The onset of the rainy season often sparks fear and alarm in most parts of the world, while the rest enjoy rain selfies and hot snacks. The news of floods and landslides makes headlines in many places, showing people left without shelter, food, and sometimes the loss of loved ones. As the threat of global warming and climate change increases, so does the frequency of natural calamities and their consequences.
A few regions have evolved to adapt flood-safe building construction methods to avoid any damage to life and property, as the world has witnessed some of the worst floods in recent times. Architecture and architects hold a critical responsibility to bring solutions for the safety of people in such natural calamities.
While architects innovate different ideas for flood-safe structures, the most preferred innovations are the ones that are in tandem with the flow of nature and not the ones that are against it. Let us learn in-depth about the innovative floating buildings in the blog.
12 Structures that are Built Based on Floating Architecture
Table of Contents
Let’s explore the architectural trends of floating buildings leading to innovative flood-resilient housing in detail:
01. Farnsworth House
This late 1940s weekend retreat space for Dr. Edith Farnsworth establishes a relationship between nature and the man-made structure. Architect Mies Van Der Rohe built this simple, minimal artistic abode considering the possibility of floods from the Fox River.
This single-storey house consists of eight I-shaped steel columns that support the roof and floor frameworks and float the structure 5 feet, 3 inches above the ground.
02. The Floating School, Makoko
Located in the heart of Nigeria’s largest city, the community built the Makoko Floating School as a prototype. This structure, which spans 220 sqm stands as an example of sustainable, ecological alternative building systems and urban water cultures for the expanding population of the coastal regions of Africa.
03. Jellyfish Barge
Would you believe it if we said that there is a floating agricultural greenhouse that generates fresh water and energy by only using solar power?
Have a look at the Jellyfish barge, a 70 sqm octagon that floats over plastic drums that are attached directly to a wooden deck and beams along the octagon’s radius. A single barge can support up to two families for their food and water needs. It is easy to combine this entirely modular structure with other similar structures for large-scale agriculture.
04. Blooming Bamboo House, Vietnam
The Blooming Bamboo House is a prototype structure built by Vietnamese Studio H&P Architects to withstand floods up to 10ft above ground level, which is accessible with wooden ladders. The structure has tightly packed bamboo, which is also used for its floors, roof, and walls. Fibreboards and coconut leaves cover the structure, which can also serve as a house, a school, a medical facility, or a community centre.
The structure has flexible walls and roofs, which means one can open and close them to moderate the temperature according to the weather outside. Another interesting fact about these houses is that they are easy to install and only take up to 25 days to complete.
05. The Lift House, Bangladesh
The Lift (low-income flood-proof technology) house project is an innovation for sustainable housing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which is a high-risk zone for flooding, especially with the alarming melting rates of Himalayan glaciers. These amphibious structures lift themselves with rising water levels and return to the ground as the water recedes.
06. DD16
Designed by Bio Architects as a tourist retreat, this floating modular cabin challenges all weather conditions. With a lightweight aluminium sheet exterior, this cabin is easy to transport. Its interior is packed with a dedicated shower, a double bed, dining, and an open area for cooking.
All elements are lightweight and maximise space, while hidden niches serve as storage. The structure is solar-powered, banks on the lake for water supply, and has ecological toilets, which makes it sustainable.
07. Water Villa, Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country that is in dire need of flood-safe structures for habitation. These water villas, designed by +31 Architects, are based on two concepts: the pontoon, which is to create a structure lighter than water, and the other, which is to create a hollow concrete structure with an air ventilation passage to keep it afloat on the Amstel River.
The structure breaks physical barriers between land and water with its large sliding doors and its exterior decking.
08. The Floating Kayak Club, Denmark
This sporting club, placed in the pulled-back water from the shore, focuses on catering to the water sport of kayaking. The building acts as a courtyard for users and kayaks and focuses on providing a full sporting experience.
The building, designed to be a sculptural object, attracts people to the club, and this is reinforced by the central area of water. The facades by Stein tie both water and land together and continue the blue of the water to break the sense of boundary.
09. NRC Pavillion
The NRC pavilion is another innovation with the Buoyant Foundation project (BFP) for flood-resilient housing in Waterloo, Canada. This follows the amphibious foundation structure principle to protect buildings from the devastating effects of floods. These structures built on buoyant platforms rise during floods and return to their initial level as the water recedes.
