful doing damage assessments, making housing plans, etc. Architects and engineers partnering with NGOs will have a local place where they can touch down and understand the local building codes and conditions. They can design remotely and know that someone will be shepherding the project on the ground and assisting as they need it. At the same time, the services will have some continuity and the community will have a place they know they can come for design and construction help.

4) We've already funded the first center independently, through online donations and support from our existing donors. We can run and manage specific building projects through the center with our design studio staff sharing resources and best practices. We can also vet contractors and train community members to be a part of the rebuilding process -- making sure clients' funds are directly benefiting the community, not only with an innovative structure but with job creation.

Our Katrina centers were filmed as part of the Iconoclast show. Check it our on You Tube or the Sundance Channel.

STEAL THIS PLAN

There is no 'ownership' in rebuilding lives. It sickens me when I hear agencies say their processes are proprietary. If you like what we are doing either support us or steal this plan. We need dozens of tug boat NGO's working together to build back Haiti better. Let's not waste donor dollars on working in silos. Haiti has suffered enough.

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I can only echo Sinclair's last lines. There is no ownership in rebuilding lives... Haiti has suffered enough.

And a final note: If any of you readers are alternative building innovators or dreamers or schemers, or you're interested in how to bring or retrofit cargo containers for Haiti, do share your vision or initiative with me at: talktothefuture@gmail.com.

And consider supporting this blog?...

If you like what you're reading on Haiti Vox and want to know how you might support more research or reporting on this topic, email me at: talktothefuture@gmail.com.


Over and out, then.....