Floating Homes

Project Aim

The aim of our project was to study the structural features of floating homes and the various ways in which they can be constructed.

Members

  • Anchit
  • Saurabh
  • Sam
  • Shruti

Introduction

This was traditionally done in southeast Asia, but with the current housing crisis needs to be implemented into urban infrastructure. It can be done in blue spaces- canals, marinas and man-made docks. When the water level rises it will also rise hence reducing the risk of floods and a better option in countries that are prone to flooding like Netherlands. It will reduce inner city population density. However, one needs to be all the more vigilant in the case of a failure. For example the collapse of Makoko Floating School in Lagos due to heavy rainfall was a primary example of failure of floating structure.

The environmental concerns expressed by experts in this field include the need for foundation to go deep into the river bed and the fact that this may lead to soil erosion, thereby changing the direction of water flow.

There is also a counter argument to this with some people saying that building them in blue spaces has helped the ecosystem around it flourish. A classic example of the success of floating homes is Ijburg in Netherlands- Built by four artificial islands connected to each other by bridges. Netherlands in general is surrounded by water and most of it is built on reclaimed land which makes it extremely flood prone. The only difference between a house on land and a floating house is that the houses on water have concrete "tubs" on the bottom, which are submerged by half a story and act as counter-weight. To prevent them from floating out to sea, they are anchored to the lake bed by mooring poles. It improves durability.

Not only can floating architecture create a new architecture style but also connect an interface between the offshore renewable energy and the built environment. Adaptation, Sustainability, Efficiency, and Management (ASEM) is one floating building design strategy that can help to provide an efficient alternative related to energy and environmental issues.

One type of floating device is house barge-It is a structure consisting of a series of hollow air containers shaped in a way that allows them to float; once attached to the platform, they allow the house to float on water and be stable.

The configuration of the floating device will depend on the area of the supporting floor structure; sometimes they're in rows one next to the other, and others they';re placed in opposing pairs- think of two small boats with a plank and a house on top. The configuration depends on how large the built surface is, the weight of the house and its structure, and how stable the house needs to be kept (houses by the shore and houses on lakes need different stabilizing methods, due to water movements). These houses have great potential to be eco-friendly, as they need to be self-sufficient when it comes to producing electrical energy and potable water. Their waste is not thrown into the sea, but stored into containers, and potable water can be fetched and filtered from its surroundings.

There are various ways to make houses float -

  • Foam blocks
  • Steel pontoons
  • Hollow concrete foundations attached to 6 iron piers
  • Concrete tubs submerged in water to a depth of half a storey
  • Piles driven into river beds

Work Done

  • Researched the different places in which floating homes have already been implemented like Netherlands and learned about the cause behind their implementation as well as the method of implementation.
  • Noted the various factors that needed to be taken in like speed of the river, chemical content, wind speed etc for the feasibility of floating homes across the world.
  • Applied the feasibility of floating homes to the Indian context with focus on Kerala and Gangetic Plains.

Conclusion

Our project studied the feasibility of floating homes in the Indian context and the possible locations where it can be implemented. The Gangetic Plains, and the flood prone regions of Orissa and West Bengal are areas of possible implementation. However, one major concern is the pollution content of rivers and the stability and safety of these structures. If the goal of this project is to house people who don’t have proper houses then it is important to ensure that no lapses in safety occur. But it is important to also keep in mind that building floating parks, aesthetic floating structures can definitely boost the tourism and visual appeal of the Indian outdoors. With decreasing availability of land and decline of natural vegetation, perhaps it is time to move on to another option.

Future Scope

Right now, the scope of floating homes in India is pretty limited considering the existing backlog of infrastructure projects but what remains to be seen is whether there is an economic way of integrating the concept of floating homes with existing development projects and creating a prototype of the “ideal floating home” in India.