International Resources

Building Back Housing in Post-Disaster Situations – Basic Engineering Principles for Development Professionals: A Primer

Appendices

Innovations Journal
Fall 2010

Build Earthquake-Resistant Houses in Haiti

An essay by Dr. Elizabeth Hausler on the Build Change homeowner-driven model in Haiti.

Long-term Change in Construction Practice Through Post-Earthquake Reconstructions
Presented at: 1st International Conference on Urban Disaster Reduction. January 17 – 20, 2005, Kobe, Japan.
Housing Reconstruction and Retrofitting After the 2001 Kachchh, Gujarat Earthquake
Presented at: 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. August 1-6, 2004, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Paper No. 1723

China

Build Change Handbook “Security Rebuild Manual”.

Includes a design guideline for low-rise confined masonry buildings and common construction problems and how to solve them.

Available in English (EN) and Mandarin Chinese (MA):

Security Rebuild Manual (EN) (1.35MB)

Security Rebuild Manual (MA) (2.5MB)

Construction Drawings for New Two-Story Confined Masonry House (MA)

Haiti

Confined Masonry

Details for New Construction Confined Masonry for Haiti
The Secrets of Earthquake-Resistant Construction (Haitian Creole)

A guidebook written in Haitian Creole outlining important elements for building safe structures.

Construction Drawing for New Confined Masonry Building: 1 (French)
Construction Drawing for New Confined Masonry Building: 2 (French)
Construction Drawing for New Confined Masonry Building: 3 (French)
Construction Drawing for 2-story New Confined Masonry Building: 4 (French)
Construction Drawings for 2- and 3-story Mixed Use Buildings (English & French)
Design and Construction Guidelines for Confined Masonry Housing (English)

Design and Construction Guidelines for Confined Masonry Housing (French)

Reinforced Masonry

Construction Drawings for 1- and 2-story Reinforced Masonry House (English & French)

Timber

Construction Drawings for One- and Two-Story Timber Frame Houses in Haiti

Indonesia

Timber with Masonry Infill or Confined Masonry

You Can Keep Your Family Safe From Earthquakes: How to Build Strong and Sturdy Houses (2009).

Includes common problems and how to solve them, simple pictures and graphics, the three C’s for safe construction, (configuration, connections and construction quality), and minimum standards for safe construction.

Build Change Handbook (2009) (EN) (15MB)

Build Change Handbook (2009) (Bahasa Indonesia) (15MB)

Confined Masonry

Build Change Earthquake-Resistant Design and Construction Guideline (2006) for Single Story Confined Masonry Houses Built in the Aceh Permanent Housing Reconstruction Program.

For engineers, architects and staff of relief agencies.

Indonesia Confined Masonry House Drawing Set (Bahasa Indonesia, English) 2008: 6m x 6m Pitched Roof and Hipped Roof (2 bedroom & toilet outside)

Timber

Construction Drawings for Semi-Permanent House Pitched Roof and Hipped Roof, Timber Frame and Brick Wall (Bahasa Indonesia)
Banda Aceh Skirt House (EN) 2005
Banda Aceh, Indonesia Stilt House (EN) 2005

Nepal

Masonry Construction

Nepal Housing Reconstruction Program Technical Detail for Progressive Expansion Provision for Stone Masonry in Cement Mortar (2015)

Includes general considerations when expanding onto a building both horizontally and vertically.

Nepal Housing Reconstruction Program Technical Detail for Progressive Expansion Provision for Brick Masonry in Cement Mortar (2015)

Includes general considerations when expanding onto a building both horizontally and vertically.

Nepal Housing Reconstruction Program: Model Hollow Concrete Block Building Design (2016)

Includes designs for a 2-story, 3 room house.

Philippines

Wood Frame or Masonry Construction

You can keep your family safe from Earthquakes and Typhoons (2016)

Includes common problems and how to solve them, simple pictures and graphics, the three C’s for safe construction, (configuration, connections and construction quality), and minimum standards for safe construction.