Straw house design passes earthquake tests - SciDev.Net

Description

A straw house designed to withstand strong tremors during earthquakes could provide robust protection, engineers have found.

The 4.3 by 4.3 metres building, made largely of bales of straw, clay and gravel, was first designed in 2006 by the US-based University of Nevada in collaboration with the not-for-profit organisation Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB) based in Islamabad, and small improvements have been added since then.

A series of computer-based tests that mimicked the shaking force of a range of earthquake intensities showed that the houses with the new design do not collapse.

Original URL

http://www.scidev.net/en/news/straw-house-design-passes-earthquake-tests.html

http://www.scidev.net/en/news/straw-house-design-passes-earthquake-tests.html