It’s pretty obvious that a lot of Katrina refugees (I’m making a SWAG of 300,000) will not be able to return to their homes (or rebuilt homes) for at least 6 months and will need relatively permanent “temporary housing”. I can’t imagine that there are that many FEMA trailers available, so some other means is needed to provide folks with a secure, weather-tight, living space — something better than a tent or plastic sheeting stretched over a wood frame.
There are also other considerations, several of which have to do with the interests of the rest of us:
— These homes need to be remarkably inexpensive
— They need to have a design life of about 5 years, with normal maintenance
— It should be possible to build them/set them up with mostly inexperienced labor
— We need to avoid using materials that may be in short supply
— We need to avoid driving up the price of common building materials unnecessarily
(The above two considerations are important both to the construction industry generally and to the folks building more permanent replacement structures.)
— Need to be available in multiple sizes, from one BR to 3, at least, or be somehow modular
— Need to be relatively “weather safe”, but we’ll assume for the nonce that they won’t be erected within 5–10 miles of a coastline and don’t have to be hurricane-proof beyond maybe a cat 2
— They should be designed for a southern climate — cooling is more important than heating
— Folks never take as good of care of stuff that isn’t theirs, so these homes need to be reasonably durable
— Also need to think about ways to minimize plumbing/electrical costs
— We’ll assume that the code book can go out the window — states/localities will have their arms twisted to allow these so long as they are reasonably safe for short-term housing
So, any ideas?
I’ve got a few very vague ones:
1) Something built from corn-husk hardboard with a plastic surface layer. Unfortunately, this still needs framing, insulation, etc.
2) ICF-like construction only with earth
3) Pre-formed wall units made of papier-mache several inches thick, possibly with a plastic coating
Replies
I remember seeing (from a link here I think) someone making residences from shipping containers. Not elegant of course but I bet a team of guys could crank out temporary housing like mad given a supply of those and the accoutrements like windows, doors etc.
When I was in architecture school, we had a project doing just that.
You oughta send your plans to FEMA... makes more sense than 99% of what I see them doing on the news.
Paul
I like your idea, and we have plenty of the damn things, too many if I understand it.
But it's to practical for gov'ment!
Doug
There was a link somewhere where insulated shipping containers were put together to make housing, some of the examples were pretty sharp.
found the link
http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm
I just saw that FEMA bought all the travel trailers from Tom Raper RV sales in Richmond IN and Fairfield OH, something like 300 of them. They are wanting drivers to deliver them to their final destination. http://www.tomraper.com/ 1-800-RAPER RV (IN) or 1-877-RV CINCY (Fairfield)
Edited 9/7/2005 10:15 pm ET by MarkH
I think the fireman who was so frustrated with the lack of solutions for evacuee's had the best idea so far. He wanted to bring in cruise ships to house the homeless. The government should arrange this as a contingent plan like they do with the airlines to transport troops.
Where are the hospital ships that we have are they being deployed?
But the biggest question is where is the preparedness of our country ,we all know that there are going to be natural disasters so why have we not demanded that large parts of our tax contributions be used in preperation for just such events?
I think we as a small group should form a coalition to push for better preparedness and a dedicated service of trained personnel so that when disaster strikes we are not overwelmed with logistics.
We should also have universities with curriculams designed to train engineers and medical, etc. to combat these disasters.
Funds need to be set aside to convert bases and unused buildings to disaster housing and be fully equiped for the time of need.
I am at a loss as to how we can plan for homeland security without this preparedness being part of our strategy.
Bush as a loyal supporter I am apalled at your administrations short sightedness.If I were you I would pull 40% of our Iraqi forces immediately to come home and help rebuild our own citizens lands.Then return to try and set up this type of preparedness for all the worlds countries so that we can regain our reputation as the world power that cares.
ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
Remodeler/Punchout
> But the biggest question is where is the preparedness of our country
Here in Los Angeles, the Fire Department has a program called Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). They train civilians to do things the right way to help themselves and each other in a disaster. It's been successful enough that it's being done elsewhere around the country and even around the world.
The fire dep't recognized long ago that there's no way they could handle everything themselves. Even in a small earthquake like Northridge in '94, 100% of their resources were assigned within the first five minutes. And they're going to go first to hospitals and schools, even if it means driving by residential fires.
