Who Knows Best? An Overview of Reconstruction after the Earthquake in Bam, Iran

In the earthquake which hit Bam in December, 2003, thirty-five thousand people lost their lives and widespread damage was caused, leaving 75,000 people homeless. It seemed that the traditional construction methods (adobe) were at fault but on closer examination, this does not appear to be the case. Instead, poorly understood non-traditional building techniques appear to be the prime causes. The immediate post-disaster reconstruction program was supervised by the Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution (HFIR), who (i) proposed designs of standard steel frames for single family houses, (ii) arranged for national or foreign suppliers to propose approved house designs, and (iii) provided inspectors who oversaw step by step the building processes and authorized payment of the government reconstruction grants. Once the main phase of reconstruction was completed, the HFIR inspectors began to withdraw but building continues, generally employing small local builders with some self-help building, within the habitual regulatory structure of local building inspectors. The question is: have the lessons of earthquake-safe construction been learnt? If yes, who has learnt them and are they applied? To answer these questions, a three-phase field study was organized in Bam (i) immediately after the earthquake, (ii) during the reconstruction program and (iii) after the dismantling of the HFIR’s presence. Surprisingly, it was found that not only is earthquake resistance a prime concern of the average householder – a concern shared by the majority of builders – but also that it led to considerable