The Venezuela House Project
For Engineer Design 100 Section 026
Date Due: March 4th 2016
By: Team Four
Project Group Members: Star Prapakamol, Austin Woyshnar, Rodrigo Cordova
Project Summary:
The tragedy in Vargas in 1999 resulted in a lot of casualties and homeless victims. That
particular disaster inspired Team Four to build a prototype house design as a project
with a goal of preventing future survivors of natural disasters in Venezuela from
becoming homeless and vulnerable to aftermaths of nature. The house prototype is
designed to endure mudslides, flooding and rainstorms. The house is also designed to
be accessible in nature, as in it can be built with common materials and doesn’t cost a
lot. The house is intended to be built by hand in Vargas. This report explains in detail
the design processes of Team Four in building a house prototype suitable for the
intended purposes.
Table of Contents
Introduction
2
Initial Prototype Solutions
3
Criteria
4
Selection Matrix
5
Final Prototype
6
Tests
7
Performance on tests
8
Result of tests
9
Improvements
10
Cost
11
People’s need
12
Conclusion
13
References
14
Appendix
15
1
Introduction
The disaster that occurred on the 15th of December 1999 in the Vargas State
of Venezuela, infamously known as the Vargas Tragedy, was the main inspiration
of Team Four’s project.
Included in the 1999 disaster were torrential rains, flash floods, and debris
flows. The tragedy resulted in an estimated death toll of 30,000 and a total of
140,000 homeless people according to the Chicago Tribune. Also, after the
incident, the city of Los Corales was buried under 9.8 feet of mud. According to
U.S.G.S., the area with the most damage was Caraballeda, a town in Vargas.
Team Four created this project to prevent homelessness in cases of future
disasters in Venezuela. The Team’s main principles for this project are:
1. Accessibility
a. The house was designed with a budget in mind. Team Four intends
for the house to have an accessible price of $700.
b. Team Four’s concept house is made with accessible materials that
are both efficient in price and durability.
2. Durability
a. Despite being designed for post-disaster accommodation, the house
has to be able to withstand any unpredicted reoccurrences.
Therefore, house has to be able to withstand flash floods, mud
slides, and torrential rains.
b. House has to be able to withstand daily weather conditions, such as
strong winds, normal rainfall, and sun glare.
3. Practicality
a. The concept has to be able to accommodate at least 5 people. This
figure was calculated by the Team using previous homeless figures
from the Vargas tragedy.
b. Privacy is an important principle that was kept in mind during the
Team’s design phase. The people living in the houses will enjoy
some privacy during their stay.
2
Initial Prototype Solutions
Initially the Team came up with three different prototypes. The designs included:
1. A domed structure
2. An rectangular floatable structure built on buoyant “Ski-board” support
bases
3. A rectangle-based traditional house with a separate solid roof, elevated on
tough support beams
Team Four members filtered the concepts based on the Team’s principles. The
finalized concept followed the most if not all of the Team’s main design principles.
3
Criteria
Below is a table showing the criteria of the prototype and the respective weights.
Criteria
Weather-resistance
Location
Capacity
Water
Cost
Temperature
Total Percentage
Weight
26%
21%
16%
16%
10.5%
10.5%
100%
http://www.adrc.asia/view_disaster_en.php?NationCode=862&lang=en&KEY=98
http://www.eluniversal.com/aniversario/100/en_ca11_art_death-anddestructio_01A2251997
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0144/
4
Selection Matrix
Percentage
Weight of
criteria
Shelter
#1:
Domed
structure
Shelter #2:
Shelter
Traditional
#3:
House
Floatable
With
House
support
beams
Rating
Score Rating
Criteria
%
Rating
Score
Weather
Proof
26%
4
20.8%
3.5
18.2%
4
20.8%
Location
21%
4
20.8%
4
20.8%
4
20.8%
Capacity
16%
3
9.6%
4
9.6%
3
7.35%
Water
16%
5
16%
5
16%
5
16%
Cost
10.5%
2
4.2%
3.5
7.35%
2
4.2%
Temperature
10.5%
3.5
7.35%
3.5
7.35%
3.5
7.35%
Total
100%
21.5
78.75%
23.5
82.5%
21.5%
78.75%
Score
5
Final Prototype
From the selection matrix above, Team Four decided to select Shelter #2:
Traditional Housing with support beams as their final prototype.
The final prototype will be made with general materials such as wood blocks,
cardboard, glue, et cetera.
