HURRICANE PROOF CONSTRUCTION

With over 1000 houses in several countries, some for almost 30 years, we were bound to have weathered a few hurricanes. The Caribbean beach resorts were successively exposed to Hugo, Frederic, David and a host of other hurricanes with no damage whatsoever. One occupant weathered Hugo from his living room bay window and commented humoristically: "Inside, it's quiet and still while outside, it's a raging inferno. I felt I was sitting safely inside an ambulance looking out"

On September 5, 1995, as the worst storm to ever hit Sint Maarten (Dutch Antilles), hurricane Luis had winds of 185 mph gusting to over 200 mph (~340km). This category 5 hurricane had the bad idea to just sit on Guana Bay Beach for 12 straight hours, a horrible rarity causing $2B in damage. Over 80% of houses we damaged and the island closed down to tourism for a long time. Around our 40 condos, concrete swimming pools were floated away, all plants lost all leaves and then limbs, massive concrete block houses were thrown down, concrete sidewalks and bulkwalls were exploded by the boiling sea. Yet as an upcoming video to be seen here will show, we had a $2500 damage per house average, mostly acrylics for the upstairs balcony railings and a few outside AC units torn off. Out of 400, we lost one window. This did NOT happen by chance...and I was there in person, witnessing the entire event from unit #26. For the next two weeks, I scoured the island to find out WHAT BREAKS and WHAT RESISTS during a hurricane. This is my unofficial Post Graduate Study Program. Conclusion: You need to know that you never know enough, but you also need to share what you know better with all those around you. That is the leitmotiv of the ARCHIMEDE INSTITUTE

TSUNAMI 'FLOATING SOLUTION'

Although this house was designed for a flooding site, it could handle most tsunamis with its rigidity and steel clad paneled underbelly at a high stance. For the much less probable tsunamis that could rise above the door sills and create massive amounts of floating debris, we suggest soluble bolt anchors on top of each column. This way the house will float as a rigid unit capable of taking a lot of hits and yet remain safe. Of course a solid chain would tether it to a reliable point on the ground. This is not a compromise as both safety and practicality are maintained in a relatively low-cost house.

SOUTH CALIFORNIA - Earth, Wind, Fire and Water

Baja Californians (Mexicans) reject American 'stick-built' housing construction, American heavy-watering landscaping and American no-cash-down mortgages. They build very slowly, in concrete blocks, ceramic roof tiles, paying cash as they go, planting cacti and other fat desertic plants. They basically enjoy their scenery the way nature made it: semi-desertic.
To them the American 'Dream Home' is 'matchsticks and cardboard', cannot stop a bullet (!) or even a toddler on his trike. On the outside it is packed with plants species that drink up like drunken sailors. And this is depleting the water tables and slowly drying up Mexican farms and cities too close to California. So that when the wildfires licked Mexico's border yesterday, pushed by violent Santa Ana winds, they had nowhere to go. The land in Mexico is rocky and mostly barren, the plants are all native, having thick water-gorged leaves, the houses all have mostly non-combustible shells. Here in Baja the 'bomberos' are truly a lazy bunch as there are few house fires to put out, focusing on cats stranded in trees, it seems.
An analyst on TV suggested that some of the arsonists in California are probably angry owners about to lose their house to foreclosure. This breed is unlikely to exist in a country where houses are built with cash.
Thanks, Mexico, for your school of realism, but don't you find it ironic that your Mexican sons in California have become the dominant landscapers, house framers, stick-builders and sheetrock applicators? Thanks also for helping consolidate with our Archimede Institute a few good arguments for the peculiar housing system we are about to build locally and export: low-cost prefabricated fire-proof ,earthquake and hurricane proof housing.

PERU - Earthquakes don't have to Be Like this - They are non-lethal for those residing in Archimede Houses

The immense tragedy like the one shown above have no reasons to be. These houses are actually slow and expensive to build as compared to Archimede, the latter having an incredible earthquake resistance for the following reasons:

• 30% to 50% less unsprung weight
• All concrete surfaces reinforced with a gauge12 mesh
• All panels joined with similar mesh and armatures
• Connection to floor with shear resistant steel @ 1m O/C
• All openings reinforced with #4 rebars, protecting doors and openings
• All wall are shear walls, yet weigh sometimes less than half of that of regular construction. The axial and perpendicular stress resistance on walls and roof is astounding.
• All roof/ceiling panels weigh sometimes 4 times less than regular roofs, yet are fully reinforced with concrete mesh on both sides.
• Connections between roof and walls has a factor of safety of up to 3.

Insects- Archimede Offers Nothing To Eat !!!

In the 2/3 of the world where 3/4 of the population lives, wood is threatened by insects, mildew, rot and fungi of all sorts. Aging is NOT a possibility for most wooden housing, as it is quickly lunch for the local parasites. The chemicals to protect from these are even more harmful (Chromated cupric arsenate,phenols etc...). Concrete is both unedible, rot proof and permanent. We want nothing less for our houses.

Fire - Archimede Has Just Nothing To Burn !!!

Wood is a friend of insects and rot....AND fire, producing noxious CO and capable of killing within 5 minutes. We use NO wood at all except some doors and occasional shelving. Our pantry material is fire-resistive and all our plastics (insulation, wiring etc...) are protected by at least one inch of sealed concrete.