AMPHIBIOUS ARCHITECTURE: AMPHIBIOUS HOUSES

АМФИБИЙНАЯ АРИХИТЕКТУРА: ДОМА-АМФИБИИ

Дадон Анна Александровна

студент, Национальный исследовательский Московский государственный строительный университет,

РФ, г. Москва

Чистякова Анастасия Андреевна

студент, Национальный исследовательский Московский государственный строительный университет,

РФ, г. Москва

Беляев Николай Кириллович

студент, Национальный исследовательский Московский государственный строительный университет,

РФ, г. Москва

Юдина Ирина Ивановна

преподаватель, Национальный исследовательский Московский государственный строительный университет,

РФ, г. Москва

ABSTRACT

This article is devoted to the issue of amphibious architecture. The purpose of the study was to consider the prerequisites for the creation of the amphibious house concept, to study its design, to determine the advantages and disadvantages of this technology, to give examples of its practical application, to assess the prospects for use in the future.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Данная статья посвящение вопросу амфибийной архитектуры. Целью исследования было рассмотреть предпосылки к созданию концепции дома-амфибии, изучить его конструкцию, определить преимущества и недостатки данной технологии, привести примеры его практического применения, оценить перспективы использования в будущем.

Keywords: amphibious architecture; amphibious houses; buoyant foundation; flood mitigation method; climate change adaptation.

Ключевые слова: амфибийная архитектура; дом-амфибия; плавучий фундамент; метод смягчения последствий наводнений; адаптация к изменению климата.

According to United Nations statistics, three quarters of the world's largest cities are located along the coast, about 70 percent of the world's population lives in the coastal zone, while 40 percent live within sight of the ocean in regions that are increasingly prone to flooding. Tens of millions of people live in flood zones adjacent to major rivers, and every year there are grim pictures of the tragic consequences of living near water.

Given the ongoing climate change and the threat of rising oceans, some scientists believe that people should simply abandon life on the coast, leave the coastal zone and move inland, further from the water. But with this approach, a number of problems arise. Firstly, important land infrastructure has been built in coastal areas. Secondly, the resettlement of people will represent the largest migration in the history of mankind - a large-scale and costly project. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that such an idea will ever receive serious development.

Modern architects are not preparing for a worldwide flood. But if the idea of relocating people is obviously a failure, and traditional methods of flood protection do not always work, then what should people who live permanently in the coastal zone with the risk of rising water levels do?

It's time to think about the development and construction of structures and dwellings that can survive floods and stand on the water as confidently as on drier.

Amphibious architecture is an alternative method of flood mitigation that allows conventional infrastructure to float on the surface of rising flood water, instead of being flooded.

Flood mitigation and adaptation to climate change require the development of new types of housing and strategies for modernizing construction to preserve artificial structures and the natural environment, as well as maintaining the integrity of society in regions where there is an increased risk of flooding.

In this regard, in 2015, from August 26 to August 29, the very first International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design was held at the Arsom Silpa Institute of Arts in Bangkok (Thailand).

The purpose of the conference was to bring together architects, designers, builders, researchers, engineers and representatives of the government and individual industries, such as water resources management, urban and landscape design, hydraulic engineering, social and humanities, education and healthcare.

The conference created an interdisciplinary environment, bringing together representatives of a wide range of disciplines, which for the first time raised issues related to amphibious architecture, as well as the adaptation of existing infrastructure buildings and public spaces to better protect against future both frequent and rare floods.

One of the most intriguing ideas of amphibious architecture proposed at the conference was the concept of an amphibious house.

The main idea here is that, just as boat berths rise when the water level changes, the amphibious house is designed so that it gradually rises along with flood water as it arrives.

It is worth noting that such a house is noticeably different from a floating house that is constantly on the surface of the water. According to all external signs, these structures seem similar, but structurally they are very different.

The peculiarity of the foundation of a houseboat is that it usually consists of huge pontoons, which is why a building of this type cannot exist anywhere but water.

Unlike an amphibious house, the special design of the foundation of which allows it to maintain contact with the ground under normal conditions, firmly resting on its surface, but at the same time makes it possible to float as high as necessary when flooding occurs.

The floating foundation is a system of three main elements: hollow concrete blocks under the house, steel support posts and a structural frame that binds everything together. The concrete frame will function as a ship's hull during a flood, providing buoyancy. It is attached to steel support posts running along the sides of the house to exclude the possibility of horizontal movement of the building during flooding. As the water recedes, the structure will sink to its original position, sliding along the pillars.

The amphibious house is connected to engineering communications using self-tightening "detachable’ cables. These flexible service pipes can grow up to 3 meters in length, which allows the building not to lose access to resources during ascent.

For an amphibious house, weight is a key factor, so, as a rule, such buildings are built of wood. Stone or steel is simply too heavy for this type of construction, and the concrete base on which the house stands is actually a polymer foam covered with concrete.

The amphibious house concept was developed for the countries and regions most affected by floods.

For example, the largest number of such cataclysms falls on the countries of the Asian region. Of these, China occupies the first place. Floods have accompanied China throughout history, and global warming has only worsened the problem. In this country, the most catastrophic of the largest floods in the world occurred in August 1931. 16 out of 23 Chinese provinces were under water, about 1 (about 1.3 according to other sources and even 3.7) million people died, more than 40 million people were injured.

India is also vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly floods. This is due to the warm, humid climate of the country, which is prone to cyclones. The worst natural disaster in India occurred in 1839, when an Indian cyclone killed 300,000 people.

