Caribbean Construction Hurricane Issue #7

disaster resistant shelter by Scott Bartels

“Television footage captures the power of the hurricane, its relentless high wind loads whipsawing foolhardy news correspondents and peeling away roofs and walls of houses as if they were the layers of a plywood onion. For weeks after a storm, the coverage features gut-wrenching images of flooded homes, their water-wasted interiors, their moldy walls and their heart-broken owners.

Incorporating the harsh lessons learned in each succeeding hurricane season, homebuilders and engineers working in the Caribbean and the coastal states of the Americas are adopting new, non-traditional construction technologies in creating disaster-resistant shelters.”

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Caribbean Construction #6 Green Issue 2009

Caribbean ‘Greenhouse’ New Energy Efficient Building

An innovative green project underway in Eluethera, Bahamas is a home for the future. The element building system is a new forward-thinking building envelope that features steel framing and the use of steel insulated panels (SIP)s. A SIP is a structural sandwich panel that consists of a foam plastic insulation core bonded between two steel facing sheets. The SIPs are bolted to the steel frame and all joints are sealed.

“The homeowners will have a super-strong, highly insulated home that will require much less energy to cool and almost no effort to maintain,” says Scott Bartels, chief operating officer of Florida-based element, LLC. This incomparable airtight building envelope improves indoor air quality by controlling moisture and offers superior thermal properties. It also is mold and pest resistant. The result is a healthier, more efficient, and more affordable home.

Another green advantage is the SIPs, steel framing and steel connectors are engineered and factory- built, then delivered to the jobsite. The element system minimizes the environmental impact in manufacturing and on the job site.In hurricane country, strength means survival for residential and commercial buildings. This new home will be highly storm-proof. A large custom home built on the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean with the element system withstood a Category 5 hurricane,” Bartels says. “The owner is a true believer and now is an element builder.”

We are excited about expanding our reach further in the Caribbean and offering an opportunity for local labor forces to learn the methods of element installation and to use those skills for future projects in the area. We are looking for partners in the distribution and building of the element system and welcome your interest.

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