Prison Design in Haiti: Structural Challenges

In the aftermath of the devastating 2010 Haitian earthquake, the U.S. government freed up some funds to help reconstruct the country’s collapsed infrastructure. The authors were involved in the design of and construction administration for some of this infrastructure, specifically for law-and-order facilities including six police stations and three prison complexes. This paper will cover some of the lessons learned from these endeavors. Special design challenges on these Haitian projects included more than just high seismic and wind loads. The lack of locally available skilled labor and the need to import most construction materials were coupled with a governmental owner’s limited ability to provide consistent construction oversight. Coordination with local professionals, such as geotechnical engineers, was essential, but it proved difficult to receive recommendations essentially in accordance with ASTM or ASCE standards. As such, many design decisions were made to in order to maximize constructability while minimizing downside risk. Design details, developed in conjunction with experts from the University of Texas faculty, were more prescriptive than for typical U.S. projects. Beam reinforcement was specified, for example, so that standard lengths of bars could be used throughout the project: splice locations were not left up to the contractor’s discretion. Another detail of critical importance to the success of one prison was the isolation joint specified between special moment frame members and infill masonry walls. Here a workable solution had to balance structural concerns (enough space between infill and frame), facility function (not enough space that prisoners could escape or pass items between other rooms), and ventilation design (no air conditioning). Extensive review of submittals and on-site observations were required in order to make sure the contractor both understood the design and executed it properly. Thanks to the efforts of many professionals, it is our opinion that the facilities as constructed will serve the Haitian society for years to come.