AQUATECTURE | DISSERTATION REPORT | B.ARCH | NIT HAMIRPUR

AQUATECTURE: DWELLING UNITS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH WATER

B.Arch Dissertation

by

MANISH THAKUR (Roll No.: 16607)

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HAMIRPUR (H.P) – 177005, INDIA June 2020

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AQUATECTURE: DWELLING UNITS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH WATER

A DISSERTATION PROJECT Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree Of

BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE By

MANISH THAKUR (ROLL NO. 16607) Under the guidance Of AR. NEETU KAPOOR

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HAMIRPUR (H.P) – 177005, INDIA June 2020 2

Copyright @ NIT HAMIRPUR (H.P), INDIA, June 2020

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NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HAMIRPUR (HP) CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I hereby certify that the work which is being presented in the project titled ‘AQUATECTURE: DWELLING UNITS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH WATER’, is the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the DEGREE OF BACHELOR in ARCHITECTURE and submitted in Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, in an authentic record of my own work carried out during a period from January 2020 to June 2020 under the guidance of AR. NEETU KAPOOR, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur.

The matter presented in this project report has not been submitted by me for the reward of any other degree of this or any other Institute/University.

MANISH THAKUR This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best of my knowledge.

Date: AR. NEETU KAPOOR Assistant Professor Department of architecture NIT Hamirpur The Project Viva Voice Examination of MANISH THAKUR has been held on……………….

Signature of Coordinator

Signature of HOD

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DISSERTATION REPORT (2019 - 2020)

AQUATECTURE: DWELLING UNITS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH WATER

DESSERTATION GUIDE: -

SUBMITTED BY:-

AR. NEETU KAPOOR

MANISH THAKUR / 16607 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have always believed that whatever our fortune is either it is good or bad; we can always transform it by giving it meaningful values and learn from it.

On the very beginning of this report, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the people who helped me to reach out to this undertaking. Without their helpful support and contribution, I would not have made my progress this far.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my dissertation guide Ar. NEETU KAPOOR (Associate Professor, Department of Architecture) who helped me with her proper guidance to complete my dissertation work in a better manner.

I also like to express my appreciation for the support of Dr. I.P. SINGH, Professor and Head of Department for his valuable guide and support.

I would like to thank our Dissertation Co-coordinator– Dr. ANIKET SHARMA, Assistant Professor for his constant efforts and support that made this journey successful.

I wish thanks to my friends and my juniors who directly or indirectly aided me in the fruitful accomplishment of this dissertation.

Lastly, I wish to confess the support and unconditional love of my family who kept me going on and helped me in at every moment of my life in every way they can. And for that I am grateful.

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ABSTRACT

For over centuries humans has been relying on land for various activities including their living, industries, agriculture, recreation, commercial etc. Out of which living is the most important one in their everyday life. But this living of humans has to deal with the day to day disasters occurring occasionally or frequently.

One of the form of this disaster is flooding. India is a peninsular country with its three sides covered with water. It faces heavy monsoon rains and storms that causes large-scale destruction throughout the country. Perennial rivers such as Ganga, Brahmaputra, Sutlej etc. always causes flooding during cyclones and heavy monsoon. The net result of this destruction is the migration of people from affected areas.

This study is to explore the ways of creating sustainable living environment for the areas that suffers flooding continuously every year. This report will cover the techniques and ways to provide flood residents a housing that will perform great in both land and water.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………11-14

LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………..….15

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………...16-18 1.1.1

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………....….16

1.1.2

AIM AND OBJECTIVE………………………………………………...….……17

1.1.3

SCOPE AND AREA OF CONCERN……………………………………………17

1.1.4

RESEARCH APPROACH……………………………………………………….17

CHAPTER 2: CLIMATE ANALYSIS……………………………………………..…19-20 2.1 CLIMATE CHANGE…………………………………………………………………19 2.2 PROBLEMS AND EFFECTS……………………………………………………...…20

CHAPTER 3: HISTORY AND TYPES OF WATER BUILT TYPOLOGIES…...21-26 3.1

HISTORICAL ROOTS…………………………………………………………..21

3.2

TYPES OF WATER DEWLLING TYPOLOGIES…………………………..…22 3.2.1 PILE DWELLING (OR STILT HOUSE)……………………………….…22-23 3.2.2 HOUSE BOATS……………………………………………………………23-24 3.2.3 TERP DWELLING……………………………………………………….……24 3.2.4 ELEVATED HOUSE…………………………………………………...…......25 3.2.5 AMPHIBIOUS HOUSE……………………………………………………25-26

3.3 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………….…26

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CHAPTER 4: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………..…..…27-35 4.1 AMPHIBIOUS STRATEGY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO WATER………….…27 4.2 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GOING AMPHIBIOUS………27-28 4.3 GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING…………………………………………………...29 4.3.1 FLOATING CAPABILITY……………………………………………..…29 4.3.2 BUOYANT FOUNDATION………………………………………...…30-33 4.3.3 FLOATING CALCULATIONS……………………………………..…33-34 4.3.4 STRUCTURAL GUIDELINES…………………………………………....34 4.3.5 HEIGHT CACULATIONS……………………………………………...…34 4.3.6 LEVEE DESIGN AND UTILITY ACCESS……………………………….35

