Britain Is Testing An Amphibious House That Rises Along WIth Floodwaters
28 replies, posted
[quote]When floodwaters rise there aren’t a lot of places to hide, and in the oft-rainy UK that can spell big problems and major property damage. So in an attempt to mitigate the problem, British authorities have just built the country’s first amphibious house on the banks of the River Thames. When the river rises, the house rises with it. Bring on the Biblical deluge.
Britain’s Environment Agency is not the first to dream up or even build a floating domicile of this kind--variations on this theme exist in Canada, Germany, and the U.S. for instance, as well as in some Southeast Asian and Latin American countries (where homes are commonly built on stilts to avoid seasonal floodwaters). But for the UK government to take an active interest in modern buoyant abodes is significant in that it could help drive technology development forward in coming years. It also serves as a kind of indicator that governments around the globe are quietly recognizing that the coming decades are likely going to bring increasingly nasty weather events.
For guidance in floodwater control the British are naturally looking to the Dutch, reports the BBC. Much of the Netherlands is below sea level, and the Dutch have a reputation for having the best flood mitigation technology on the globe. Several years ago, a Dutch firm built a few floating houses outside of Amsterdam to see how they might work. Another Dutch design house is working on a multi-unit apartment complex that could float on water.
The British concept, designed by UK firm Baca Architects, builds on these earlier ideas. Secured in place by four vertical posts sunk deep in the ground, the house resides partially submerged in the ground in a kind of dock lined with retaining walls and seated on a concrete slab. If floodwater begins to flow across the surface of the land, it is diverted down into this dock, where it begins to fill the chamber in which the house rests. The house itself is designed as a kind of free-floating pontoon, buoyed upward by hollow chambers made of wood and concrete. Secured in place by those four posts, the house can move vertically but not laterally, so it won’t float away.
When flooding subsides, it comes to rest again in its original position in the dock, its occupants and their possessions no worse for wear. At least, that’s the idea. We’ll have to wait and see if this one sinks or swims, but the idea is intriguing in a world where sea levels are on the rise and population growth increasingly drives human habitation toward places where water often wants to flow.
[img]http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_large/articles/amphibhouse.jpeg[/img][/quote]
Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-11/britain-building-amphibious-house-rises-along-floodwaters[/url]
Houses like these aren't really new... in areas of Asia where flooding can happen often with the monsoons or whatever they are called, they have been working on these for a long time.
Well if it's not a huge increase in the cost of a house and actually works (that's the big part) then that's pretty cool. It'd be pretty trippy to see a house float above water though.
[QUOTE=Protocol7;38637750]Well if it's not a huge increase in the cost of a house and actually works (that's the big part) then that's pretty cool. It'd be pretty trippy to see a house float above water though.[/QUOTE]
"Dear Diary, today the river broke its banks but no one gave a fuck, our houses just chilled on the water and we all broke out the canoes!"
The future of Britain man, I can live with this.
Maybe Anno 2070 was right :v:
Didn't the Dutch come up with something like this? I remember some really old show on the Discovery Channel detailing it.
[QUOTE=leontodd;38638396]Because Britain really needs this...[/QUOTE]
Yeah man, we do, in the past week there's been around 200 severe flood warnings.
And then the houses get swept out to sea instead.
[QUOTE=leontodd;38638396]Because Britain really needs this...[/QUOTE]
yeah man a tiny island with lots of coastal cities and towns totally doesn't need flood protection haha amirite
[QUOTE=leontodd;38638396]Because Britain really needs this...[/QUOTE]
Because a nation composed of [I]islands[/I] have absolutely no fear of [I]flooding[/I].
[QUOTE=zakedodead;38638434]And then the houses get swept out to sea instead.[/QUOTE]
Except for the part where they float upwards, not away. You can see in the picture that while they float they rest in a high walled pit and I'm pretty sure they would be anchored to the bottom of that pit.
The only thing that I would be worried about would be how are they gonna maintain electricity, water and gas supply, if they can do that then I would be really really impressed.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;38638463]Except for the part where they float upwards, not away. You can see in the picture that while they float they rest in a high walled pit and I'm pretty sure they would be anchored to the bottom of that pit.
