International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 06 Issue: 01 | Jan 2019 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Review on Amphibious House

Tejas Urkude1, Amarchand Kumar2, Apoorva Upadhye3, Madhura Padwal4
1,2,3,4Final Year B.E. Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, D. Y. Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi, Pune,
Maharashtra, India
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Abstract – Floods are the sources of massive scale are made for land but same buildings become floating house
destruction from the early stages of civilization. Due to for water. The idea of Amphibious House gives experiences
increase in the population growth and urbanization which of living in both water and land. In engineering languages, It
leads to deforestations and a high percentage of the paved can be said as hybrid structure, in which the weight of a
surface which blocks the infiltration of water in case of structure is partially supported by both land and water
precipitation. Flood is a natural process which cannot be simultaneously. This house designed to be retrofitted to an
ceased or restrict to occur, thus efficient flood preparation is existing house that is already slightly elevated off the ground
the need of the time to minimize the damage in flood prone and supported on short piers. Due to this , house can be
areas. In view of these problems, there are different techniques remain close to the ground and retain its original appearance
which prevent the flood destruction in urban areas and low under normal circumstances, but to rise with water and float
land areas too. Through these techniques, people can face with on its surface when flooding occurs , then Settle back in to its
flood rather than fighting with nature. The study concluded original position as the water level decreases. Various
the new idea of the Amphibious House which basically targets materials can be used for the construction of this structure
the concept of flood resistant house in low land areas. It like light weight materials such as polystyrene , precast
provides safe shelter to the people living in the house. This blocks made with ferrocement, movable rollers,
concept is based on the principle of Buoyancy. The amphibious prefabricated materials etc
architecture helps in allowing water to flow rather than
creating obstruction. Approaching this concept helps in The main advantage of idea is that it is an economical
planning and recognizing the beneficial aspects of seasonal solution for flood mitigation. It prevents an ongoing
and occasional flooding. It means that allowing not only to live inconvenience to residents as well as creating a significant
with water, but to expand with it. The study also reviewed the impediment for the elderly and others with impaired
methodology used for this idea which is based on buoyancy. It mobility.
is found that, the first International Conference on Amphibious
Architecture, Design and Engineering, ICAADE 2015, was held 1.1 Living in Flood Prone Area
in Bangkok, Thailand in August 2015. The second ICAADE
2017 was held at the University of waterloo in Canada in June Over the last 17 years, 25000 people were killed during the
2017. flood affecting over 300 million people. Trading along the
waterways had grown-up into town and cities as industries
Key Words: Amphibious house, buoyancy, flood-proof, grew in the country. Water was the main source of
architecture, flood mitigation, retrofitting, ferrocement, transportation. Thus people started living near by the
hybrid structure, polystyrene. sources such that they can reduce the travelling cost. No
doubt we all need a place to live which has low cost and
1. INTRODUCTION nearby your job location. This is main reason why people are
still live there. Secondly, If we see now they might have made
We know that due to climate changes and global warming improvements to their houses over the years and don’t want
advances, level of sea rises gradually, which leads to heavy to leave it.
rain, severe hurricanes tsunami, flooding and other natural
disasters. Therefore there is need to adopt effective This history is not only the reason why low-lying areas are
countermeasure against these disasters especially flooding. over populated. This is largely because Private Construction
Regarding this, concept of Amphibious House has been Companies do not take full cost of building on cheap land
adopted here, in which it refers to structures that will which comes under flood zone. It costs very low budgets for
function both in land and water in response to flood in low construction. So the new homes are still being constructed
lying areas. This configuration allows the houses to rise with near flood Prone Areas.
the floodwater, mitigating the damage caused by the
seasonal flooding.

However, this concept is not new to world but still not

introduced in our country “India”. In this, basically buildings

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 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 06 Issue: 01 | Jan 2019 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Bangladesh being a delta country is frequently affected by

flood. Millions are displaced and many lives are lost during
severe floods due to overflowing of rivers, inadequate
drainage and monsoon rains in Bangladesh. Flood cause the
most damage to the low income population who live in
informal settlements throughout the urban center of the
country. As the city population continues to grow access to
adequate housing is denied to low income citizen forcing 3.5
million people to find shelters in slum and custom built
house boats.

