Floating Architecture in Flood Prone-Area

Abstract

The floating architecture allows for dealing with the damage that has been promoted to the environment and herbal resources by providing extra space and electricity assets for humans. A futuristic perspective starts evolvingby reviewing the want for floating systems and their scope for the improvement & increase of towns. As known India is extremely prone to floods. More than 40 million hectares (MHA) are flood-prone. Floods are a common occurrence that kills many people and destroys livelihoods, property, infrastructure, and public services. Flood-related damage is on the rise, which is the reason for concern. This can be ascribed to a variety of factors, including rapid growth in population, rapid urbanization, increased development and commercial activity in flood plains, and global warming. (National Disaster Management Athority, India, n.d.) In the northern regions where people are forced to relocate during the season as a preventive measure floating structures can be of great relief. Either by replacement in a few construction techniques or by incorporating certain techniques from the initial stage. Principles of Floating Architecture can be used to develop residential units for people who do not need to relocate annually, and floods cause less damage to the infrastructure.

Introduction

Floating architecture is an effective approach to reduce flood damage by allowing buildings to rise and fall with water levels. Key design factors include choosing lightweight, water-resistant materials (like wood, plastic, steel), managing structure weight for stability, and ensuring a strong foundation—either floating or fixed. Compliance with local building codes and regulations is essential.

Floods, caused by heavy rain, snowmelt, or storm surges, threaten many areas such as coastal zones, river basins, low-lying, and urban regions. Increasing flood frequency due to climate change underscores the need for flood-resistant designs.

Innovative floating homes, like amphibious houses in the Netherlands, use buoyant foundations to float during floods and settle as waters recede. These solutions can be simpler and more affordable than permanent elevation methods, demonstrated by projects converting existing homes using buoyant blocks and steel frames.

Floating construction can be cost-effective due to lower land and foundation costs, prefabrication, faster assembly, reduced regulatory burdens, and adaptability for relocation or modification. Modular floating buildings are accessible for average individuals to install with basic skills and tools, provided local permissions are followed.

Two main structural principles prevail: the pontoon principle (light platforms) and the ship principle (hollow concrete boxes), both allowing buildings to rise with floodwaters. Utilities are connected via flexible systems, and many floating homes incorporate green technologies like solar panels, rainwater collection, and waste recycling to reduce environmental impact.

Prefabrication and modular building enhance affordability, quality, and accessibility without altering core floating architecture methods. These techniques also reduce operational costs and environmental footprints, making floating homes viable for flood-prone regions including India, where they hold potential for residential and tourism markets.

Various engineering techniques support floating structures, including buoyancy control, ballasting, mooring, dynamic positioning, wave energy absorption, anti-rolling tanks, motion control systems, flexible piping, and use of durable composite materials. Expertise in engineering, materials science, and oceanography is vital for safe, efficient floating designs.

Conclusion

Floating Structure configuration upholds numerous opportunities for energy-proficient plans, for example, tackling wind energy, flowing energy, and photovoltaic cells on the ocean that can be utilized to produce power. Besides, making a floating design and giving such an encounter to the client can likewise give various advantages in the way of life of the client. Albeit, through different existing contextual investigations and the ongoing information got on these designs, one can convey the end that there are not many existent issues connected with drifting engineering concerning double-dealing of another asset and that it is another worldview contrasted with the idea of development on the land. Yet, through economical arrangements and by building and fostering these designs we could sluggish the speed of corruption of environment, and land and simultaneously reward the climate by utilizing the appropriate innovation accessible to make these designs energy proficient.

References

[1] Amily, E. (2018, December 8). A Floating House to Resist the Floods of Climate Change. Retrieved from the NewYorker: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/a-floating-house-to-resist-the-floods-of-climate-change [2] Bhanumurthy P, M. V. (n.d.). Flood Disaster Management. In R. D. P.S. Roy, Remote Sensing Application. [3] Matsukawa, C. A. (December, 2011). FLOATING ARCHITECTURE. [4] Nakajima Toshio, S. Y. (August, 2021). A Study on Stability of Floating Architecture and Its Design Methodology. [5] National Disaster Management Authority, India. (n.d.). Retrieved from Floods | NDMA, GoI: https://ndma.gov.in/Natural-Hazards/Floods [6] Soni, D. K. (January 2016). Floating Houses for Flood Affected Areas. [7] Tahtamouni, B. G. (June 2014). Architectural Thesis - Floating Architecture.

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Bhasha Barjatya, Anugya Sharan. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.