A little more than 80 Madrid architects have already proposed, through their official Association, to settle in Valencia to help assess the structural damage suffered by the houses, repair those that can be repaired and order the demolition of those who cannot continue. standing. The aid is coordinated with the Valencian professional association, and the emphasis is also placed on the next day: how and above all where to rehouse those who have found themselves permanently homeless, to prevent the tragedy from recurring in another flood.
Interested architects are included on a list indicating their availability and specialty. The Valencian College of Architects calls on them according to its needs. From this collegial body, its dean, Salvador Lara, recalled that although the time devoted to the disaster in the news has decreased, the problem is still very present, and after the mud and mud, “now comes the second part damage.” caused by water and structural movements of buildings.
The impact of the water, with the force it brought, represents “a blow which first brings down the enclosures, but which then reaches the structure, at the same time as it carries away the foundations. “This has already caused some buildings to collapse.” It is for this reason that he considers that the most urgent thing now is the expertise of the houses to determine which ones are at risk of collapsing.
The next step will be “for people to know how much it can cost to repair their house, and who will pay for it”, and how far the proposed aid will go. A few days ago, he said, there were 158,000 claims before the Compensation Consortium, “and today there are already 210,000; “I don’t know if they know how to handle this mountain of claims.”
Regardless, the dean of Madrid architects, Sigfrido Herráez, also insisted on the need “to be ordered to help.” Hence this list of specialized technicians which is offered at the Valencian school. Herráez believes that architects can be very helpful to those affected, “telling them how to claim and channeling help.”
But above all, he underlines the importance of looking to the future and thinking of “a definitive and safe relocation, outside the affected area”, with a sort of “absorption city” where houses are built for hundreds or thousands of families. sees himself in this need. “The first thing is that the house they are cleaning does not fall on them,” they insist. But we cannot forget the need to seize the opportunity to rebuild safely.
The number of homes affected is still unknown. Yesterday, the Valencian College of Architects declared that it had 2,650 report files and of which 620 had already been evaluated. But there is still much to do
Madrid will create a disaster group within the College of Architects that will be prepared for possible events of this type. Dean Herráez highlights the need to undertake interventions to strengthen the structures, with or without concrete injection or reinforcement of the pillars. And he highlights the opportunity to study construction in the area with filter structures or other techniques that can help in the event of a repeat of flooding, with “new models of more sustainable cities and an international architectural competition to propose how to carry out these relocations”. .
