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Introduction 
Impact 
Prerequisites 
Potential users 
Contact 
Resources 

Introduction

The shortage of affordable housing combined with the susceptibility of traditional earthen construction to earthquake damage are the basis for IDRC-funded research into developing and promoting improved construction technologies in Peru. Collaborative efforts between the civil engineering department of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, the Technical University of Nova Scotia, and the architectural faculty of Montreal's Concordia University, have resulted in developing improved technologies for constructing low-cost dwellings. 

Traditional adobe houses are built of earthen brick. They have been used for centuries in Peru and are popular because adobe, consisting of straw and clay, is readily available and inexpensive. The houses can be built by unskilled workers and are fire resistant. However, adobe lacks the strength to withstand earthquakes. 
 
Adobe buildings house some 65% of the rural and 35% of the urban population in Peru. During the tragic earthquake of 1970, 50 000 people died and more than 60 000 houses were destroyed — a level of destruction that can largely be attributed to traditional housing styles. When an earthquake occurs, the walls of these houses collapse outwards and the dried mud roof, which can weigh up to 10 tonnes, falls and crushes the occupants. 
 
The new construction methods include reinforcing the walls with inexpensive bamboo or eucalyptus poles anchored to the foundation, together with horizontal canes tied to the poles at every fourth row of bricks. The poles are secured to parallel wooden beams on top of the walls, which also act as roof supports. These structural changes allow the walls and roof to react to the vibrations of an earthquake as a structural unit rather than as separate elements. The improved methods were tested at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú on a "seismic table", which simulates earthquakes. The improvements have succeeded in making the adobe constructions resistant to the force of Peru's most severe earthquakes. 
 
Several prototype models of houses, schools, health outposts,a small cheese-making enterprise, and community centres were built in co-operation with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and community organizations. Different methods of information dissemination, including the production and distribution of manuals, radio shows, and videos, were introduced. 

Impact

• Promotion of adobe house building - A major effort is underway to promote and market  adobe houses using the construction methods developed from previous IDRC-funded projects. The technology has been presented to various levels of government and the building industry, as well as to "do-it-yourself" home builders.The popular perception of adobe as an inferior construction material has been an obstacle. A project to construct economical adobe bungalows for families in the northern Peruvian community of Piura currently involves the municipality as a partneroffering affordable land, a local building contractor, and the local credit union to arrange financing. The scheme is designed to help address the existing shortage of some one million affordable housing units in Peru. 

Prerequisites

Potential users

Contacts

Luis Zegarra Ciguero 
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil 
Pontíficia Universidad Católica del Perú 
Av. Universitaria 
Cuadra18 
San Miguel 
Lima, PERU 
Tel: (51 1) 462 2540 
Fax: (51 1) 461 1785 
E-mail: lzegarr@pucp.edu.pe 

Resources

From the IDRC library: 

Ensayos de simulación sísmica de viviendas de adobe. 1989. 20 pp. 

Final technical report / Seismic Resistant Adobe Housing (Peru). 1991. 6 pp. 

Baniassad, E. 1989?. Investigations into quincha construction. Technical University of Nova Scotia, Halifax, N.S. 67 pp. : ill. This publication is the 1988 annual report of the Technical University of Nova Scotia School of Architecture Peru Project. Project no.: 87-1020 (Final report). 

From the IDRC Web site: 

Lachance, André. Building One's House of Adobe. (http://archive.idrc.ca/books/reports/1996/38-01e.html) 

Quake-proof Adobe Housing (Peru) (http://archive.idrc.ca/adventure/adobe.html) 

Natural Disaster Prevention (Costa Rica) (http://archive.idrc.ca/adventure/disaster.html) 

International organizations: 

CERESIS (Centro Regional de Sismologia paraAmericadel Sur 
Avenida Arenales 431 
Oficina 702 
Cercado - Lima 1 
Postal address: Apartado 14-0363 
Lima, PERU 
Tel: 51-1-4336750 
Fax: 51-1-4336750 
E-mail: giescere@inictel.gob.pe 
Web site: http://www.dgf.uchile.cl/ceresis.html 

Document(s) 2 of 18