Traditional and scientific knowledge for a sustainable vulnerability reduction of rural housing in Haiti
Résumé
On January 12, 2010, a M 7.0 earthquake strikes Haiti, affecting hundreds of thousands of victims and disrupting three million lives. Observations made after the disaster revealed that, in both urban and rural areas, occupants of traditional buildings were exposed to limited risk, thanks to the moderate vulnerability of these structures to seismic stress. In areas affected by recurrent natural hazards, vernacular architectures often reveal a great deal of ingenuity regarding the use of available resources and the development of technical devices, reducing the vulnerability of built structures. However, the relevance and potential of these solutions remain marginally recognized by scientific community and organizations involved in post-disaster reconstruction. In the framework of the ReparH research project, funded by the French National Research Agency, a collaboration was established between researchers from the field of architecture (CRAterre-ENSAG) and engineering (3SR- UJF), together with the Haitian organization GADRU, to reflect on supporting the development of reconstruction and vulnerability reduction strategies, based on local construction methods and resources. This paper serves to present current research works in the context of two PhD theses addressing the issue of housing in risk prone areas, from a methodological and technical point of view. The first part deals with a method for the analysis of construction practices through the identification of the characteristics of existing buildings, local know-how and factors influencing the built environment of a community. The second part relates to the development of a scientific study, resulting from exchanges between field and academic work, dealing with a building system used for reconstruction, based on locally available materials such as earth, stone and wood.
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