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DESIGN STATEMENT

Flood Resilient Safe Houses

JUSTIFICATION

For the last decade various states of the Indian Subcontinent have been experiencing constant and regular flooding either from the monsoon or due to the overflow of rivers. The clogging of drains and absence of a well thought rainwater drainage system in the building bye-laws or in urban planning has resulted in major towns and metropolitan cities being flooded with rural India undergoing maximum damage and loss of life. The overflowing of rivers due to deforestation and construction on river beds has added to this plight. The design of flood resilient safe house has innovated a new technology for the houses to float on the increasing water level, thereby eliminating the loss of life and property. The design has evolved in a manner that it can be used for construction of modular units which can be grouped together and hence a floating community on water can be established. The method of construction is robust and consumes little time. The loss of life, economy, livelihoods and the absence of innovation to save the lives of people has led to the inception of this Water Architecture

PRECEDENCE/INNOVATION

The initiative is self-thought for the flood affected regions of the Indian subcontinent. made using the most readily available materials. Adhering to the concept of innovation for life and resilience by adopting new means of architecture. The design is modular and can be adopted by all the flood prone regions of the country, moreover given the feasibility and nature of construction, once in use the structure adopts to the changing water level on its own by the presence of barrels as the base or foundation member. The barrels move up with the rising water level and go down with the decreasing water level. The beauty lies in the non-disruptive nature and the nonexistent ecological foot print of the intervention.

SCALE OF WORK

The design has been well thought and has kept in mind the highly flood prone areas of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh. And the flood prone areas of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

IMPACT/SUSTAINABILITY

The sustainability of the design is imminent from its modular construction and the way it weaves together all the flood victims transforming their livelihoods into floating communities without displacing them from their place of origin and neighborhoods. The structure when fitted with a motor pump can be used to navigate and rescue flood victims, Individuals can turn their house on water into sources of income in the absence of flooding by turning them into rent-able structures, ready to move in for tourists and businesses alike.