CHAPTER 5: CASE STUDIES………………………………………………………..36-43 5.1 LIFT HOUSE……………………………………………………………………36-40 5.2 MAASBOMMEL AMPHIBIOUS HOUSING…………………………………...41-43

CHAPTER 6: SITE ANALYSIS…………………..…………………………………....44-47 6.1 LOCATION ANALYSIS………………………………………………………...…44 6.2 KERALA FLOODS…………………………………………………………………45 6.3 KUTTANAD FLOOD ANALYSIS………………………………………..……….46 6.4 LAND USE, ACCESSIBILITY AND CENSUS……………………….………..…47

CHAPTER 7: DESIGN HOUSE……………………………….……………………….48-55 7.1 GOALS ………………………………………………………………………..…....48 7.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION………………………………………………...……48-50 7.3 ARCHITECTURAL PLANS, ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS………………50-52 7.4 CONCRETE PILE FOUNDATION……………………………………………...…52 7.5 ACCESSIBILITY AND SERVICES……………………………………………52-53 7.6 FLOATING CALCULATIONS…………………………………………………53-55 7.6.1 CALCULATION LIVE LOAD………………………………………….…53 7.6.2 CALCULATION DEAD LOAD………………………………………53-54 7.6.3 CALCULATING AREA OF FLOATING BODY…………………………54 9

7.6.4 DENSITY OF WATER……………………………………………….……54 7.6.5 FLOATING CALCULATIONS…………………………………...………55

CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION……………………….………………………..……...56

REFERENCES…………………………..……………………………………..…..57-59

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Indian Flood Vulnerability Index……………………..……………….…………..19 (Source: unesco.org) Figure 2: Reconstruction of Pile dwelling……………………………………………….…..22 (Source: unesco.org) Figure 3: Precast Square Concrete Piles…………………………………………………..…23 (Source: theconstructor.org) Figure 4: Steel Piles……………………………………………………………………….…23 (Source: theconstructor.org) Figure 5: Houseboat in Kerala…………………………………………………………….…23 (Source: britannica.com) Figure 6: Kettuvallom……………………………………………………………..……...….24 (Source: IOSR Journal of Environmental Science Dec 2012) Figure 7: Kalpathi………………………………………………………………………...….24 (Source: IOSR Journal of Environmental Science Dec 2012) Figure 8: Terp in Rungholt in Nordfriesland, Germany…………………………….…….....24 (Source: frisiacoasttrail.com) Figure 9: House uplifted on cribbing…………………………………………………….…..25 (Source: fema.gov) Figure 10: Amphibious house in Maasbommel, Netherland……………………………...…25 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 11: Diagram illustrating the behavior of an amphibious house during flood………...30 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 12: Concrete pontoons used in floating docks…………………………………...…...31 (Source: pontoon.lv) Figure 13: Floating Dock made up of EPS blocks………………………………………..….31 (Source: mtgimage.org) Figure 14: Barges transporting goods……………………………………………………..…31 (Source: mcdonoughmarine.com)

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Figure 15: Ferrocement floating hull in Chichester canal, England……………………...….33 (Source: floatinghomes.ltd.uk) Figure 16: Bamboo hut is floating on the river Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand…………...….33 (Source: dreamstime.com) Figure 17: GFRC coating by spraying…………………………………………………….….33 (Source: concretenetwork.com) Figure 18: Site Section Amphibious Developments……………………………………....….35 (Source: sciencedirect.com) Figure 19: Site Location LIFT house………………………………………..….………....….36 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 20: LIFT house…………………………………………….…………..…….…….….36 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 21: 3D Section LIFT house…………………………………………..….………....….36 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 22: Bamboo used as Columns, Floors and mats for exterior………………….…...…..37 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 23: Central RCC and Bricks Service Spine Construction………………….………….37 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 24: Ferrocement Foundation…………………………….…………………….…..….38 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 25: Waste water bottle Foundation……………………………………….………..….38 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 26: Vertical Guidance posts positions…..………………………………..………..….38 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 27: Ground Floor Plan LIFT house…..……………………………….……….…..….39 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 28: First Floor Plan LIFT house…..………………………………..….………….…..39 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 29: Section of LIFT house during normal conditions.…..………………….……..….39 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 30: Section of LIFT house during floods…..……………………………….……..….39 12

(Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 31: Section of service spine…………….…..…………………………………..….….40 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 32: Section of Compost toilet…………..…..……………………………….…….….40 (Source: The LIFT house by Prithula Prosun) Figure 33: Location Maasbommel Amphibious housing…………..…..…………………….41 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 34: Maasbommel Amphibious housing…………..…………….…………………….41 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 35: Roof installation………………….…………..………………………….….…….42 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 36: Vertical guidance posts………………….………………….…………………….42 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 37: Base foundation for the structure to rest on.…..…………….…………………….42 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 38: Ground floor plan…….………….…………..…………….…………………..….43 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 39: Basement floor plan……………….…………..…………….…………………….43 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 40: First floor plan………………….…………..…………….……………………….43 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 41: Front Elevation………………….…………..…………….……………….…..….43 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 42: Section B-B’……………………….…………..…………….………………...….43 (Source: buoyantfoundation.org) Figure 43: Six Divisions of Kuttanad Wetlands.………….…………….………………....….44 (Source: researchgate.net) Figure 44: A cumulative data of rainfall from June 1 to Aug 30, 2018 actual v/s Normal…….45 (Source: graphoverflow.com) Figure 45: Before floods on Feb 6, 2018. Captured by Landsat 8 satellite………………........46 (Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov) 13