The only thing that I would be worried about would be how are they gonna maintain electricity, water and gas supply, if they can do that then I would be really really impressed.[/QUOTE]
Don't be such a dick.
[QUOTE=zakedodead;38638468]Don't be such a dick.[/QUOTE]
What kind of reaction is this???
[QUOTE=zakedodead;38638468]Don't be such a dick.[/QUOTE]
Wow man, wow, I was just pointing out that they were unlikely to float away, jeez why did you have to go and hurt my feelings man?
Never thought it'd be possible to become sea sick without leaving your home.
[QUOTE=Pierrewithahat;38638463]Except for the part where they float upwards, not away. You can see in the picture that while they float they rest in a high walled pit and I'm pretty sure they would be anchored to the bottom of that pit.
The only thing that I would be worried about would be how are they gonna maintain electricity, water and gas supply, if they can do that then I would be really really impressed.[/QUOTE]
Well I'm not sure if a lack of water would really be a problem
[QUOTE=Lol-Nade;38638506]Well I'm not sure if a lack of water would really be a problem[/QUOTE]
If there's a flood, it's not gonna be potable water
[QUOTE=Lol-Nade;38638506]Well I'm not sure if a lack of water would really be a problem[/QUOTE]
True, you could slap on a pretty good filter or have houses in at risk areas stocked with emergency filters like those new fangled straw thingies. Still though you'd need like a weird extendo-pipe thing for moments when it isn't flooded so it can actually reconnect to the mains. Electricity wouldn't be too tough to maintain, just have a really really well insulated mains connection that can freely float with the house but fuck knows how you'd keep a gas connection working.
EDIT:
Actually I'm just a mongo, on the BBC source:
[quote]The houses float on hollow pontoons made of concrete and timber. All pipes and ducts for water, gas, electricity, and sewage disposal are flexible and keep functioning even when a house rises several metres.[/quote]
Why the fuck didn't I even consider flexible pipes, I had some weird image in my head of like a sleeved pipe that could extend as the house floated upward to maintain a connection when really a flexible bit of piping would be much better. v:v:v
I think I need to get new glasses because I read this as "Britain is testing an amphibious horse that rises along floodwaters."
[QUOTE=SnoopDogg;38638050]Didn't the Dutch come up with something like this? I remember some really old show on the Discovery Channel detailing it.[/QUOTE]
Houseboats. :v:
[QUOTE=Bbarnes005;38638666]I think I need to get new glasses because I read this as "Britain is testing an amphibious horse that rises along floodwaters."[/QUOTE]
[i][sub]SHORES OF EASTERN CANADA, the year 2032[/sub][/i]
THE MOUNTIES HAVE TAKEN TO THE SEA
[QUOTE=SnoopDogg;38638050]Didn't the Dutch come up with something like this? I remember some really old show on the Discovery Channel detailing it.[/QUOTE]
They're more or less houses that [I]always[/I] float.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/tsjgO.jpg[/IMG]
I guess power, water and gas lines are fed through like a flexible umbilical cord that also serves as an anchor.
Wow, I was thinking of something completely along a different line, but this seems pretty awesome!
What I was thinking was simply to base the house on a platform that is pierced on all four corners by i-beams, allowing the platform to rise and fall with the floodwater, sort of like those rides at the amusement parks that rise and drop!
Did anyone else think of this?
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io5ugE9b_1Y[/media]
[QUOTE=Protocol7;38637750]Well if it's not a huge increase in the cost of a house and actually works (that's the big part) then that's pretty cool. It'd be pretty trippy to see a house float above water though.[/QUOTE]
If the bedrock is too low where a house is being constructed they use a foundation which makes the house 'float' on the dirt instead. I'd imagine they use a similar technique in these house, just with more bouyant materials.
[QUOTE=thelurker1234;38637740]Houses like these aren't really new... in areas of Asia where flooding can happen often with the monsoons or whatever they are called, they have been working on these for a long time.[/QUOTE]
yeah but do those houses have working electricity, internets, tap water, gas and a connection to a sewage system?
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