In a big quake, fallen bridges and buildings will make it impossible to move any vehicles, including fire engines, more than a few blocks from where they are. One of the first things they tell us is not to expect squat from any government entity for maybe two or three weeks.
Helicopters are one thing that people get a very false idea about from the news. They're wonderful for getting a few people off a sinking boat. But even under the best circumstances, a helicopter can rescue five people an hour, maximum. It's easy to take pictures of them, especially from another helicopter. So you see them all the time on TV news. Back on 9-11, people tried to go to the roof of the Trade Center, expecting that helicopters would get them.
In New Orleans, it looks like hardly anybody had any training. For instance, nobody knew what to do instead of using the restrooms when there was no running water to flush with. It's easy to do, and they would have avoided the big stink and disease problem.
-- J.S.
Wire mesh stretched onto a light wood frame. Thread plumbing, electricals (in EMT), and HVAC before spraying with gunnite or some other material that will dry strong, be self-supporting, resist wind and rain.
The gunnite should be thick enough to resist solar heat transmission. Inside finish troweled on. Spray paint to suit. Door and window bucks, like in strawbale.
http://costofwar.com/
Edited 9/3/2005 11:21 am ET by Pierre1
There was a a story on NPR about a guy who came up with an inflatable conrete shelter. Blow it up, then spray water on it. Once it cures, you have a stable redidence for some time. He was shopping it around to relief agencies.
I think this was it:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66872,00.html
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Edited 9/3/2005 1:36 pm ET by xxPaulCPxx
Quonset huts, the various variations on the half-round steel buildings, fit the bill.
They are relatively easy to manufacture. A single bent section is the major components. These were designed for a small construction crew with little training, grunts, with a few hand tools to be able to erect a complete unit in a day. A trained crew with power tools can go even faster. It is reasonable to expect that healthy refugees with some trained supervision could assemble them. Simple, but not too demanding, physical labor has been shown to be therapeutic in a lot of cases.
They are weather resistant to the point that hurricanes in the Pacific were recorded as scraping entire islands clean except for the Quonsets.
They are light enough that a single 2 ton truck can carry several buildings. A semi likely twenty or more. A crate with a single Quonset is light enough to be transported by helicopter. If I remember weight for mid-sized version was less than 1000 lbs.
These units are 'private proof', resistant to casual damage. Fairly resistant to intended damage also.
The units are largely modular. The basic unit can easily be upgraded using existing and proven designs. The most elaborate units are pretty much as presentable and comfortable as you would want temporary housing to be.
Quonsets are long lived. Set up they can last fifty years or more. This I have witnessed. In storage, properly packed and with minimum protection they could last a hundred years or more. Which means you could manufacture a few million of them and keep them in storage without danger of them going bad if unused. Unlike CONEX boxes, standard shipping containers, they are compact when packed. In fact last I saw I figure twenty or more Quonsets in crates could fit in a standard shipping container.
The materials used, primarily galvanized steel is recyclable. Being modular one unit could be cannibalized for parts to repair several others. Several damaged units recombined to yield a smaller number of good units. So no need to throw out a complete unit because it is damaged. Replacement parts manufactured for one unit would fit all other similar units. Greatly reducing the number of types of parts needed to keep on hand.
Just saw a representative of Habitat for Humanity on Larry King discussing their plans to do a form of prefab's called "House in a Box". They are in need of builders too to help out in the affected areas.
They are in need of builders too to help out in the affected areas.
Well then maybe you and me and a few other BT'ers that live here on LI like Shg and Bear can drive down there together with tools for a week when the time comes...I mean I personally I don't have the time or money but I'll make the time and the money'll have to figure it self out.
BE well organized
andy
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
I'm leaning in that direction myself. I don't know how soon they will want people or where they will want them, (ain't going to be New Orleans for awhile) but they are going to need them. We'll talk.
There was a really huge Quonset hut, actually a hanger) here in Austin Texas that was just torn down. It was moved from the old Army airport, and donated to the City about 50 years ago. Mainly used as a site for bands, civic events, livestock shows, etc. In 1963, it was used to house refugees from Hurricane Carla, and some smaller ones in following years.
