Colombia. At the end of this month the Build Change organization will receive in its projects in Colombia the visit of a technical team from the Autodesk Foundation. Build Change was founded in 2004 in the United States, with the mission of saving lives and reducing economic losses due to the collapse of homes and schools, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
More than 10 million Colombians live in vulnerable homes, built informally, and likely to collapse in the event of an earthquake. The cities of Bogotá and Medellín recognize that by not intervening to improve housing construction, they would be taking a big step back from their already successful neighborhood improvement efforts. As a result, they have allocated funds to subsidize structural improvements in vulnerable housing.
Despite efforts, few structural reinforcement interventions have been completed to date. Build Change aims to improve this by supporting both municipalities by intervening in vulnerable housing and, in the future, being able to expand the program to other locations across the country.
"The Autodesk Foundation supports organizations that use design and engineering solutions to address the most pressing societal challenges and we are proud to work with Build Change in Colombia," said Joe Speicher, Executive Director of the Autodesk Foundation. "We are partnering with local engineers and builders in Medellin and Bogota to help provide safe, quality construction designed to withstand natural disasters while creating better living environments for residents."
In 2013, Colombia became one of six countries worldwide where Build Change operates. Its staff works alongside homeowners and local governments, which provide subsidies for people to renovate their homes. The organization participates in three pilot projects focused on the structural reinforcement of informal housing, with the Caja de Vivienda Popular de Bogotá (CVP), the Social Institute of Housing and Habitat of Medellín (ISVIMED) and the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (AMVA).
"Build Change's mission is to save lives in earthquakes and windstorms by designing disaster-resilient homes and schools, and teaching people how to build them. We work with engineers and architects, civil servants, and private individuals, but mainly with workers and residents, to improve their knowledge of resilient construction," says Juan Caballero, Program Director for Latin America at Build Change.
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