Public Seminar: Renewal of Bam

Renewal of Bam, a lecture by Professor Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl



Many are are still in the dark regarding the reconstruction effort in Bam since the devastating earthquake leveled that area and took thousands of lives. Professor Astaneh-Asl will be lecturing on the progress in Bam. He has been on numerous field studies in Bam and has first hand information about the reconstruction effort. Professor Astaneh-Asl will dispel the rumors and update the community on how Bam is once again rising. It is a lecture that should simply not be missed!



When: Thursday, December 1, 2005, 3:30-5:00PM,

Where: Sibley Auditorium Bechtel Engineering Center, UC-Berkeley Campus, Berkeley, CA, 94720





ABSTRACT



On December 26, 2003, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake devastated cities of Bam and Baravat and more than 260 surrounding villages in Islamic Republic of Iran. More than 26,000 people perished and thousands were injured. The quake destroyed more than 53,000 houses and other buildings. After the quake, Bonyad Maskan Enghelab Islami Iran (Housing Foundation of Islamic Revolution of Iran, HFIR) was put in charge of reconstruction of Bam including housing, commercial units and other infrastructures. Within 4 weeks after the earthquake, about 30,000 survivors were placed in tents and other emergency shelters while removal of debris and construction of temporary housing started. Within 8 months after the quake, about 30,000 temporary houses, each with an area of about 20m2 (180ft2) were built and all surviving victims who were living in emergency shelters were moved to temporary housing. During this period, master plans for urban development of cities of Bam and Baravat and 260 villages were developed. In addition, the Housing Foundation developed an innovative “4-element” plan for reconstruction of permanent homes. In the “4-element” plan, the new homes replace he destroyed homes by using the traditional 3-element team of owner-architect-contractor while owner is fully in charge. The role of Housing Foundation in this model is to act as a fourth element helping the owner with finances, architectural/engineering services, construction materials and contractors. At this writing (November 10, 2005) more than21,000 permanent homes are complete and more than 12,000 permanent homes are in various stages of construction. All 25,000 rural homes are expected to be completed by Norooz of 1385 (the Iranian New Year, March 21, 2006). In addition to housing, the seminar will present information on status of reconstruction of commercial, cultural, religious, educational, health care and agricultural facilities and infrastructures




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