I think your idea is great. IMHO, the feds should purchase land (100 acres) in each state bordering the Gulf and the east coast, abaout 200 miles inland, and build a complex (using Quonset style habitations) to house 100,000 refugees. These could be maintained by the Guard or Army. Should be stocked with water, MRE's, basic medical supplies (no narcotics), cots, etc. Should have a water supply for toilets/bathing, and independent power generation capability. Enough parking for evacuees and busses.
AS global warming continues, these storms and rising sea levels are going to make things worse on the coastlines.
Unfortunately, that doesn't address the current situation, and is effectively "fighting the last war".What can be done for the CURRENT situation?
Re: "Unfortunately, that doesn't address the current situation, and is effectively "fighting the last war"."As usual when there is no effective prior planning and coordination relief will come in dribs and drabs, often improvised and patched together with whatever is at hand. It is too late to come up with any coordinate method or technology to deal with the present situation.I suspect there will be the usual responses. Many families put out will fall back on family and friends outside the effected area. Those with money and resources will fare the best. Many will simply move out of the area and live on the social safety net, what little still exists after Reagan and the shrubs got through with it, or savings in other less affected areas.Some proportion, mostly the poorest, will simply be homeless. Some proportion of these, mostly the very old and very young, will get sick and die. A considerable number survivors, short term, in this category will drift into or reconfirm a prior relationship with drugs, crime and alcoholism. Gangs, a social mutual protection mechanism, and prostitution, the original low-startup cost business will be popular in some quarters. Simply put there is no reasonable expectation that any major new initiatives will be established at this late date. There may be some programs to handle a few thousand but these will be local affairs for a thousand or two not a central massive and coordinated effort, as suggested by the tile of this thread "Housing for 300,000". That option was off the table several days ago. The discussion has drifted, justifiably, into how to prepare for the next time. It is not "fighting the last war" it is planning for the next. Which is what was lacking in the FEMA and state response. So there is little in the way of massive central planned response we can do to help now. It has devolved too far. It would have been nice to have a huge response, picture a gigantic catcher's mitt, to educate, inform, evacuate, shelter and protect the people of the gulf coast but it wasn't planned for, prepared and funded. In this the present disaster preparedness, despite Billions spent on homeland security, is about what it was before WW2. Things will be done but it will not be centrally coordinated, much of the effort will be wasted and a lot of folks will slip through the cracks. In a perfect world every person would have a pack with emergency supplies sufficient to see them through three or four days. Longer if husbanded. Why so many people left NOLA with nothing is beyond me their houses were still standing and the water came up slowly. No benefit in heaping on blame but couldn't they find a can of beans and filled a rinsed out plastic bottle while the water was still on?Much suffering would have been avoided if at least the majority had stuffed a pillow case with a few cans of food, an opener of course, and couple of bottles of water. Toss in grandma's pills and a change of underwear and a flashlight and they would at least had the basics for a short time.In this perfect world each state would have warehouses with MREs, immediate use and treatment systems for water and tents and other necessary supplies sufficient for their entire population for a period of five days. The federal government would have similar supplies and Quonsets, or similar, for several million people deployable within four days.All stocks would be rotated in a timely manner. Federal perishables cycling down to the states and states supplies being distributed to homeless shelters, foreign relief or sold in small quantities, with several years to spare, to private citizens to stock their emergency supplies.The US has to start, possibly the first time historically, getting ready. The response to Katrina was a joke. Why the NO police radio towers and repeaters were not set up to continue operating is beyond imagining. I heard that the radio system was designed to be up shortly after a hurricane but the flooding, which had not been planned on, prevented the necessary, and slight, repairs being made. Why they had planned for storms or flooding but not storms and flooding was beyond my understanding.I think that a well distributed stockpile of Quonset type building, or any reasonable substitute, would be a good step. Even though it won't help the present situation it may help when the next disaster rolls around. Planning and preparing today can prevent another botched response. For it was the lack of planning and preparation that got us in this terrible situation. Disasters, natural and manmade, are inevitable. Why we are not better prepared for such predictable events is the question we need to ask and a situation that need correcting.