Figure 46: After floods on August 6, 2018. Captured by Sentinel-2 satellite……………...….46 (Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov) Figure 47: Land use map of Kavalam Village……………………………………………..….47 (Source: bhuvan.nsrc.gov.in) Figure 48: Perspective view of designed house…………………………………………...….48 Figure 49: Front view……………………………………………………………………..….49 Figure 50: Side view………………………….…………………………………………...….49 Figure 51: Top view……………………………….……………………………………...….50 Figure 52: Rear view………………………….…………………………………………..….50 Figure 53: Ground floor architectural plan………………………….….…………………….50 Figure 54: First floor architectural plan and front elevation…………...…………………….51 Figure 55: Section through site A-A’…………………………………...…………………….52

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LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Ferrocement Foundation calculations…..……………………...……………...…….38 Table 2: Waste water bottle foundation calculations…………………...…………………….38 Table 3: Dead load calculations table…………………………………...………………...….54

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION The word ‘Aquatecture’ comprises of two words ‘Aqua’ (meaning water) + ‘Architecture’.

Thus, Aquatecture is defined as‘Architectural style intended to build and work with water.’

India is a peninsular country enclosed by Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea on three sides. The country falls in the monsoon climate zone of South Asia. Due to monsoon movement almost, 80-90% of annual rain drops over most of country parts during summer monsoon season.

During these periods, cyclonic disturbances from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal produces extensive and dense rainfall, which frequently causes severe floods in Indian rivers. As per NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) out of India’s total geographical area i.e. 329 million hectares, more than 40 million hectares is flood prone.

Flood is the most common Disaster of India and causes huge losses to lives, properties. The most flood prone regions are Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins. These two rivers alone carry country’s 60% of total river flow. The other regions includes Mahanadi, Narmada, Tapti, Krishna and Cauvery river basins.

The people in the affected area experiences huge losses and grievances destroying their homes, their communities, their networks, their support system, their very way of life. Most people do not come back to their homes because their homes were unliveable. Looking into the matter, there is a need of designing a new residence for these areas to withstand the rising water levels that will eliminate the rebuild process after flood and thereby providing healthier and safer living conditions.

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1.2 AIM & OBJECTIVE 

The aim is to study and explore aquatecture as a new method for construction of houses along riverside or on flooding zones.



To develop more understanding toward floating structures.



To study the present day techniques for water adaptable living units.



To incorporate the design into Indian environment with available resources and methods of construction.

1.3 SCOPE & AREA OF CONCERN 

The scope will be limited to the dwelling units focusing on adaptable design during rise in water conditions such as floods to cater the design need of such areas concerned with regular flooding every year.

1.4 RESEARCH APPROACH The research is divide into eight chapters, Chapter 2 discusses the image of climate change and the problem arise due to it such as floods, global warming, rise in sea levels, unconditional rains, and other problems focusing mainly on floods provided India’s flood vulnerability index.

Chapter 3 discusses the historical roots and techniques used in different areas of the world to counter rise in water levels. The techniques includes Stilt houses, Houseboats, Elevated houses, Terps and the newly concept of amphibious housing focusing mainly on construction materials and foundations.

Chapter 4 discusses broadly the new concept of amphibious housing with its advantages and disadvantages providing its relationship with water and living. Providing various literatures and guidelines for designing which includes, floating capability, buoyant foundation, material used, floating calculations, utility support to house and height calculations.

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Chapter 5 expands the data by providing case studies adopted for low cost and average housing for the people in Bangladesh and Netherland. This chapter discusses the materials and techniques used by them provided the architectural plans and sections.

Chapter 6 covers the site analysis of the design house in Kuttanad taluk of Kerala. This section also includes the flood analysis data of Kerala in 2018 including land use and census data of the location.

Chapter 7 includes the main design proposed for the Kerala flood prone regions. This chapter cover all the necessary data including architectural plans, sections, elevations and the material required their assessment and floating calculations. Floating calculations includes dead load calculation, live load calculations. Based on these data the total load of the structure is calculated and its level below water and total amount of load it can carry is estimated.

Chapter 8 includes the discussions and conclusions from the research. It discussed how we could establish a new relationship with water and see it as our friend not our enemy giving it space instead of blocking its path by providing aquatectural amphibious dwelling units.

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CHAPTER 2 CLIMATE ANALYSIS 2.1 CLIMATE CHANGE Indian coastline consists of a total 7516.6 km of length (including Continental: 5422.6 km and Island Territories: 2094 km) which are mostly vulnerable to natural disasters like high tides, floods, rising sea levels, which are the results of global warming resulting in global climate variation.

