Timber Frame Construction help after Tsunami

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Aug 29, 2005

Working with leading Timber Frame company Benfield ATT, the British Red Cross are using factory-produced Kit Homes as construction site offices in the tsunami disaster area.

" Timber Frame Construction used to solve Tsunami Disaster Crisis" The British Red Cross are using UK 'Off-Site' Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) techniques as part of the housing reconstruction programme in the tsunami-stricken Maldives.

Working with leading Timber Frame company Benfield ATT, the British Red Cross are using factory-produced Kit Homes as construction site offices in the disaster area.

The British Red Cross is helping people in the Maldives recover from the tsunami by re-establishing their livelihoods, part of which involves building houses that can withstand future disasters.

In all, the British Red Cross - part of the world's largest humanitarian organisation - is building over 700 houses on the six of the worst affected islands.

There is no doubt that these houses are badly needed.

When the tsunami hit the Maldives 2,000 houses were completely destroyed, leaving 10,000 people homeless.

Mike Goodhand, head of logistics at the British Red Cross, who recently returned from the Maldives, said "Every single person we have talked to said that their starting point is the house".

"They couldn't begin to think about opening up a carpenter's shop or start working on their land until they have somewhere safe to live." Six Benfield ATT DiRReP (Disaster Relief, Relocatable or Permanent) housing kits, which comprise both open and closed-cell Timber Frame Panels, will be erected to serve as construction site offices on the islands (see - www.benfieldatt.co.uk/disaster_relief_housing).

Developed and manufactured in-house by South Wales-based Benfield ATT, the two-bedroom units are designed to be 'erected by three unskilled labourers, in two days' and include a studio living area, kitchenette and separate shower room and toilet facilities.

The fully-insulated Kits come complete with foundations, double-glazed windows, ventilation, plumbing and electrical harnessing, together with all the tools, fixings and sealants required.

The units can be extended and converted to permanent housing when required, or dismantled and relocated elsewhere.

Paul Tappin, Benfield ATT Technical Sales Manager commented "Timber Frame is ideally suited to this kind of emergency-response situation".

"Within two weeks from Order, we had the first Flat-Pack home containerised for shipping and heading their way - both our Technical and Manufacturing teams have responded to the urgent situation brilliantly, without any delay to other client projects." Timber Frame could provide an excellent starting-point for instant regeneration in disaster-affected communities.

MD of Benfield ATT Professor Michael Benfield suggests that this is a major step forward for society, commenting "The uptake of Timber Frame can significantly reduce our impact upon Climate Change".

"By minimising carbon emissions and 'locking-up' the carbon, we hope that climate-linked weather disasters are reduced for future generations".

"This isn't going to happen overnight, but the British Red Cross have made a small step in the right direction.".