With all the flooding disasters in recent years, it might not be a bad idea to consider building a flood-proof home, especially if your new home is to be located in an area prone to flooding. Anyone interested in doing so will be happy to learn that the UK architecture firm Carl Turner Architects plans to release the blueprints for their Floating House, which they built a few months ago. They will make the plans available through the Paperhouses website, which offers many open source architecture plans.
The basic Floating House requires a 65 x 22 foot (20 x 7 m) buoyant concrete hull to sit on, while it is also capable of floating on the water much like a houseboat. Also, if the home is to be built on a floodplain, it can be built on stilts, or a flood-resistant thick concrete base that is non-floating.
Floating House is a two story home with 45 x 16 feet (14 x 5 m) of interior living space, enclosed in a cross-laminated timber frame. The home also features a thick layer of insulation and triple-glazed windows. The basic layout of the interior is made up of a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, a study, and a bathroom. The house also features a rooftop observation deck.
The home is also grid independent, since the plans call for two 904 square foot (84 square meters) semi-transparent solar panels to cover the exterior walls of the home. These panels should, according to the architects, be able to harvest enough energy to satisfy the power needs of the household. The home is also to be fitted with a rooftop rainwater-harvesting tank, which should be sufficient for providing all the non-drinking water required by the occupants.
The plans for the home will be made available soon, and will be detailed enough so that anyone can build the Floating House themselves, or hire a construction firm to do it for them.
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