Fig -1: Kerala Flood 2018

Kerala is one of the best examples of most destructive flood

conditions in Indian history where Kerala received
heavy monsoon rainfall, which was about 75% more than
the usual rain fall in Kerala, on the mid-evening of August 8,
resulting in dams filling to capacity; in the first 24 hours of
rainfall the state received 310 mm (12 in) of rain. It was the
worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people
died, and 14 are missing and about a million people were
evacuated. Almost all dams had been opened since the water
level had risen close to overflow level due to heavy rainfall,
flooding local low-lying areas.
Fig -3: Boat House in Kerala
1.2 Living on Water
House boats in Kerala are huge slow moving barges used for
Building on water is not a new method. People have lived for leisure trips. They are used to carry rice and spices from
centuries; by elevating houses on piles, retrofitting boats and different places in early times. These house boats are
designing amphibious architecture. Now it is time for the considered as a convenient means of transportation. It is
people living in low-lying areas to adopt this new method for about 60 to 70 feet long and about 15 feet wide at the
their own benefits. Water dwellings can be proved efficient middle. The hull is made of wooden planks that are held
in times of extreme flooding. tightly by ropes and coconut fiber. The roof is made up of
bamboo poles and palm leaves. The exterior of the boat is
The cost of Amphibious House can be less than a house built painted with protective cashew nut oil coat. The need for
on land. Living on and near water already exists in many housing brought many workers to transform old fishing
countries but in India it is still a new concept. Amphibious boats into residential dwellings.
House is one of the best answers for all the problems like
dwelling in flood prone areas. 2. AMPHIBIOUS HOUSE

The Amphibious homes are under normal circumstances rest

on concrete foundation and also starts floating when the
water level rises and also during flooding. The advantage of
these homes is that they are more or less like ordinary
homes with parking space, a garden and access from road.
The inhabitant feels that the house is floating only during
flood conditions. Two houses are kept in place by the
support of two mooring poles. These steel columns are
driven deep into the ground. Even in the extreme flood
condition the structure will be in place and can withstand
the current of flowing water with help of these steel
columns. These steel columns are connected by steel
framework.

Fig -2: Boat House in Bangladesh

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2.1 Objectives 2.3 Amphibious Construction

The goal of this study is to explore how important The common way to achieve the floating concept is making a
Amphibious Architecture to coastal and riverside areas. Its hull and building a light weight house on top of it. This
objectives include how to overcome the difficulties with concept is used in all houseboats where steel or a timber hull
floods and rising sea water. To discover whether will be used as a basis to build a house. A concrete hull which
Amphibious Architecture is suitable method for India. To acts as a basement is adapted in these houses. Watertight 23
ensure the safety of life and protection from flood. centimeter thick concrete hull was prefabricated and later
Sustainable and affordable way of achieving Amphibious moved to its location. The weight of concrete hull was about
Architecture for India. To achieve the amphibious housing 70 tons and the timber house was about 22 tons. The
for low income group. Common people should understand concrete hull is resting on six concrete foundation pile.
the cause and effect of climate change and how to overcome
the change. To change our current understanding towards A buoyant foundation is a type of amphibious foundation
floating building. The proposal for this dissertation will that is specially designed to be retrofitted to an existing
provide sustainable housing for the people of India to south Louisiana shotgun house. It allows the house to sit just
create permanent amphibious structure protected from above the ground like a normal elevated house under normal
flood. conditions, but to rise up and float safely on the water when
there is a flood. It has a structural sub frame that attaches to
2.2 Amphibious Architecture the underside of the house and supports the flotation
elements, or buoyancy blocks. Extensions of the structural
Amphibious architecture is a sustainable flood mitigation
strategy that allows an ordinary structure to float on the sub frame attach to the tops of vertical guidance poles near
surface of rising floodwater rather than succumb to the corners of the house that telescope out of the ground to
inundation. A buoyancy system beneath the house displaces provide resistance to lateral forces from wind and flowing
water to provide flotation as needed, and a vertical guidance water. When flooding occurs, the flotation blocks lift the
system allows the rising and falling house to return to exactly house, with the structural sub frame transferring the forces
the same place upon descent. Amphibious architecture is a between the house, blocks and poles. The vertical guidance
flood mitigation strategy that works in synchrony with a poles keep the house from going anywhere except straight
flood prone region’s natural cycles of flooding, rather than up and down on top of the water.
attempting to obstruct them.

Fig -5: The Float House, New Orleans

Fig -4: Architectural view of Amphibious House

Amphibious design also includes the concepts of land use

planning, site selection, policy considerations and
community resilience issues such as the place of amphibious
buildings in multiple-lines-of-defense systems. Amphibious
engineering addresses issues such as infrastructure,
mechanical systems and utilities, system components and
selection criteria, and codification and certification concerns.