Gases like Carbon Dioxide, Methane are the main cause of increasing overall temperature. Melting of glaciers will lead to a higher threat of floods along the coastline globally with some small islands possibly be completely submerged underwater. As said by the World Bank, an average increment 2°C of world’s temperature will make the India’s monsoon more unpredictable within next few decades.

Figure1: Indian Flood Vulnerability Index

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2.2 PROBLEMS AND EFFECTS

Global average surface temperature will increase by 1.1–6.4° C within few decades, depending partially on upcoming drifts in energy use. Warming will be extreme over land and at high latitudes. Rise in sea level is expected to continue at an alarming rate. Indian coastline is susceptible to coastal floods, tsunami, hurricanes and cyclones. A little increment in occurrence and severity of these life-threatening climate events or variation in coastline is likely to have devastating effects and can cause residents displacement from the affected area. These displaced people are likely to experience various health consequences like– infectious, nutritional, traumatic, psychological, and other harsh experiences causing conflict situations, economic dislocation, and stoppage to the economic growth of affected area.

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CHAPTER 3 HISTORY AND TYPES OF WATER BUILT TYPOLOGIES

3.1 HISTORICAL ROOTS

For over centuries, people have been finding their way to counter rise of water level during storm in coastal and riverside areas. Some of them are common and is used over centuries while other are new technique used in particular region and has proven more effective.

Historically, water has been the prime source of communication with the other parts of the world.

It has been the most used mode of transportation and is an important lifeline of a nation. Water is an overpowering element of the nature. It wear down and reshapes the land in every season. The monsoon rains washes away the lands every year with great intensity. The people of these regions makes their accommodations for it and have their own construction techniques to counter these flooding conditions.

Historically, elevating the house was the only idea, which lead to the different ways of construction in different areas. Afterwards, Nomads modified their boats to use it as their homes because canals and rivers often passes through many urban and industrial areas. Later on in some areas of Thailand, some traditional communities in flood prone regions people have been floating their houses by simply putting bundles of bamboos tied under their houses so that they would be like rafts. When the rains came, they tied their houses with trees so that float up and settle down without floating away. This was a unique strategy as the structure behaves like an amphibious unit serving its purpose in land as well as in water.

Nowadays this strategy is of floating the house during flooding is modified and named as ‘Amphibious Houses’. Which has the capability to rise and float during flooding.

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3.2 TYPES OF WATER DEWLLING TYPOLOGIES Water dwelling units can be categorized based on type of foundation used and their performance in water. Most of these techniques were employed in different parts of the world for centuries in while others are newer approach however; each type has proven resilient toward flooding conditions.

These includes: 1. Pile dwelling (or stilt house).

2. House Boats.

3. Terp Dwelling.

4. Elevated Residential Structures.

5. Amphibious Houses.

3.2.1 PILE DWELLING (OR STILT HOUSE) Pile dwelling or Stilt houses are the houses elevated on piles or stilts over the surface of soil or a body of water. These dwelling can be constructed on top of concrete, bamboo, steel or wooden poles.

These houses can be set up in shallow water, coastal areas, or lakes where changes in the water level is expected to happen periodically. These houses are

Figure 2: Reconstruction of Pile dwellings.

constructed mainly as a protection against heavy rainfall and flooding. These houses are raised over 2.5–6m from ground.

Stilts houses generally built of bamboo, timber, thatch and RC posts. Timber pilings have been employed for over 6,000 years and still it is one of the mostly used type in driven piles. Timber is often employed in pile foundations because of its availability and renewable resource. Because of its lightweight, timber can be easily handled, driven and cut and there is no need of any machinery.

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Concrete piling may be pre-cast or cast in-situ, and they can be strengthened by reinforcing and even can be prestressed. They don’t corrode easily like steel piles or decay like wooden piles. Availability of concrete is more than steel. Pre-cast concrete piles can be designed into any shape or moulded with respect to required length and Figure 3: Precast Square Concrete piles.

size.

Steel pilings can be designed into a variety of range of shapes however the most used steel pile types have round, X-shaped or H-shaped cross sections. They are strong, are incredible for driving into surface especially in firm soil.

They can be cut and joined by welding. The steel pilings can last as long as 100 years, but they are prone to corrosion, especially when immersed in water.

Figure 4: Steel Piles

3.2.2 HOUSE BOATS A houseboat is typically a boat modified to be used as living house. A houseboat can be a stationary boat or can have its own motorized power to move. They can be 45 feet (14 meters) to 100 feet (30 meters) in length or more. It is used to transport people, fishing, commercial purpose and for living by poor. The earliest construction of houseboats in southwestern India was started around 3,000 BC. They were mostly

Figure 5: Houseboat in Kerala.

employed for transportation of merchandise, spices and rice. They are also employed for transporting passengers.

The two methods of building houseboats in Kerala are the Kettuvallom and Kalpathi. 

In Kettuvallom, knots held the entire boat together and not a single nail is used.

