In my youth, I was a pioneer of “extreme sandcastling”, a sport which was almost included in the Olympics! Just kidding. Here is the first set of ancient box camera photos from my sandcastle archives. These sandy structures were all made in our sandbox in Hinsdale, IL.
It seems there is hope for Haiti! I’ve been impressed with what I’ve read about President elect Michel Martelly, especially his emphasis on “permanent, prefabricated homes”.
Martelly inherits a massive housing & humanitarian problem, to be sure. Based on my experience with SIPS and concrete block construction in the Caribbean, I believe Martelly can choose either fast or permanent, but not both – and definitely not in his first 100 days.
The answer is Ferrocement. My company, am-cor inc., has developed a proposal which would allow Martelly to permanently house:
All using truly safe hurricane & earthquake proof construction, in the form of Ferrocement housing Kits.
Initially, I had high-minded aspirations in my search for a better building system. My Yale architectural graduate thesis focused on low-cost, modular housing kit designs for Harlem, NY. While working on low-cost housing production in 1970’s Jamaica, I had firsthand experience of the technical issues involved with mass-producing hurricane & earthquake-resistant housing. (Anybody remember bagasse board? We used to make houses out of it!). The am‑cor Ferrocement System is competitive only because I developed it by applying a scientific, engineering based method of trial & error, and refinement through experimentation.
What I didn’t realize was how building with the System can affect individuals, bring them together, and create transformative, community experiences: it’s a “pure joy” moment, to witness a group of people stand back, look at what they’ve done together, and say:
“Wow, we built that!”
I’ve always been artistically oriented, and cartooning has always been a favorite pastime as well as a creative outlet. During my enlightening yet stressful years at Yale, I often poked fun at the institution, our professors, and architecture, my calling.
