September 7, 2010

Canadian aims to build shipping-container village for Haitians

MONTREAL

A Haitian-Canadian musician wants to help the earthquake-displaced people in his homeland by spearheading the building of a village.

But Luck Mervil’s project wants to build homes that will withstand any natural disaster by using retired shipping containers as the main building blocks.

Mervil plans to use 900 retrofitted containers to construct a new village fit for 5,000, erected on a parcel of previously uninhabited land near Leogane, a coastal city west of Port-au-Prince.

Mervil, a Haitian-born, Quebec-raised singer, has taken leave from a successful musical career to concentrate efforts on Haiti.

Mervil is behind a Montreal-based organization called Vilaj Vilaj, which aims to build sustainable, long-term housing in Haiti and potentially elsewhere.

While container-driven architecture is becoming increasingly popular around the world, the buildings are a particularly good fit for Haiti because they are cost effective, easily convertible into larger structures and weather-proof.

“It’s perfect for Haiti, it’s a real house, it’s a real place you can go and know that you’re protected,’’ Mervil said.

“We’ve created a design that would work in Haiti because the tools are there, the means are there and the need is there.’’

Eight months after the earthquake, many Haitians are still living in tent cities with hurricane season around the corner.

The Canadian-designed village will consist of solid homes built with 40-foot and 20-foot containers — about 320 square feet of living space and running water and bathrooms.

A prototype home was built in Canada in about 10 days for between $8,000 and $10,000. But Mervil says the costs will be significantly lower in Haiti and Haitians, who are adept at working with metal, should have no problem converting the boxes.

Canadian Press

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