Review of Non-Engineered Houses in Latin America with Reference to Building Practices and Self- Construction Projects
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Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) I-21020 Ispra (VA), Italy Review of Non-Engineered Houses in Latin America with Reference to Building Practices and Self- Construction Projects Aikaterini Papanikolaou, Fabio Taucer 2004 EUR 21190EN Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) I-21020 Ispra (VA), Italy Review of Non-Engineered Houses in Latin America with Reference to Building Practices and Self- Construction Projects Aikaterini Papanikolaou, Fabio Taucer 2004 EUR 21190EN LEGAL NOTICE Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int) EUR 21190EN © European Communities, 2004 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged Printed in Italy i Summary This report presents a review on non-engineered buildings, that at present make up a substantial part of the Latin American residential fabric. Within the different self-construction practices, earth-based construction techniques constitute the focal point of the report, as adobe housing units are traditionally prevalent in the region. Special consideration is given to the identification of the factors contributing to the high levels of seismic risk associated to non- engineered buildings as evidenced by the devastating effects following past and more recent earthquakes. The seismic performance of Latin American non-engineered housing units is documented through case studies from field reports of previous seismic events. The current housing and post-disaster reconstruction policies currently in effect in Latin American countries are also presented, as major components that determine the seismic risk associated to self-constructed dwellings. Finally, the report provides a detailed review on a thorough selection of the manuals produced to date that support self- and assisted- construction housing projects of earth-based, concrete masonry and reinforced concrete housing units. ii iii Table of contents Summary i List of figures vii List of tables xvii Recommendations xix Acknowledgements xxi Foreword xxiii CHAPTER 1 Seismic Risk Associated to Non-Engineered Buildings 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Seismic Risk – Definitions 1 1.3 Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean 3 1.3.1 Historical overview 3 1.3.2 Earthquake fatalities 6 (a) Life losses as a function of the housing type 7 (b) Life losses related to the time of earthquake occurrence 8 (c) Life losses related to the population density 8 1.4 Seismic hazard in Latin America 9 1.4.1 Assessment principles 9 1.4.2 Seismic activity in Central and South America 10 1.4.3 Seismic hazard maps 13 1.5 Non-engineered buildings 15 1.5.1 Traditional and contemporary structures 15 1.5.2 Dwellings in slums and shantytowns 16 (a) Where 16 (b) Why 17 (c) What 17 1.6 The vulnerability of non-engineered structures 19 1.6.1 Theoretical background on vulnerability assessment for buildings 19 (a) The form of construction 19 (b) Age & History 22 (c) Quality of construction 22 (d) Soil & Position of structure 22 1.6.2 Damage states 23 1.6.3 Vulnerability functions 24 1.6.4 Vulnerability of slums 27 1.7 Synopsis 28 iv CHAPTER 2 Housing and Post-Disaster Reconstruction Policies 2.1 Introduction 29 2.2 Types of vulnerability associated to the built environment 29 2.3 The housing sector 29 2.4 Reconstructing the built fabric after a disaster 31 2.5 Institutions 32 2.6 Self-help housing projects 33 2.6.1 Case Study: El Salvador 35 2.6.2 Case Study: Colombia 37 2.7 Shortcomings 38 2.8 Recommendations 39 2.8.1 Physical vulnerability 39 2.8.2 Environmental vulnerability 40 2.8.3 Economic vulnerability 40 2.8.4 Social/Political vulnerability 41 2.9 Synopsis 42 CHAPTER 3 Earth-Based Construction 3.1 Introduction 43 3.2 Historical background 43 3.3 Global distribution of earthen housing 44 3.4 Social acceptance of earth buildings 45 3.5 Earth as a building material 46 3.5.1 Composition 46 3.5.2 Soil stabilization 47 (a) Stabilization against shrinkage 48 (b) Stabilization against water erosion 48 (c) Asphalt stabilization 50 (d) Lime stabilization 50 (e) Cement stabilization 51 (f) Stabilization using alternative materials 53 3.5.3 Simple field tests 54 (a) Estimation of soil suitability 54 (b) Estimation of brick and mortar adequacy 56 3.5.4 Laboratory tests 57 3.6 Types of earthen buildings 64 3.6.1 General 64 3.6.2 Examples of earth-based construction methods 66 (a) Dugout 66 (b) Earth sheltered space 66 (c) Fill-in 66 (d) Cut blocks 67 (e) Compressed (or Rammed) earth 68 (f) Direct shaping 68 (g) Stacked earth 69 v (h) Moulded earth 69 (i) Extruded earth 72 (j) Poured earth 72 (k) Straw clay 72 (l) Daubed earth 74 3.7 Adobe