The next country in which the idea of an amphibious house can be implemented is the Netherlands. Over the past 1200 years, the Netherlands has seriously drowned about 30 times, the total number of flood victims is in the hundreds of thousands.  The reason for this is that about 40 percent of the country's territory is located below sea level, and 30 percent is no more than a meter above it. 65 years ago, the largest flood in the modern history of the country occurred in the Netherlands. The victims of the tragedy were 1,835 people. The flooding also affected a number of other countries, including Germany, Belgium, England, Scotland and Norway.

On the territory of the United States, floods do not occur so often, however, if they happen, they leave behind quite serious consequences and destruction. The last fairly large natural disaster was the flood in the United States in May 2011, as a result of which eight states were affected.

Floods and floods also occur in Russia. The majority of flooding in 2013 to 2020 occurred in the south of the Far East, Altai Krai, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk and Moscow regions. In some regions there are "regular" flooding sites that occur from year to year, despite the efforts of local services. It is in such areas with the risk of constant flooding that amphibious houses can reach their potential.

The technology of amphibious houses, like any other flood protection system, has its own specific features and advantages:

1. Amphibious houses, due to their design, can adapt to changing water levels, which allows them to survive actual flooding of any intensity.

2. Economic benefits can also be attributed to the advantages. Architects claim that the construction of such a building is only 20-25 percent more expensive than an ordinary house, since it is necessary to build a complex engineering structure. However, buildings that can be raised can be converted into amphibious houses, usually such modernization is cheaper than building a structure from scratch. All these financial costs cannot be compared with the complete reconstruction of a flooded building that was severely damaged by floods.

3. Unlike houses with foundations fixed in one position, amphibious houses are more adapted to the daily life of people during floods.

4. From an aesthetic point of view, static houses raised on stilts can create huge voids at ground level, while houses with floating foundations are indistinguishable from ordinary buildings in ordinary life.

Amphibious architecture is a nascent industry, barely out of the formative stage, so far there are only a few dozen real amphibious houses in the world. These projects are in the hands of several leading architectural firms. At the moment there are three main players in this space: Baca Architects (UK), Dura Vermeer (Netherlands) and the Buoyant Foundation Project (United States of America).

It is worth noting that the first two mentioned companies are actually best known in the Netherlands, a country with extensive experience in flood conditions. As already stated, almost 80 percent of the country's territory is at or just below sea level, so it is not surprising that the leading thinkers on this particular topic come from this country.

The Buoyant Foundation Project, created in 2006 by Professor Elizabeth English – co-organizer of the International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design and Engineering - and her students at the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, was originally created to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina. Since its inception, the company's objectives have expanded to include a plan to popularize and implement amphibious solutions such as the modernization of old buildings and the development of new ones. The Buoyant Foundation Project pays special attention to modernization methods for poor flood-prone regions.

The first amphibious houses in the UK were built by Vasa Architects. They are located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, on the banks of the River Thames. The floating foundation of these luxury homes has the ability to rise with the water by 2.5 meters along with the overflowing water of the Thames. This project caused a lot of excitement in the industry.

The Vietnamese studio H & P Architects designed houses for Southeast Asia. Due to the use of such cheap material as bamboo in construction, the company has made amphibious homes affordable. These thatched-roofed houses are made from local bamboo and are mounted on platforms made from recycled oil barrels fixed in place. It is they who raise the house to the surface in case of flooding.

In Pakistan in 2010, when heavy monsoon rains caused major flooding, about a fifth of the country's territory was affected and 20 million people were directly affected. To provide some help, Green Container International Aid has developed amphibious containers. They are emergency shelters built from recovered shipping containers, shipping pallets and tires that can lift off the ground and float to the surface during flooding.

In Russia, the first amphibious house was developed by Maxim Mayorov from St. Petersburg. The idea of creating such a project arose from the entrepreneur in 2014, when he was driving past Lake Geneva and saw a small restaurant on the water. Initially, he planned to build a floating veranda for his restaurant, but this project did not bring success. By 2017, Maxim Mayorov returned to the idea of building amphibious houses. He founded the company "Kon-Tiki". Mayorov planned to place houses on the reservoirs of the Leningrad region and earn on rent, during the construction process he decided to test the demand.

It took him about 20 attempts, he had to regularly disassemble the house and redo it again before he was satisfied with the work - a house with an area of 36 square meters and a cost of about 300 thousand rubles.

The entrepreneur installed it in October on one of the lakes of the Leningrad region, but since the house was without insulation, it was cold to live in it.

Taking into account the mistakes of the previous project, Mayorov designed a new amphibious house suitable for year-round living. You can live in it in winter and summer, and the versatility of the building was that it can be installed both on land and on water — with the help of an adjustable support.

There is no need to connect communications to the house: electricity comes from an installed generator, water is taken from a reservoir, filtered and fed into pipes, and wastewater goes into a storage tank.

This project is the only example of amphibious architecture in Russia.

In conclusion, it should be said that billions of people around the world live in flood-prone areas. The water comes from reasons beyond our control.

It is necessary to start thinking about urban areas with amphibious architecture, which during floods will save people's lives, as well as their homes, since the climate is obviously changing day by day, and large water is becoming more common.

The idea of building this type of building is neither new nor particularly inventive; people have always sought to protect themselves and their homes from floods. Today, several dozen such houses are already in operation. In the coming years, we can expect that their number will increase dramatically, as the amphibious house concept is gaining popularity.

In conclusion, it should be said that it is necessary to further develop the direction of amphibious architecture. Further detailed studies will help to improve the design and construction of amphibious houses so that they will be adapted for use in areas with any geographical and socio-economic conditions.

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