The UK's first amphibious house is to be built on the banks of the River Thames.
Work will start on-site later this year for the 225 sqm home, which is set just 10m from the edge of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. It will be built on fixed foundations but if the site floods, the house is designed to rise up and float.
The firm behind the design is Baca Architects. "The upper part of the house is a lightweight timber construction that rests on a concrete hull," the company explained," creating a free-floating pontoon, while the whole house is set between four
'dolphins' -- permanent vertical guideposts to keep it in place.
These guideposts, more normally found on marinas, have been integrated with the design and are a visible feature on the exterior of the building."
The architects add that the garden has been designed to act as an early flood warning system with terraces that step down from the house to the water's edge. This design will also help water flow away from the house and "reduce the siltation of the dock".
Richard Coutts, the company's director, explained to Wired.co.uk that, while this house is a first for the UK, his team has collaborated with experts from other countries on amphibious, flood resistant and floating homes. In 2005, the Dura Vermeer Group built 32 amphibious dwellings and 14 floating homes in Maasbommel in the Netherlands. Designed to accommodate a water level difference of up to 5.5m, they were put to the test during floods last year.
Also involved in the Thames house were academics from the Buoyant Foundation at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Coutts says that amphibious homes offer distinct advantages over elevated houses even though, he admits they are around 20-25 percent more expensive to construct than traditional homes. The key advantage is "their engagement with the ground", which allows owners to more easily use their garden. He says: "The prototype elevated houses built in New Orleans, for example, are elevated so high that they have become islands in the sky, which affects how the owners interact with their neighbours. Their verandahs have become balconies."
Baca Architects is also working on a scheme for 700 flood-resistant homes in Norwich, but Coutts adds that both developments are as a result of a wider research project for Defra called Long-term Initiatives for Flood Risk Environments (LifE). "This allows water into environments in a pre-determined fashion," says Coutts.
If this scheme goes ahead, Coutts says that the whole community infrastructure will be designed to counter the potential damage caused by floods, including the roads, landscaping (which can act as sponges, says Coutts) and even the energy strategies. "Amphibious design is one of a host of solutions that can enable residents to live safely and to adapt to the challenges of climate change," says Coutts.