Construction 75 3.7.1 General 75 3.7.2 Building configuration 75 3.7.3 The role of engineers and local artisans 76 3.7.4 Building permits and development control rules 76 3.7.5 Building materials and construction processes 76 (a) Adobe bricks 76 (b) Mortar 77 (c) Wall coatings 77 3.7.6 Structural features 78 (a) Foundations 78 (b) Walls 78 (c) Floors 79 (d) Roofs 79 3.7.7 Building codes and standards for adobe and compressed earth block 79 construction 3.8 Synopsis 83 CHAPTER 4 Seismic Performance of Non-Engineered Housing Units 4.1 Introduction 85 4.2 Adobe buildings 85 4.2.1 Typical earthquake-induced damages 85 (a) Damage patterns 85 (b) Damage classification 90 4.2.2 Defects in self-built adobe houses 91 4.2.3 Efforts towards the systemization of scientific knowledge on the seismic 94 performance of earthen buildings 4.2.4 Experimental investigations and improvement measures 95 (a) Research conducted at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru 96 (b) Research conducted at the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center, Department of Civil Engineering, Stanford 101 University (c) Research conducted within the framework of the Getty Seismic 107 Adobe Project (d) Research conducted at UC Berkeley 108 4.3 Informal reinforced concrete buildings 109 4.3.1 Typical earthquake-induced damages and related construction defects 110 4.4 Effects of earthquakes on non-engineered buildings: case studies 114 4.4.1 The October 1995 Manzanillo, Mexico earthquake 114 4.4.2 The January 2001, El Salvador earthquake 114 4.4.3 The January 2001 Gujarat, India earthquake 126 4.5 Conclusions 129 4.6 Synopsis 130 vi CHAPTER 5 Manuals on Self-Construction 5.1 Introduction 131 5.2 Means of information transfer in self-construction housing projects 131 5.2.1 What is a self-construction manual? 136 (a) The manual’s purpose 136 (b) Characteristics of the target group 137 (c) Contents 137 (d) Appearance 142 5.3 Manuals for earth-based dwellings 143 5.3.1 Adobe construction 143 (a) Self-construction manuals 143 (b) Technical Documents (addressing improved seismic performance 153 and/or rehabilitation) 5.3.2 Bahareque construction 159 5.4 Manuals for reinforced concrete block masonry dwellings 163 5.5 Manuals for reinforced concrete dwellings 167 5.6 Other manuals 172 5.7 Synopsis 174 Conclusions 175 References 177 Appendix A 191 Appendix B 197 Appendix C 207 Appendix D 215 Appendix E 221 vii List of figures Fig. 1-1 Fundamental components involved in the definition of seismic risk. 3 (source: d’Ayala, 2002) Fig. 1-2 Frequency of natural disasters. (source: Freeman et al., 2002) 3 Fig. 1-3 The disaster distribution, by type, in the LAC region. [source: Charvériat 4 (2000), based on data provided by CRED - Centre on the Epidemiology of Disasters] Fig. 1-4 Cumulative fatalities by type of natural disaster in Latin America and the 6 Caribbean. (source: Charvériat, 2000) Fig. 1-5 Breakdown of earthquake fatalities, by cause, for each half of this 6 century. (source: Coburn & Spence, 2002) Fig. 1-6 Average number of people per square kilometre. (source: 9 http://www.overpopulation.com/faq/Basic_Information/population_density/maps/latin_ameri ca.html) Fig. 1-7 (a) Tectonics of Central America and the Caribbean; (b) The major 10 tectonic plates of the Americas are named in white letters. [sources: (a) Weyl, 1980; (b) http://seismo.ethz.ch/gshap/paigh/shedams_1.gif ] Fig. 1-8 Plot of earthquakes with M ≥ 4.6 that occurred during the years 1900 11 through 1994. (source: http://seismo.ethz.ch/gshap/paigh/shedams_5.gif) Fig. 1-9 Major volcanoes in Central and South America and the Caribbean. 11 (source: Ewert et al., 1997) Fig. 1-10 Richter magnitudes of earthquakes occurring in El Salvador during the 12 th 20 century. (source: partially based on data provided by the National Earthquake Information Center, Earthquake Search Results 1900-1999, United States Geological Survey) Fig. 1-11 Seismic Hazard in: (a) South America; (b) Central America and 14 Caribbean. [sources: (a) the “Seismic Hazard Map of the Western Hemisphere”, by Shedlock and Tanner http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/gshap/paigh/amerstext.html, (b) http://geology.about.com/library/bl/maps/blcentralamerica.htm] Fig. 1-12 (a) Traditional adobe dwelling in Argentina; (b) Non-engineered 15 reinforced concrete frame building in Venezuela. [sources: (a) EERI, 2003; (b) EERI, 2002] Fig. 1-13 Prevalence of slums in LAC region, per country. (source: UN-Habitat, 2003a) 16 Fig. 1-14 (a) A small bamboo house (ranchito) in Pereira, Colombia, around which 18 the family have started to build brick walls (1987); (b) Six months later the brick walls have reached window height; (c) Ten years later, two floors have been built: the family lives on the first floor and rents out the ground floor.