10. Casa Anfibia, Nicaragua
This Malacayoya community project aimed to bring a solution to the constant relocation and rebuilding of homes before and after every flood in the area. The concept focuses on using renewable and recycled materials to build affordable houses.
The design of these structures is based on buoyancy, created by plastic barrels available at low costs. The superstructure is lightweight and sustainable because of the use of bamboo.
11. The Kentish Classic, London
Prefabricated timber homes elevated above water level by 3D-printed concrete platforms are the Kentish classic structures designed by the D*Haus company.
The company’s vision was to build flood-resistant Georgian-style housing like the ones constructed between the 18th and 19th centuries. Each of these two-story houses has an open terrace or roof garden and staggered CNC-cut stairs to create an open double-height space.
12. DOC Temporary Floating House, Romania
When architects from Lime Studio faced the challenge of building a structure on a river with high water level variations and budget constraints, they came up with the design idea of relocatable trailer platforms with mobility and simplicity as their key features.
Effective Methods of Designing Flood-Resilient Buildings
Elevating Structures
The geographical data and FEMA’s estimated base flood elevation viewer give architects information about the seasonal rain and flood data, along with the flood elevation of a location.
Based on this information and the patterns of previous rains, architects can design spaces lifted off the ground to a certain safe level where the flood water passes beneath the structure without disturbing the house and causing damage to life or property. Raising the structure on columns and stilts and increasing the height of the foundation are the two ways to achieve this. You may choose one depending on how feasible it is according to your geographic and site conditions.
Choice of Material
Materials like ferroconcrete or bamboo used as building materials are choices architects make to keep the structure floating during floods.
Some materials are flood-resistant, like marine-grade plywood, which can withstand hydrostatic and hydrodynamic water for 72 hours or more. The choice of materials could either be lightly weighted to make the structure or flood-resistant to withstand flood water.
Exterior Treatments
Coatings, sealants, and waterproof veneers serve as dry waterproofing techniques. They are coated on the exterior structure to prevent water from entering the house.
Waterproof veneers are a layer of brick surrounded by a waterproof membrane that prevents water from entering. Sealants can be used on walls, doors, and windows for the same purpose.
Buoyant Foundation
Buoyant Foundation, or amphibious buildings, is a flood-resilient campaign to construct buildings on ground surfaces that can rise on docks and float during the occurrence of floods.
Bamboo stacks, plastic drums, etc. form these foundations. The interesting part of this is that the building returns to its ground level once the water recedes.
Safeguard HVAC and Electrical Equipments
It doesn’t seem fair to expect residents of flood-prone areas to live deprived of luxury or even basic electronic necessities, like air conditioners or other appliances, in fear of electrical damage and accidents. A solution to help with such a situation is to position the outlets or the equipment that produces power at a level higher than the average standards to safeguard these appliances and equipment.
Underground Sumps
The basement sump system provides an outlet for draining excess water that stagnates inside the house. These sumps are mostly empty and are only used to drain excess water, which could be pumped to overhead tanks later for purification and usage. This might not be the first solution to prevent hydrodynamic damage, but it does, however, help reduce hydrostatic damage by reducing the pressure of stagnant water on doors and windows.
Conclusion
Every year, thousands of people around the world lose their lives to floods. While the fierce flood water sweeps away homes, possessions, and people, the ensuing stagnant water also causes considerable damage, and this is only going to get worse with the fast-approaching global warming and the alarming rate of climate change.
Architects have created innovative solutions to prevent the devastating effects of natural calamities, starting from houses that sit at a certain height from ground level to houses that float. They try different materials and new technologies and alter existing living conditions to ensure safe and fear-free living conditions.
Are floating houses the eventual future of the world? Maybe.
Are we ready to face nature, even during disasters? Definitely.
Are you also curious about how to be safe during floods? Then, here’s a blog sharing the same:
How to be Safe and Keep Your House Safe in Flood?
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Author Bio
Saili Sawantt – She is an Architect and Interior Designer by profession. Writing is what she treats as her passion. She has worked as an Architectural Writer, Editor, and Journalist for various design as well as digital portals, both national and international. Formerly she has also worked with Godrej Properties Limited (GPL) Design Studio, Mumbai, due to her keen interested in learning about Sustainability and Green buildings. Apart from this, she runs her blog ‘The Reader’s Express’ and is a practicing Architect & Interior Designer.