> As usual when there is no effective prior planning and coordination
> relief will come in dribs and drabs, often improvised and patched
> together with whatever is at hand. It is too late to come up with any
> coordinate method or technology to deal with the present situation.Recent events have shown that expecting coordination, for this disaster or presumed future ones, is expecting the politically impossible. And, oddly, it appears that (lacking a Guliani-like personality in charge) things tend to function just as well without coordination. It's when people hang back (or are held back) waiting for the coordination (read "leadership") that isn't there that we get into trouble.But one of this country's strengths is that it is, to a large degree, "self-organizing". Lots of individual initiatives often get more accomplished than massive government efforts.So what can be accomplished (in terms of housing) without central coordination and control?I agree that this is (sadly) a rather Malthusian/Darwinian event, but that discussion belongs in the Tavern.
Wasn't this done, at least to some extent, by Civil Defense back in the Cold War days? I remember stockpiles of drums of supplies in school basements, Town Hall, etc., with instructions printed right on the container for converting an empty water container into a porta-potty.
We who do not know history are doomed to repeat it???
I'll second the motion on Quonset Huts. A friend's grandparents lived in one, made quite cozy, in Mass. in the late 50's. We loved going to visit, because of the curved walls. I think that one is still there, buried in a series of additions, & now invisible.
I would also have to agree about the policing, curfew, etc., even though I am by temperment one of those bleeding-heart lefty-liberal NPR types - you just can't let a few destroy life for the many.
That's the most interesting idea I've heard in a long time. It would certainly fit the bill of being quick and easy to build, as well as economical. You should e-mail that idea to Habitat for Humanity. Good job!
I know that it's "butt ugly" but the quonset hut is the way to go, provided you have the proper drainage of course.
Here's an interesting link: http://quonsetpoint.artinruins.com/quonset_hut.htm
Man, I wish there was more we could for those poor souls. You just feel so helpless watching it on the tube.
we just went rhu a round of militery base closings ...
just reopen the barracks before they take them down.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
So how many of you would live in the designs you recommend? How many would live in subdivisions of those ugly houses.I expect unskilled people will band together and build houses in manner of Habitat for Humanity. Jimmy Carter was a bit ahead of his time.
GHR,
Given the choice between living in the street or a Quonset hut, gimme a key and I'll say, "Thank You". In fact, given the choice between the street and anything with a bed and a stove and a bathroom, I'll take the "house". From some of the pictures I saw, it doesn't look like all the people down in NO were living in McMansions. I think a Quonset might be a step up for some of them.
Nobody is talking about making these things into a subdivision, at least not a permanent one. The idea is to find people a place to live quickly, and maybe for a relatively short period of time. Heck, even the people that are rebuilding are going to need a place to live while they are working.
It will be interesting to see how many of the houses don't get rebuilt at all for a bunch of reasons, including lack of funds and new government regulation on construction.
As far as the unskilled people building houses, I think there might be a little of that, but I doubt it will be done on any massive basis. From the stories that are coming out about the crime, the welfare attitude, etc. in many(?) of those parishes, I just don't see cooperation and neighborliness happening. This isn't Amish country. Whether it's 10% of the population or 20% or 30%, there will be a group just waiting for the government (or whoever) to do the work for them. I hope time proves me wrong, but I doubt it.
Don K
Re: "So how many of you would live in the designs you recommend? How many would live in subdivisions of those ugly houses."You missed the point. What is needed is the ability to immediately, or as close to immediate as possible, house 300,000 people. Both now and as a contingent method in the future.While Quonset hut structures may not be pretty that is entirely besides the point. They are Temporary structures filling a need until Permanent structures and communities can be planned, designed, paid for by those wishing to own and actually built.While we presently do not have a stockpile of such structures they can be built rapidly. Once built they can be assembled by the refugees themselves and then, once permanent housing has been built, the Quonset huts can be dissembled and packed up where they remain ready for the next emergency. Neither conex boxes not mobile homes would work in this as well. Conex boxes don't disassemble. They take up the same area in storage as they do deployed. This characteristic also makes them less efficient to ship unless they can be filled. The cargo justifying the volume occupied. On the up side conex boxes could be reused.Mobile homes are neither collapsible, if you intend to live in them, nor effectively reusable. So storage is an issue. Contrary to the nomenclature mobile homes are not very mobile. Statistics show something like 95% of them are moved only once, from the factory to where they are fastened down. And there they remain quietly moldering away. They are not very reusable if the reuse involves being moved. In my mind I think that what is needed is a state and federal move to create a goodly number, a round quarter million sounds about right, of basic quonset huts and to store them away for times of need. When needed, as they are presently, they can be deployed rapidly and set up using, to a large extent, the refugees themselves as labor. As houses are rebuilt and become available people move out and the Quonsets they occupied are disassembled and stored ready for future needs. If the people who are being temporarily housed feel any discomfort at living "in subdivisions of those ugly houses". they would, of course, be free, possibly more motivated, to move out and into permanent housing of their own.
