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http://www.examiner.com/x-50344-Portland-Colleges-Examiner~y2010m6d4-Need-for-speed-Building-a-house-in-a-day-at-PSU-campus?cid=exrss-Portland-Colleges-Examiner

Portland State University (PSU) students will begin building a house on campus Monday beginning at 8 am. They expect to complete it by 5 pm, thereby demonstrating how quickly a housing design destined for construction in Haiti can be put together.

As a project sponsored by the school's Department of Architecture, the completed model home will be identical to one of the "1,000 Homes for Haiti" being erected in that devastated island nation by a Portland, Oregon firm, Pacific Green Innovations. The company maintains that each house can be put up by no more than four workers and be ready for occupancy in only four hours.

Homeless Haitians in the hundreds of thousands are still living under tarpaulins five months after a massive earthquake hit their nation. With hurricane season approaching, these homeless masses will face yet another natural calamity, and disease and more death are certain to follow.

The houses go up quickly because they use lightweight walls made from a material called SwissCell, honeycombed panels made of recycled materials. They have the strength to stand up to hurricanes and earthquakes.

The public is invited to witness construction activities and view the completed house in the courtyard of Shattuck Hall on the PSU campus at the intersection of Hall and Broadway in downtown Portland. Also showcased will be Haitian house designs by Architects Without Borders - Oregon, The Basic Initiative, and KPFF Consulting Engineers. The designs displayed will become part of the earthquake resistant Confined Masonry Toolkit that is being assembled by Haiti ReWired, a collaborative community focused on tech and infrastructure solutions for Haiti, for distribution via masonry training programs in Haiti.