3.5.3.FLOATING BUILDING INTERVENTION, THAILAND

3.5.3. FLOATING BUILDING INTERVENTION, SITE SPECIFIC & PREFAB LABROTORY, THAILAND, 2010

Figure 63: Floating building intervention, Thailand, by architects Site-specific and Prefab Laboratory (Meinhold, 2011). 86

FLOATING BUILDING TYPOLOGY _

Thailand has an increasing flooding problem; as a result, two architecture firms, Site-Specific and Prefab Laboratory, worked together to create a solution that could permanently solve the property damaging and lifethreatening issues. They proposed a floating building typology that can rise and fall with water (Meinhold, 2011).

Figure 64: Floating modular building intervention

Figure 65: Floating building intervention, 3D perspectives of different design options based on the same typology (Meinhold, 2011). 88

SUSTAINABLE MODULAR SYSTEM _

Different building prototypes were investigated to accommodate the communities’ needs; using affordable and resilient housing typologies. The building structure is constructed on top of a prefabricated steel floating system places on top of a concrete trench. The dwelling is fixed to the trench with a slip-column system that lets the house move up and down as the water tide rises and lowers. As flooding occurs, water first pools in the trench and when the trench reaches its total capacity, the home will start to float before significant damages occur. Aspects like rainwater collection, solar and wind power systems, and protected food storage areas allow residents to feed the community when city utilities fail. As the building floats, no property is damaged or lost, and people can continue to live as usual, through traveling by boat from dwelling to dwelling (Meinhold, 2011).

Aspects taken and used from the precedent include:

• Use materials and methods like a steel frame and sheet metal roofs strategically designed to catch rainwater that is strong enough to withstand exterior forces. • A modular system with load-bearing exterior walls allows individual interior infill development (Meinhold, 2011). This relates to the proposed project’s aim to provide for individual infill specific to their needs. • Designing a trench-like element, either in front or underneath the floating typology, to absorb most of the impact forces of a flash flood to minimize damages to the buildings. Implementing this strategy will also extend the reaction time; the trenches will indicate a flood that will allow residents to evacuate to a safe area before damages occur.