Rebuilding Safe, Satisfactory, and Sustainable Houses After Earthquakes

Build Change is a non-profit social enterprise that designs earthquake-resistant houses in developing countries and trains builders, homeowners, engineers, and government officials to build them. With programs in Indonesia, China, and Haiti, Build Change's work has improved over 18,000 homes and permanently upgraded the skills of 2,000 builders and construction professionals. Build Change starts by performing post-earthquake reconnaissance studies to understand why houses collapsed and why they didn't. Build Change then uses detailed housing subsector studies to identify low or no-cost improvements to existing, culturally appropriate building technologies, such as confined masonry and timber frame. Build Change develops training resources and works in partnership with structural engineers and local governments to develop and implement building standards and inspection programs. Build Change also works in partnership with research and testing laboratories to validate and improve simple methods for assessing materials and construction quality in the field. To learn more, visit www.buildchange.org and come to the CITRIS seminar!