You need space to set up these 300,000 temp homes. There is no such space.
You've got some good points, and ones I tried, more or less, when I started the thread --What is needed is medium-term housing -- housing intended to last no more than five years. It should be as "humane" as reasonably possible (not terribly unpleasant to look at or live in, assuring a decent amount of comfort, security, and privacy).Another critical issue (at least in my mind) is that it not consume too many conventional construction resources, especially lumber. My impression is that "mobile homes" are still largely wood frame construction, so that's at least one strike against them.On the other hand, quonsets are as ugly as sin, and they don't, by themselves, deal with issues of foundation/anchoring, flooring, plumbing, etc.Pouring slab foundations (from my impression, the conventional quonset foundation/floor) would both consume precious concrete and also leave the land scarred with derelict foundations after the huts are removed. A scheme with a better integral floor design is needed, one that can incorporate plumbing, etc. And leaving the building site reasonably pristine after removal is also important.Also, insulation is an important consideration. A system where much of the insulation is fairly integral to the structure would be best. Assuming again a generally southern climate, a well-insulated structure will minimize air-conditioning load and allow heating to be done with a simple space heater.If one could assume that the temporary housing site is also the permanent housing site, then a classical rural "starter home" strategy -- eg, living in the garage or in the basement -- would be worth considering, but most of these evacuees are city folks who are probably not candidates for such a strategy (primarily because they don't have enough money/credit to buy the lot, but also because they're likely to move back to a more or less inner-city environment when they are able to).
Actually the original concept of the Quonset hut came with a steel framed plywood floor. A segregated, ventilated and insulated attic area was incorporated in those intended for use as housing and the plumbing was, as I understand it, included in the design, a compact shower stall, sink and WC arrangement but I think communal toilet, shower and laundry facilities would be the way to go. Heat was by small wood or coal stove. Later heating oil using the same design was the norm.Quonsets are fairly energy efficient because of the reduced surface area. The typical galvalum coating lowers the solar uptake and aluminum paint can further lower the AC burden. Of course I think AC should be secondary. Many low income, military and emergency housing situations lack AC. Even those in the in the hotter portions of the country. Now it is seen as essential but we are talking emergency housing not comfort. Likely some of them would be air conditioned, largely for medical reasons, but most should not be. I lived for years in homes in hot summer climates without AC. Ceiling fans, screens and well designed ventilation make it fairly comfortable.There is plenty of land available. Public land, parks, fallow areas or private land rented, worse case, imminent domain can be invoked to temporarily seize private woodlands. Less land needs to be used because emergency housing can be tightly packed. Look at photos of military camps. All of ten feet between the huts in a row and perhaps 20' between rows. Run it like a military compound with inspections, curfews and limitations on behavior. The works. Any individuals or families who don't like it are free to leave but no other public housing should be offered in its place. This is about keeping people alive. Comfort and individual freedoms are secondary.I'm shooting for clean, safe, inexpensive, reusable and well organized emergency shelter. Comfort, beauty and being free to do your own thing is entirely secondary.
"Mobile homes are neither collapsible,"
well ... not on purpose!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
LOL. So true.Fortunately quonsets are much more durable.
Jeff, you typed the words right out of my head.
Any expenditure of materials to build "temporary" housing seems like a redundant waste.
Perhaps building a number of apartment buildings that can be used as apartment buildings for a long time is a good idea.
The problem is the vast amount of people that need to be housed all at once. How much can be done realistically?