6
Tests
Tests performed by Team Four on the Final Prototype:
Wind Test:
A wind blower attached to a hose was used to simulate wind of around 75 miles
per hour.
Water Test:
The house will be placed over a container of water of around 3 inches deep to
mimic a flooding situation.
Heat Test:
A heat-generator will be used to simulate sunlight, and a thermostat will be placed
in the prototype to monitor the temperature. The temperature should not exceed 80
degrees Fahrenheit.
Weight Test:
Measured weights will be placed horizontally on top of the house’s roof,
simulating trees being knocked onto house or debris.
7
Performance on Tests
Below are detailed explanations on how the prototype performed on the tests
described above:
Wind Test:
The wind hose was directed by Team Four to multiple angles of the house
prototype, covering every side. The house did not move regardless of the direction
of wind.
Water Test:
Due to the house prototype’s elevation on wooden beam support of height greater
than 3 inches (the height of the water in the bucket), the house prototype structure
did not touch the body of water at all. Only the beam supports did.
Temperature Test:
Heat was generated and dispersed in the direction of the house at an estimated
distance of two feet. A thermostat was placed in the house prototype structure and
the temperature was monitored. The estimated finalized average temperature of the
house interior was around 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Weight Test:
A horizontal board with negligible weight was placed onto the roof of the house
prototype. The horizontal board had holes at four corners, all of which are inserted
into vertical steel beam supports to ensure stability and prevent shifting of
weights/board. Measured weights were then placed onto the horizontal board in a
sequenced manner. The total weight the house prototype was able to withstand
before collapsing was 180 pounds.
8
Result of tests
The initial house prototype structure assembled by Team Four managed to pass all
tests, and endured 180 pounds of weight atop it before being crushed.
House Prototype after weight test
9
Improvements
- The roof and edges of the house prototype structure has to be reinforced with
additional adhesives to be able to withstand not only extreme weights on the
roof but also the strong winds.
- The weight has to be distributed more evenly and that can be achieved by
having more wooden solid supports on the base to stabilize the weight
distribution and ensure an equal center of gravity.
- The house prototype structure should be constructed with accessible
materials to not only reduce cost, but to reduce time required to harvest
parts.
10
Cost
The total cost of the house prototype structure is estimated to be between $1,355
and $2097.
The walls of the house prototype structure will be made from Aluminum, while the
roof will be made from Pine wood.
11
People’s needs
Team Four took Maslow’s Hierarchy into account when designing the house
prototype structure.
First is the issue of privacy. Since each house prototype is designed to be able to
contain at least 5 people, each house prototype will have beams extending from
one side of the wall to another. The function of the beam is for curtain attachments,
which will allow separate rooms for the people living inside.
Second of all is the issue of clean usable water. The roof of the house prototype is
designed to allow rainwater to slide off the angled roof into a drain which leads to
a collecting basin. The basin will have a efficient chemical and physical filtration
system that ensures the water’s clean quality.
12
Conclusion
In conclusion, the house prototype structure has a lot of flaws despite an overall
practical design. Team Four will improve the house prototype structure to enhance
its durability, accessibility, and functionality.
Team Four hopes to fulfill their intentions of providing homeless victims of future
natural disasters in Venezuela with accessible solutions at an affordable price. And
with their designed house prototype, Team Four is confident that an ideal model
prototype house is near.
13
References
"Details of Disaster Information." Asian Disaster Reduction Center
(ADRC). ADRC, 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
"EL UNIVERSAL." Death and Destruction in Vargas State. N.p., 2013.
Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
"Debris-flow and Flooding Hazards Caused by the December 1999
Storm in Coastal Venezuela with a Discussion of Mitigation Option."
Debris-flow and Flooding Hazards Caused by the December 1999 Storm
in Coastal Venezuela with a Discussion of Mitigation Option. USGS, 11
Jan. 2013. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
14
Appendix
Initial Plan Criteria:
 Needs four gallon of water per day
 Cost $900
 Each person has 36sq ft. of personal space
 Withstands 70 mph winds
 Place house with low probability of mudslide
 <80 degrees inside
Cost calculation:
 Roof
 Pine wood: $1.00 – $3.00 per sq ft
 Roof: 380 sqft
 Cost: $380-$760
 Walls
 Aluminum $2.50-$3.50
 Walls: 382 sqft
15
 Cost: $955-$1,337
 Total Cost: $1,355- $2,097
16