Architects, designers, and other climate change researchers are always exploring new ways to deal with coastal flooding, from retrofitting entire cities to be flood proof to changing domestic building plans to account for weather events like hurricanes. On both large and small scales, people are adjusting their way of living, especially with the unprecedented number of storms and foods in the last year.
A former associate professor at the University of Waterloo named Elizabeth English has created an innovative way to account for floods in certain areas with her organization the Buoyant Foundation Project. The New Yorker reports that the BFP are promoting the concept of “amphibious buildings,” or buildings that are designed for the land, but can self-adjust when water levels rise. Established in 2006, the BFP created their first prototype by 2007.
Not only did it work, the process was relatively cheap and easy to do. It requires at least two people who know something about construction and some heavy equipment. It costs between $10 and $40 a foot to install, but is still two to three times less expensive than putting a house on permanent elevation. It’s also relatively discrete, leaving the exterior of the house more or less unchanged. Permanent elevation is also worse for protecting a home against damages from the wind rather than water.
Like many innovations, it’s not for every situation, like in an area susceptible to high speed waves.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all solution,” English said. “But it’s an excellent solution for some circumstances.”
Engineers Have Developed A System To Make Houses Float During Flooding [Green Matters]