Maybe the best is to assemble an effort to ship folks all over the country... a relocation effort. Time to start a new life elsewhere, at least for a year or two.
http://www.peteforgovernor.com
This will undoubtedly bring up bad memories so I apologize in advance to anyone who is offended.
But, at the start of WWII, the US interred what 50,000 (?), 100,000 (?) people of Japanese ancestry. Those buildings, I guess, lasted about 4-5 years (and maybe longer after the internment was over). They were constructed quickly and, as I recall (I haven't investigated the history of this recently), were in the northern portions (harsher climate) of this country. They undoubtedly were not comfortable or large. But, they were apparently secure and kept people protected from the elements.
Seems the US could manufacture a mass production housing unit suitable for hundreds of thousands of people, on short notice, that's generally in compliance with 21st Century design requirements and Code without too much trouble. Maybe they can be placed on one of those abandoned/closed military bases we keep hearing about. At least, it had the rudiments of a community's requirements for essential services (electricity, water, sewerage), some fire protection (would need more), and a secure living site (not a swamp, not readily subject to rising flood waters, etc.).
Dan, it sounds like we're going to see some people from the Gulf Coast here in Minnesota soon, this was in today's Minneapolis paper.
"As early as this week, Minnesota will put out the welcome mat for 3,000 Gulf Coast region residents who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. And it looks like they'll be here long enough to need caps and gloves.
As part of a national plan developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to find long-term quarters for evacuees, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Saturday that within the next two weeks Minnesota will house hurricane victims temporarily at Camp Ripley, a National Guard training facility in central Minnesota near Little Falls. From there, they will be moved to cities and towns around the state that can provide long-term accommodations, perhaps in private homes or vacant apartments."
Yep, most of them will apparently go to Camp Ripley, which actually is fairly well set up for them, since the barracks are designed for transient trainees. Not a lot of privacy in a barracks, though.And I don't think there's that much "spare" housing in Minnesota -- from what I hear apartment space is pretty tight in most parts of the state.
I think manufactured homes (AKA doublewides) mounted on concrete pilings using a universal mounting system would work. Make it easy to get them of the ground a little further. The technology and factories are in place. Some architectual commitee could arrive at a dozen or so plans and then adapt faux french or other interesting elevations. The buildings could be code inspected at the plant. US Homes used to build these type buildings at a plant in Childress Texas and shipped them to various destinations. In fact, they became condo units when joined together. They came ready to live in with all the furniture, sheets, plates and silverware, the whole shebang! If the plants needed to gear up, I bet they would know where to look for a whole bunch of unemployed folks. Just an idea.................
Edited 9/4/2005 5:20 pm ET by Texfan
I think the shipping container is a good idea, and they are pretty redily available. Also was thinking someone could convert old semi trailers......they could be built anywhere, they trucked in.
However, the quanset is the best idea by far! A desenct sized one could be divided into two homes, with entrances on both sides.
Shoot, you could divide them up how ever you wanted (bedrooms ect.) Run all you wiring in conduit, and plumbing in plastic flex.....
A couple crews of guys could slap them things up in no time! PLus after 2 or 3 years or whatever, the government could salvage the quanset, and re sell them---
Probly won't happen though, way too logical for our government!That isn't ugly, it's custom!
DanH,
May I offer a tangent, not a hijack. Should we ever allow rebuilding in the flooded area of NO? I live near the coast in Jacksonville, Fl., and I don't think that rebuilding destroyed houses on barrier islands such as Ponte Vedra Beach should be allowed either. Nor should taxpayers elsewhere, e.g. Iowa, pay to subsidize insurance for coastal homedwellers. Living below sea level is stupid. To allow it to happen again is worse. I expect to hear a lot of whining from NPR about this.
My personal take is that no habitable floors should be placed below sea level in NO, unless they are self-sufficiently flood proof (capable of being sealed against floodwaters). This would still allow building in much of the area, but with garages or maybe shops at street level.I think that this is basically what the current regs are for flood relief, in fact. I know that elsewhere you can't get flood relief money to reuild (repair more than 50%) on a flood plain anymore.But there are a lot of conflicting issues to consider here.In any event, I doubt that more than half the private residences destroyed in the disaster will be rebuilt. Probably some land will be left undeveloped, some converted to high-rise apartments (with garages on the lower floors), and some converted to industrial use.
