REBUILDING CITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 99, 29 April 1939, Page 14

REBUILDING CITIES.

RAVAGES OF EARTHQUAKE. CONSIDERATION IN CHILE. SANTIAGO, Chile. For Chile, in the wake of its earthquake suffering, the most important question is to adopt a lorm of construction tliat would prevent the heavy loss of life inevitable when shakes rock buildings of adobe, bricks, tiles and stucco. ' The geological, architectural and general building commissions that have visited Concepcion and Chilian, the two largest centres affected' by the earthquake, agreed with the immediate verdict of Captain Maxwell M. ('orpening; "Chicago Tribune'' correspondent first on the scene, that buildings resisted according to the modernity of the materials and methods employed. Adobe went first, then bricks, and then con» crete. There were exceptions, but, generally speaking, concrete, especially where adequately reinforced, stood firm. Numerous cases existed of concrete constructions losing tlicir invulnerability by insufficient armouring, defective flooring, and unnecessarily heavy roofing. The walls resisted but there was interior collapse. In Concepcion loss of life was occasioned by the building of heavy brick or cement balconies and cornices as office and residential facades. In hundreds of instances these were torn out as plants by their roots. The building ordinance enacted after the Talca (southern Chile) earthquake ten years ago, forbids construction with balconies or any other protrusion unless these are an integral part of the structure, which must be "chained," preferably by steel. Almost every building erected in Concepcion and Chilian in accordance with the ordinance withstood the earthquake. The reactions of timber buildings to the earthquake were significant. Wooden houses and bungalows, many 50 years old, barely suffered at all. In the working class districts wooden shacks by the thousands were unharmed. These facts must lw» considered, although the, inflammability of timber must never 1»e lost sight of. Dozens of Churches Fall. Churches, chiefly bricks and mortar, came down by the dozen. The two Concepcion cathedral towers, cracked and inclining at a dangerous angle, were dynamited. San Ignacio, a great Gothic church, is seamed with an astonishing series of cracks. On the other hand, that of the Inmaculada, with a beautiful perpendicular spire on Alameda Avenue, is nearly intact.

Ip Williamson, Balfour and Company, a , e British concern, suffered complete loss of their reinforced concrete building, the n framework of which was imported from L l England. It was "earthquake proof" e and therefore not insured. Other build- „ ings, considered not so safe, were inn sured for 'quakes, and stood. Y The idiosyncracies may be largely r explained by geological variations in the subsoil which will be studied by 3 architectural commissions before the . Chilian Government is committed to i any reconstruction programme. Enu gineers have established variations and 5 the Ministry of Production admits i) these may also mean variations of building methods and architectural style in the restored cities and towns. Use of the word "restored" may be premature, as there is a campaign, especially in the case of Chilian and places totally destroyed, to build new towns on new sites. Architectural asso--1 ciations are urging that no sentimental consideration should be allowed to stand in the way of building new towns according to special seismic designs. National technical planning is bound to result, with new ideas regarding urban and rural settlement layouts. Blame for Damage. At Concepcion and Chilian it is too early to ascribe all, even a substantial part of the blame for damage, to nonallowance for geological variations in the building foundation subsoils. Here in southern Chile, at least, it has been proved that security is not necessarily increased the deeper the foundation is dug. The ideal seismic structure of the future may well be something of the cage type with a shallow foundation to allow for flexibility. Concepcion provided cases of disaster to reinforced concrete because of just one flaw in the armour—one link missing in the chain of steel. There were even more cases of the wrong kind of cement mixture and of too heavy a roofing. Light roofing, flooring and partitioning are vital in the framework. Chilian architects are engaged in mathematical calculations along these lines. Despite proof that modern construction stands up to nature in its most destructive mood, there probably will be a reversion from the skyscraper type of building. One storey, colonial types of • dwellings are favoured, with expansive patios, but everything in linked steel work and concrete. Adobe is not competely taboo if reinforced. j It was noted that plazas eft the towns become important after 'quakes. They assure the immediate safety of survivors and become centres for first aid to the 1 injured and, later on, for civic life and - relief work. In any plan of reconstruc- ' tion, therefore, ample provision of such ] open spaces is indicated. 1 Experts are debating whether some of * the smaller towns should be restored. 1