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

In Kalpathi, the boat is constructed from ‘Anhili’ wood and the planks are joined by means

of riveting.

Figure 7: Kalpathi.

Figure 6: Kettuvallom.

The materials used for houseboat construction includes Anjhili wood, Bamboo, Coir, Marine Plywood, Chicken mesh, Rivet, Fiberglass.

The houseboats in Northern India are called as ‘Shikara’ or ‘Donga’ boat made up of Deodar tree trunks of 20m in length. While the houseboats in Southern India is known as ‘Kettuvallom’ or ‘Kalpathi’ boat.

3.2.3 TERP DWELLING A terp is an artificial mound (mainly found on the North European Plain) that has been shaped to provide safe ground during storms, high tides and sea or river flooding. The origin of terps dwelling units were around 500BC on Dutch coast. These terps are mainly found in coastal areas of Germany, Denmark and Netherland.

During the continuous stormy weather, the water level in coastal region rises. In order to protect their houses

Figure 8: Terp in Rungholt in Nordfriesland, Germany

and keep them dry, people of these regions used to build their houses on high terps. These terps were built around 10-15m high to provide safeguard during storms and keep the house dry and safe. The terp dwelling stays dry until a full water level reaches.

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3.2.4 ELEVATED RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES Elevating a structure is an effective retrofitting technique to prevent floodwaters from reaching damageable portions. To avoid damage, the building is uplifted so that the lowest floor is above the Design Flood Elevation (DFE). The structure is uplifted by means of heavy-duty jacks and is wooden cribbing is placed underneath the structure. A new extended

Figure 9: House uplifted on cribbing.

foundation and support is built underneath the structure. The elevation is added to a house by building new support walls, foundations such as , piers, posts, piles, and columns.

Additional protection must be taken into considered before executing this approach as the structure may experience additional wind forces on wall and roof systems, and the existing footings may encounter extra loading than it is designed for. The guidelines and amount of elevation added to a house in a particular region of United Stated is given by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

3.2.5 AMPHIBIOUS HOUSES An amphibious house is a house, which is built on land but has the capability to float when the water level increases during flooding. An amphibious house does not float permanently like houseboats or floating houses. It settles down to its original position as soon as water level decreases. The design policy of these houses is strictly to follow the principle of buoyancy. The vertical guidance posts aids in

Figure 10: Amphibious house in Maasbommel, Netherland.

vertical movement of the house allowing it to remain at same place while moving up and down with increase and decrease of water levels.

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An amphibious house consist of a hollow basement, which aids in attaining buoyancy. These houses are suitable for the place, which is prone to moderate rise in water levels but has rarely experienced extreme flooding. An amphibious hose is different from a floating house or houseboat in terms of services, which is connected to municipal lines all time whereas floating houses or houseboats has all the utility services within the structure. Successful amphibious houses are functioning in New Orleans, Netherland, Bangladesh and Sausalito.

3.3

SUMMARY From above types, we seen that people have been using different strategies to defend

themselves against rising water level. Some of them proven good while some of them had their own limitations. Out of all of which, amphibious dwelling units have proven most effective in managing lifestyle during all conditions because of their ability to rise and settle back down as nothing happened there while all services. Instead of fighting against water, it works with waters and offers all the comfort and safety a house has to offer. Although the design has quite limitations but it also provides several opportunities for a designer to work on it and overcome those limitations by improving it.

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CHAPTER 4 LITERATURE REVIEW

4.1

AMPHIBIOUS STRATEGY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO WATER

Water has always been an essential and beautiful gift of nature. It can sometimes be friendly with people or sometimes more than worse. However, during floods instead of fighting against water, we must give it space to follow it path and do not to cause any obstruction for it that is what aquatectural amphibious houses does. Instead of obstructing its path, it floats and gives the space for water allowing it to flow freely. That is what designed to work with water means. This strategy looks water as a friend and works as friends are meant to be.

Amphibious houses ensures double land use space for living and space for water. It demands no big changes from our usual living style because most of the time the house remains on land providing all the comforts any conventional house has to offer. The only change will be that it floats and rises up during floods instead of getting into path of water like conventional houses, thus the house will save itself.

An amphibious house consists of following main components: 

Buoyant foundation.



Wet dock and debris control.



Vertical guidance posts.



Flexible utility connections.

4.2 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GOING AMPHIBIOUS

WHY AMPHIBIOUS

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During floods, many people have to abandon their houses because of water level rise. This rise in water level can take up to months to settle back down destroying the houses, livelihood and including public utilities. It may take a year to restore all the things back to normal but the threat of the disaster to hit again is also a problem. This results in a large amount of migration of people from those areas to somewhere. There had to be a better way so that homes were not damaged and people can move back to their homes after the flood and continue to live their life. So what if the houses can get out of the way of the floods that is what an amphibious house does. Unlike the stilts houses or elevated houses where the height is fixed, an amphibious house rises above the flood level saving the house and settles back down after floods like nothing happened.

ADVANTAGES OF GOING AMPHIBIOUS 

Residents of the house can stay safely inside the house even during floods.



These houses remain on ground under normal conditions and rise during flooding.



