RESEARCHING FLOATING FOUNDATION
T
he key ingredients required to the foundation of a floating building are strong, little maintenance and financially viable. The traditional method of using steel to build houseboat hulls in UK comes with problems: rust, high maintenance and poor longevity. However, a floating foundation made of EPS and concrete overcome these problems. Besides, these materials are eco-friendly, concrete is extremely long lasting therefore its carbon footprint is reduced over time. EPS is 96% air and 100% recyclable.1 In 2005, construction Company Dura Vermeer worked with Kingspan Unidek, a big producer of EPS to create the FlexBase system which saw the first floating greenhouse built in Naaldwijk, Netherlands. Very large floating foundation can be built using the FlexBase system. Expanded polystyrene and reinforced concrete is constructed on the water to produce floating foundations from 10 square meters to several thousand square meters. They are unsinkable and conform to the strictest requirements.2 The process of FlexBase system is patented. For normal applications such as houses, commercial buildings up to 3 levels or industrial constructions with a relatively low load, the basic EPS is supplemented with a grid of concrete beams and a concrete floor. Construction begins with a work floor consisting of EPS sheets are glued together and constructed on the water surface. The grid pattern used to develop the floating base is designed before the building is built based on the estimated building size.3
FLEXBASE SYSTEM
PRECEDENTS. Floating Green House, Naaldwijk Architect: Dura Vermeer Scale: 900 m² Realization year: 2005
Floating Pavilion Rijnhaven, Rotterdam Architect: Deltasync/PublicDomain Scale: 1,104 m² Realization year: 2010
Floating Office for Waternet, Amsterdam Architect: Attika Architekten Scale: 875 m² Realization year: 2015