by Matthew A. French
The plan of this adobe building is a simple rectangle with three rooms. Adobe as a material is very weak under seismic loads, which is the main issue which concerns this building type. Also, the roof does not have sufficent eaves to protect the adobe walls, which has resulted in the dislodging of the exterior plaster. This has erroded the walls, further reducing their structural strength. Adobe is commonly used in Nicaragua, as it is both affordable and accessible, but it is being replaced by more ‘modern’ materials, such as concrete block and red fired brick.
World Housing Encyclopedia
an EERI and IAEE project