The house stays connected to all the municipal services and can even function during floods.



Amphibious houses have proven excellent in resisting floods and has the ability to recover from disaster.



These houses are proven a better solution for low cost houses in flood prone regions.

DISADVANTAGES OF GOING AMPHIBIOUS 

These houses are restricted to aesthetic views, as there are limitations of size and shape of the house.



There are height restrictions up to the height of guidance post.



The house must be loaded symmetrically to preserve even levelling on each sides.



The house is subjected to stronger external forces including wind, rain etc.



There is also limitations to number of floors.

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4.3 GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING There are specific standards and guidelines to be followed to design an amphibious residence to be liveable and perfect replacement for conventional houses. For an aquatectural, amphibious design to be of proper functioning the following criteria has to be followed: 

Floating Capability.



Buoyant foundation.



Floating calculations.



Structural Guidelines.



Height calculations.



Levee design and utility access.

4.3.1 FLOATING CAPABILITY For a structure to float, it must follow the principle of buoyancy. In addition, the ability of a material not absorb water and its density affects its floating capability.

As, Density = Mass Volume i.e. If the density of a material is less than water, then it will float and, If the density of a material is more than water, then it will not float.

Principle of buoyancy: According to principle of buoyancy or Archimedes principle, if an object displaces a volume of water weighing greater than the object, then it will float. Similarly if an object displace a volume of water weighing less than the object then the structure will not float.

In our case, if the total weight of the complete house (along with the dead load and live load) need to be less than the volume of the water displaced by the buoyant foundation only then the house will float. Therefore, lightweight construction is preferred for the houses along with watertight foundation, walls and floors.

29

4.3.2 BUOYANT FOUNDATION The most essential parts of an amphibious house is the buoyant foundation. It is the only solution to keep the structure on land under normal conditions and to elevate it during flooding conditions.

It is similar to a floating dock where floating blocks is attached underside the dock holding onto their positions by steel or wooden frames. In addition, a buoyant foundation has guidance poles, which restricts horizontal movements of the structure allowing it to go only up and down.

Figure 11: Diagram illustrating the behavior of an amphibious house during floods.

Under Normal Conditions,

With rise in water level

During

floods,

the

The foundation will act as

above the float line, the

foundation will completely

conventional foundations.

foundation will begin to

attain buoyancy enabling the

float.

house to float permanently.

Selection of material is very important criteria. The material should resist water intake and must have weight less than that of water.

Some of the materials currently used for buoyant foundations are: 1. Pontoons.

2. EPS blocks.

3. Barges.

4. Ferro cement.

5. Bamboo.

6. GFRC.

30

1. PONTOONS: Pontoons are air-filled structures that aids in providing buoyancy to a structure. These are mainly used in making boats, docks, platforms and even floating houses.

A pontoon can be a

hollow metal cylinder or flat-bottomed concrete block filled with plastic and foam. They are made watertight and are resistant to water. Concrete pontoons have

Figure 12: Concrete Pontoons used in floating docks

high load bearing capacity and are even used in construction of pontoon bridges.

2. EPS BLOCKS: EPS blocks nowadays are being used for the construction of floating docks, platforms, and even floating

houses.

The

Expanded

Polystyrene (EPS) is a material with excellent insulation, resistant to water properties with low density enabling it to float even with specific amount of load. A cubic foot of an EPS block can float 60lbs

Figure 13: Floating dock made up of EPS blocks.

of weight i.e. an EPS block of size 30.5cm x 30.5cm x 30.5cm can float a body of weight 27.2kg and the water level will be just at the top of the block.

3. BARGES: A barge is a uniformly bottomed floating structure or boat.

Barges

were

used

originally

in

transportation of heavy bulky goods.

They are made up of steel, hollow cylindrical drums and even from concrete. Nowadays, barges are used in transportation of coal, sand, goods,

Figure 14: Barges transporting goods.

31

shipping containers, etc. They are also used in construction of houseboats and floating houses.

4. FERROCEMENT: A ferrocement is a construction material and is a form of RCC. It consists of several layers of thin wire mesh completely encapulated in a mortar. The mortar used is very mixture of cement and sand in 3:1 ratio. Due to its thickness, light weight,

impact

resistance

and

water

tightness properties, it is widely used in marine applcations. It is mainly used in the

Figure 15: Ferro cement Floating Hull in Chichester Canal, England

construction of a hull of a ship, floating foundations, floating docks, floating pontoons etc.

Ferrocement can be fabricated into any desired shape as per requirements. They are durable, cheaper, easily available and don’t require heavy machinery.

5. BAMBOO: Bamboos have been used as construction of low cost houses during ancient times. Being a versatile material, it has properties of lesser weight and high strength. Beside its incredible strength, it is 00also being used as a medium to float the houses so that they behave like rafts during floods in traditional communities of Thailand. However, only treated bamboo

Figure 16: Bamboo hut is floating on the river Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

must been employed for floating purposes as untreated bamboo can provide its service for only less than one year in seawater. With proper treatment, we can get an increment of 35 years of service life depending upon the age and species of bamboo.

