WATERSTUDIO’S FLOOD-RESISTANT ARCHITECTURE
by Jill Fehrenbacher and Sarah Rich
As we approach the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, you may notice we’re running a little theme on Inhabitat: flood-resistant design and architecture. In the months following Katrina, one of the most interesting design solutions we found for dealing with rising water levels was the amphibious architecture of Dutch firm Waterstudio. Architect Koen Olthius specializes in a unique technology that allows land-based buildings to detach from the ground and float under rising water conditions. Olthius’ claim to fame is that he focuses exclusively on aqueous design - design for building in, on and at the water - in a country where water dominates the landscape.
Now Waterstudio has completed their first amphibious residential home and we’ve got some gorgeous photos to prove it. (See below)
Jill was also fortunate to meet and interview Koen in the Netherlands last month, and you can
read the interview here >
If you want to learn a little more about Waterstudio and flood-resistant architecture,
check out this fascinating video >
Core 77 also has a great article called Surviving the Flood which focuses on the water-proof design exhibited in this year’s Rotterdam Biennial.
The newly completed Snel House in Holland
Stilt flood-resistant houses
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Although floating houses are not new, they have a constant challenge for not becoming a hazard to the environment. Main problems are power and water waste & management, specially when they don’t move and become a real estate. When this happens, sometimes they have utilities (ducts) extended to their site and are a problem when managed inappropriately. Otherwise, they function like a boat. This is a problem in sensitive environments, like mangroves in the Caribbean.