Fig -6: Interior Guide Poles and Sleeve Details

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2.4 Comparison with Conventional Flood-proof unable to support any load. Force developed because of
House buoyancy can result in a dangerous uplift force. Geofoam
should be treated to resist insect infestation. Insects like ants
There are many appealing factors that encourage can burrow into the geofoam and will weaken the material.
homeowners and developers to opt for prefabricated
housing rather than traditional construction. A significant 3. CONCLUSIONS
factor in many circumstances is the relative low cost of
prefabricated construction. While the scope of prefabricated Amphibious buildings are proven low impact flood
homes ranges from mobile homes to very sizeable protection strategy that gives a community enhanced flood
permanent housing, the reduction of on-site labour in most resilience and improves its ability to recover from disaster.
cases greatly reduces the cost of building a new house. In When flooding occurs the water dwelling vertically rises
remote locations, where labour is sparse and/or expensive, with the water levels to remain safely above water then
pre-manufactured houses allow the construction of a house settles back into places as the water recedes. Successful
to take place by fewer individuals who only require a general amphibious foundation system are functioning in the
understanding of foundations and assembly instructions, Netherland, New Orleans, Sausalito and Bangladesh, they can
rather than bringing in various tradesmen from surrounding provide flood protection that is more reliable and more
cities. convenient than the permanent static elevations.

As compared to conventional housing construction process, Amphibious construction, though not a new concept, has
the majority of the construction process of amphibious home been growing in popularity over the past decade. The
takes place in a factory. In case of amphibious housing, it is implementation of buoyant foundations as both retrofit and
not at the mercy of factors such as seasonal climates or new construction could provide benefit to communities at
weather conditions, which frequently delay the completion high risk of chronic flooding, from applications in New
of projects. Also, since many of these houses are mass- Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward to slums in Bangladesh, and
manufactured models, whether for panelized structures or elsewhere around the world. Amphibious construction is a
manufactured homes, often a substantial part, if not the low-impact hurricane mitigation strategy that provides flood
entire manufactured product will already have been protection without increasing exposure to strong winds. It is
constructed even before it is purchased, allowing the an innovative approach that is rapidly gaining acceptance
transportation and/or assembly of the product to begin and finding application around the globe.
immediately.
Amphibious foundations are a proven, low-cost, low-impact
2.5 Advantages and Limitations flood protection strategy that can increase a flood-prone
community's resilience in the face of disaster. This low-
impact technology thus provides houses with an even
The major advantage of Float house is that the residents can greater resilience to rising flood levels than PSE, without
stay in home during flood. Buoyant foundation project has increasing the exposure of the structure to the more
proved it can withstand extreme flooding by fitting the EPS regularly occurring strong winds.
block to the existing house. Low density but it gives high
strength. It will not break down so it will not spread into The long term view that is necessary in taking account of
surrounding soil. It can be installed by hand using simple climate change also enables us to view other issues with the
tools so this eliminates the investment and operation costs same horizon of opportunity facilitating new solution to
of heavy machinery. Geofoam is quick to install and can be spatial planning and the location of settlements, best
installed during any type of weather. The LIFT house has practice in building design, infrastructure development and
proved low cost amphibious homes for Bangladesh people. environmental flood defense. Therefore, it is time to evolve a
Using of low cost material and locally available material can new relationship with water to ask what is possible of design
improve the vernacular character of the place and also and construction and begin to look toward a flooded future
efficiency of the structure. with confidence and imagination.

Some of its limitations are as follows- This cannot be REFERENCES

constructed as a multistoried building. Also, it is subjected to
strong external loadings due to wind, rain, ice and other [1] English E., “Amphibious Foundations and the buoyant
environmental conditions. There are restrictions to esthetic foundation project: Innovative Strategies for Flood-
view as there is limitations of size and shape of the house. resilient Housing,” a paper presented at the Road Map
Along with this, height limitations are restricted to the Towards a Flood Resilient Urban Environment
International Conference on Urban Flood Management,
mooring post height. Untreated geofoam is easily affected by 25-27 November 2009, Paris, France.
fire. If geofoam comes in contact with a petroleum solvent it
will immediately turn into glue type substances, making it

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 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 06 Issue: 01 | Jan 2019 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

[2] Sandhya K. (Reg. no.313012251023) April 2016,

“Amphibious Architecture in India,” Da Vinci School of
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[3] Elisabeth English, Natasha Klink and Scott Turner,

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[4] ICAADE 2015, First International Conference on

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http://icaade2015.wixsite.com/icaade-2015

[5] Buoyant Foundation Project, Inc.

www.buoyantfoundation.org

[6] Mohamad Ibrahim Mohamad, Mohammad Ali Nekooie,

Zulhilmi Bin Ismail and Roohollah Taherkhani, “
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[7] Case study of ‘The Thames Amphibious House’.

www.construction21.org

BIOGRAPHIES
Tejas Urkude
Pursuing B.E. in Civil Engineering
D. Y. Patil College of Engineering,
Akurdi.

Amarchand Kumar
Pursuing B.E. in Civil Engineering
D. Y. Patil College of Engineering,
Akurdi.
Email-

Apoorva Upadhye
Pursuing B.E. in Civil Engineering
D. Y. Patil College of Engineering,
Akurdi.
Email-

Madhura Padwal
Pursuing B.E. in Civil Engineering
D. Y. Patil College of Engineering,
Akurdi.
Email-

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