6. GFRC: GFRC stands for Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete. It is concrete mixture of cement, glass fibres, aggregates and polymers. Unlike conventional RCC, here glass fibres are used as a reinforcing material and therefore the resulting concrete has thinner sections 32

as compared to conventional concrete. It has tensile strength higher than that of steel, which depends upon the quantity of glass fibres content, and has high strength to weight ratio. It is weather proof and fireproof material. Unlike traditional RCC, it does not corrode because of glass fibres is being used as reinforcing material rather than steel. A

Figure 17: GFRC coating by spraying.

GFRC coating can be used to make the exteriors waterproof and weatherproof by just spraying the concrete onto the exteriors.

4.3.3 FLOATING CALCULATIONS For the house to float during floods, the buoyant force must counter the total load of house (including dead and live load) as per the principle of buoyancy. For example, imagine a cube of volume 1đ?‘š3 is half submerged into water with some loads on top of it. The volume of water displace by it will be 1/2đ?‘š3. Which means the total weight structure will be equal to the volume of water displace by cube i.e. 1/2đ?‘š3 which is equal to 500kg (as density of normal water is 1000kg/đ?‘š3 and varies with change in conditions.).

As per Archimedes principle, Weight of displaced water (WDisplaced water) – Weight of the buoyant foundation (Wfoundation) = Weight of the house (Whouse) Therefore, the basic equation for floating construction is: U = G / (A x P) Where:

U

is the vertical drop below the water line (m)

G

is the total load of the construction (kN)

A

is the area of the floating body (m²)

P

is the density of water (kN/mÂł)

33

The dead load of the house depends upon the material used for construction and includes selfweight of the whole structure including foundation. The dead load can be estimated by multiplying the amount of area (m²) of each material comprising the structure with the material weight per running metre (kg/ m²).

The live load is the load of the residents of the building including furnitures. The live load of the house can be calculated as per IS 875-2 (1987), minimum UDL (Uniformly Distributed Load for a residential dwelling is 2 kN/đ?‘š2 . Total live load of the building is calculated by multiplying the total area of the house with minimum UDL.

4.3.4 STRUCTURAL GUIDELINES

For the whole structure to rest on, a separate concrete foundation must be used. As the soil along the riverside and floody area are mostly clayey, therefore deep foundations must be preferred instead of shallow foundation. They transfer the load of the structure into the deeper solid layer of earth. Concrete Cast in Situ piles are preferred for deep foundations and structural engineers give its size, load, depth etc.

To make the structure float the selected material should be of lightweight material. Heavy construction must be avoided. The material used should be waterproof and should promote insulation. The material should also promote passive heating and cooling to promote sustainability.

A further measure to reduce the weight of the building can be done by using lightweight wood framing doors and windows.

4.3.5 HEIGHT CALCULATIONS The total height of the floods are need to be analyzed from past records and future estimated rise of water level is predicted. Based on these analysis the height up to which up to which the house can float during floods is calculated. This gives us the height of the vertical guidance poles which are responsible to hold the structure on a fixed position allowing only vertical up and down movements.

34

The submerged depth of the buoyant foundation is also need to be calculated. This is the depth from surface of water to the bottom of the buoyant foundation and depends upon the total load of the structure. This depth will increase by increase in the weight of the structure.

4.3.6 LEVEE DESIGN AND UTILITY ACCESS

A river embankments or Levees are built across the riverside areas and are used to restrict the flood from going into the major areas like industrial areas, agricultural areas or a part of the city. The design of these levees are done as per IS 12094 (2000). These levees can be used, as a medium to run municipal services such as electricity, sewage for amphibious houses ensuring the residents will have same facilities as house a house constructed on land.

Figure 18:

Site Section Amphibious Developments.

In addition to this, the service mains from these municipal lines are connected to the amphibious houses by means of umbilical cables that stretches vertically as the house moves up and down.

35

CHAPTER 5 CASE STUDIES 5.1

LIFT HOUSE LOCATION: 120/3, Darussalam Mirpur Rd, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Figure 19:

Site Location LIFT house.

HOUSE TYPE: Amphibious.

WATER TYPE: Fresh Water.

BUOYANT MATERIAL: Waste water bottle and Ferrocement foundation.

Figure 20:

LIFT house.

Figure 21:

3D Section LIFT house.

36

•

LIFT stands for ‘Low Income Flood-Proof Technology’.

•

The design aims for communities found in low lying, flood-prone regions of Dhaka and has capable of floating in increasing water.

•

Each two-unit dwellings are made of bamboo and offers living and sleeping accommodations for a single household.

•

The central brick spine provides plumbing, utilities and rainwater storage cisterns.

•

Bamboo was chosen as the building material due to its flexibility, lightweight, ecofriendly benefits and lesser in cost.

•

The bamboo chosen for the LIFT house was roughly 3 inches in diameter.

•

The service spine is made out of brick and RCC.

•

The top portion of the service spine is operational for exterior space contains bamboo railing connected with steel rods, concrete and steel clamps.

Figure 22:

Bamboo used as Columns, floors and mats for exterior.

Figure 23: Central RCC and Bricks Service Spine Construction.