I saw a program the other night on TV about how a storm surge could inundate many areas if a hurricane passed over them--Washington, D.C., Boston and New York City among them, due to the shape of their bays or harbors (V-shaped, with the opening to the south).
Yeah, but in most of those cases the water would leave on its own. Having water stand for a period of time is highly destructive to structures, vs having it just come and go (which, don't get me wrong, is bad enough).(I saw this in the Grand Forks ND flood some years back. The water stood for about a week, depositing silt, getting rank, seeping deep into structures, rusting metal, destroying appliances that could have withstood a brief soaking. And that water didn't have raw sewage and dead bodies floating around in it.)
Edited 9/5/2005 8:40 pm ET by DanH
I don't know that the water would leave on its own in Boston, NY City or D.C. either--because of the tunnels for the transit lines in all those cities, as well as the Big Dig in Boston.
Yeah, there would be areas -- tunnels, basements, et al, that would remain flooded in most coastal cities. But "habitable" areas are generally fairly safe.And tunnels, basements, et al, can be pumped out fairly easily.
Edited 9/5/2005 9:40 pm by DanH
the Global Village Shelter has been successful. It takes 20 minutes to set up and cost a few hundred dollars. http://www.index2005.dk/Members/desadytedi/communityObject
Tents seem to be the temporary housing of choice because everyone can put them up and the materials are readily available.
That's getting close, but doesn't really seem appropriate for a multi-year residence (especially with no indoor plumbing), nor does it appear to be sufficiently storm-proof.But some variation on the corrugated construction technology might be the answer. Perhaps if a steel frame were added the corrugated panels could be used for walls and roof. It's even possible that a floor could be constructed from heavier corrugated material.
The design has some merit.Durability, long term, and reusability are unknown and unproven. Give a thousand to the Army and let the privates live in them in a remote location for a year and we would know more.
Look at the numbers. About 300,000 people need housing in a country of 300,000,000. If one person in a thousand has a guest bedroom or home office they'd be willing to lend to a friend of a friend, the whole problem would be covered. There are web sites already that are coordinating this kind of thing, my guess is that supply will soon overwhelm demand.
-- J.S.
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The War Years
R. Buckminster Fuller had gained international fame for his futuristic strategies and his concept of "maximum dynamic utility." Fuller found inspiration in the design of Butler Manufacturing Company's mass-produced grain bins. In their design, he saw low cost, easy to make, fast to erect, demountable, and movable housing for military troops and their families. The mutual admiration and enthusiasm between Buckminster Fuller and Emanuel Norquist propelled the project through design, testing, government approval, and production tooling in a matter of months. The project was ready for action when the reins were suddenly yanked. Steel remained on allocation, and the government could not reasonably divert enough to support any large contracts on these novel houses. A few hundred were put to use by the Army for medical operating rooms and Signal Corps housing, but orders were meager. However, through its connections with Mr. Fuller, Butler Manufacturing Company gained the confidence to take the rigid frame design to the limit, and to lead the growth of pre-engineered buildings into worldwide acceptance and favor.
http://www.butlermfg.com/companyinfo/history.asp
Are we there yet ?
How about a half million dome homes that just click or bolt together? Store away and transport faily easy.
The problem needs to be addressed in 2 parts. What to do immediately, and what to do until reconstruction is complete. There's lots of architectural competitions for both situations each year. Shelter ideas for earthquake victims, AIDS clinics in sub-Saharan Africa, shelter for Bosnian refugees, etc.. Same for semi-permanent shelter. The shipping cargo container is actually an idea that's been around for awhile. And the trend seems to be more towards premanufactured units that can be constructed en masse and shipped whole to the site. Not even assembled at the site, Quonset-style (no disrespect to Bucky, clearly someone light years ahead of his time). The problem isn't one of ability. We have the designers, the technology, the construction techniques, the initiative and the people ready to jump in and get dirty. The problem is leadership, and finding someone who will take all this seriously. Not an enlightening thought, given the 20/20 vision of the situation. But this didn't start with New Orleans. It's been going on for some time now.Included a couple of websites for more interesting/adaptable buildings for anyone interested:http://www.cargotecture.com
http://www.spacebox.info