|
View previous topic :: View next topic
|
| Author |
Message |
johnpasc
Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 2
|
 Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 2:19 pm Post subject: hurricane proof "streamlined" reinforced concrete |
    |
|
Florida is now preparing for its third hurricane "this year" ... Rebuilding standard wood frame structures will commence at great expense to the state and to insurers... It might make more sense to build "streamlined" Reinforced concrete structures with large Plexiglass windows faceing seaside... 2 floors under ground (or 1);waterproofing up above ground level to prevent flood damage... Frank Loyd Wright worked "with"nature...a hurricane besot location could work "with the potential hurricane conditions to create lovely "shaped, strong" architecture.I have designs but as i'm only an artist....perhaps all you able minded architects could take advantage now and sell somthing to the floridians that would "last" . It would be nice to sit in your liveing room sipping a drink and "watch" the hurricane come at you with all it's force, and not have to worry about your "house of sticks" tumbling down around you.The first design feature that comes to mind is a rounded wedge... faceing the sea. Plexiglass window slides open in sunny weather to reveal a patio...any way please give it some thought you who have powers beyond mine. I get so tired of seeing yearly hurricane disasters wipe away the previous years building...
_________________
first utilitarian then aesthetics |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
dgt
Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 92
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 6:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
johnpasc,
I believe your intentions are good. Nevetheless, I think your suggestions need a bit more research. I have lived and worked in Florida for most of my life. I can assure you that hurricane conditions are a major factor in the Florida Building Code 2002 edition. The problem is not that wood frame homes turn to twigs in hurricanes, but rather specific places of weakness are exposed; namely the roof. There are measures to combat this.
However, the fact of the matter is a hurricane of category 3 or higher is so powerful that little can be done. Reinforced concrete might as well be legos when a 1992 Honda Civic is thrown through your dining room. Also, it is not economically feasible to prepare for something that rarely occurs. Every year from June to September Floridians go about their routines knowing that it is Hurricane Season. It is the only season we have. Yet, the last time a hurricane of category 3 hit Orlando was 1926. This year has been an unfortunate oddity. Most storms form and then spin off into the tropical currents in the Atlantic.
Furthermore, building underground is not an option in Florida. The aquifer is approximately 2 feet underground. It is difficult to install a fence without hitting water. Concrete as a whole is a troublsome material in Florida, due to its solar mass. It absorbs massive amounts of heat, only to release it in the evening, which is only slightly less hot than the day. Ever heard the expression," you could cook an egg on the sidewalk?" I am convinced a Floridian coined that phrase.
Anyway, thank you for your concern. Our thoughts and prayers should be with everyone in Florida who were not as lucky as I was during these storms.
Regards,
dgt |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
johnpasc
Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 2
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 9:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| thank you dgt for the info regarding building codes in Florida...and about roofs, which i suspected played a major part in hurricane damage... the shape ... or overhang... i don't know . But it puts me at ease to know that persons in the path of hurricanes and other tropcal storms have these things in mind. My daughter is currently liveing on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean... they are near the Typhoon corridor... I have seen the aftermath of a hurricane that hit southern jamaica...where Ivan is headed now... The roofs are indeed a deadly matter there where a number of poor still use the old corrugated iron roofs... when they go sailing around in mid air, it is definately heads down... Again thanks for your kind attention to my posting. I am just a hobby architecture buff and love new "natural shape" architecture. Gaudi comes to mind... but i prefer a more utilitarian motif...regards etc...johnpasc |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1048
Location: Eugene, Oregon
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 9:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
| dgt wrote: | | This year has been an unfortunate oddity. |
That is certainly true looking from here, backward in time.
It is also pretty likely that from a point fifty years in the future, hurricane years like this will look less odd.
It's a lot to ask from human organizational systems... but at the point (scientifically, circa late 1990s) when it becomes clear that human activities are driving climate change at a rate our species has never before experienced... it seems to me that one of our professional challenges, and society opportunities, is to recognize that climate-related aspects of building code and other regualtions, may seriously under-perform (particuarly with regard to rebuild-frequency cost benefit) if the underlying expectations continue to be based primarily on backward-looking analysis of event frequencies.
Translation: Science tells us there will probably be more hurricanes in the future. More frequent hurricanes may mean that the relative economy of rebuilding after a rare event, as opposed to building stronger to survive more regular events, will be changing. (In addition to the heightening of life safety concerns!) How much better to analyze and anticipate those changes, than to carry the societal burden of 100 years of playing catch-up to changing conditions?
Any folks out there involved in building code evaluation and development? How much are you seeing climate change projections being included in those efforts? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dgt
Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 92
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 2:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Kevin,
That is an interesting suggestion. Although the fact of the matter is that the majority of damage is not cataclysmic residential destruction. It is infrastructure like road signs, light posts, construction barricades, power outages and line damge, water breaks, sewer breaks, and road damage. These are the things that take months, even years to fix. Not to mention the fact that most of these become projectiles that cause greater damage to homes and buildings that otherwise would be relatively in good condition.
I hope future weather patterns are incorporated. However, patterns such as those are based on cycles of decades. It is difficult to convince lawmakers something needs to be done now because in 15 years the evidence suggests we might have another Hurricane Andrew (category 5).
Regards,
dgt |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
blogger
del.icio.us
digg
slashdot