37

Two amphibious foundations employed in the LIFT house are: 1. Ferrocement Foundation.

2. Waste Water bottle Foundation.

Figure 24: Ferrocement Foundation.

Table 1: Ferrocement Foundation calculations

•

Figure 25: Waste water bottle foundation.

Table 2: Waste water bottle Foundation calculations.

The only drawback was the building’s tendency to tip over when in water. This was considered in design and vertical guidance posts is incorporated in to restrict this movement.

Figure 26: Vertical Guidance posts positions.

38

Ground Floor Plan: 

The

two

amphibious

dwelling

is

connected to the service spine. 

The dwelling 1 is made up of empty used bottle foundation and the dwelling 2 is made

up

of

hollow

ferrocement

foundation.

Figure 27: Ground Floor Plan, LIFT house

First Floor Plan: •

The first floor is accessed by internal staircase.

•

At this level, the service spine is useable and consists of toilets, kitchens.

Figure 28: First Floor Plan, LIFT house.

Figure 29: Section of LIFT house during normal conditions.

Figure 30: Section of LIFT house during floods.

SERVICES •

Electricity is generated from two, 60-Watt solar panels, which powers lights and fans. The top of the service spine becomes a walkway that provides exterior working space and elevated access to neighboring.

•

The two water cisterns have a combined capacity of 48,000L, which is enough for 10 residents during the dry season.

39

•

The top slab of the service spine and the roof of the two dwellings collects enough rainwater, which passes through a filter that traps dirt and is collected in rainwater cistern.

Figure 31: Section of service spine.

Figure 32: Section of Compost Toilet.

CONCLUSION: •

The house does not affect the natural environment but works according to it.

•

The service spine provides access to water, electricity and sanitation throughout the year without linking to city service mains.

•

The dwelling is linked to the service spine with strong steel vertical guidance posts that restricts the tipping of house during floods allowing it to only move up and down.

•

The project was intended to safeguard the lifestyle of low-income families.

40

5.2

MAASBOMMEL AMPHIBIOUS HOUSING LOCATION: Bovendijk, 6627 KS Maasbommel, Netherland

Figure 33: Location Maasbommel Amphibious housing.

WATER TYPE: Fresh Water.

HOUSE TYPE: Amphibious.

BUOYANCY MATERIALS: Concrete with Reinforcement bars.

SIZE: 2,865 ft²

Figure 34: Maasbommel Amphibious houses.

41

CONSTRUCTION: •

Buoyancy elements used are the large hollow RCC boxes.

•

Maasbommel amphibious system is comprises of a 70ton RCC box that comprises the basement on which the wooden superstructure is constructed.

•

The two RCC boxes are semi-detached pairs connected by a deck.

•

Two of giant steel pillars holds each pair and the pillars

Figure 35: Roof installation.

are driven deep into the ground.

•

For more stability, the two houses share a single platform.

•

The superstructure is constructed from lightweight, wooden construction to ensure optimum buoyancy.

•

The shared platform is penetrated by two 15-foot giant steel vertical guidance posts.

•

The guidance posts can handle a water level of 5.5 meters above ground, ensuring the house do not float away with the flowing water.

•

Services such as water, sewage and electricity are provided by means of flexible pipes, which are designed to work even when the house is floating.

•

Figure 36: Vertical Guidance posts.

The house is made up of pre-fabricated timber frame including the roof and are assembled on site.

•

The interiors are bright and naturally ventilated.

•

The house comprised of total three storeys. The basement aids in providing buoyancy as well as some of its portion is also being used as a storage area.

Figure 37: Base foundation for the structure to rest on.

42

ARCHITECTURAL PLANS, SECTIONS, ELEVATIONS:

Figure 38: Ground floor plan.

Figure 41: Front Elevation.

Figure 39: Basement floor plan.

Figure 40: First floor plan.

Figure 42: Section B-B’.

CONCLUSION •

Maasbommel project employed the use of assembled components for the roof and covering.

•

Maasbommel project used hollow boxes (made of concrete) as the flotation device.

•

Maasbommel project connects two housing units centrally by sharing a common platform, which is also a drawback of the project as it forces the neighborhood to come closer.

•

The Basement forms up as the buoyant foundation to hold the wooden superstructure.

43

CHAPTER 6 SITE ANALYSIS

6.3 LOCATION ANALYSIS

Kuttanad is a region that covers the three districts of Kerala (i.e. Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta). This region is has an altitude of about 1.2 to 3.0 m below sea level and has the lowest altitude in India. The area is famous for its Biosaline Farming, which is declared Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by Food and Agriculture Organization ((FAO).

Four major rivers flow through the region: 1. Achankovil 2. Meenachil 3. Manimala 4. Pamba

Site Location: Vill. Kavalam, Kuttanad Taluk, Alappuzha Distt., Kerala

Village Kavalam is located on the borders of Alappuzha and Kottayam districts on the bank of the river Pamba. It is the third longest flowing river in Kerala

after

Periyar

and

Bharathappuzha.

Figure 43: Six Divisions of Kuttanad Wetlands.

44

7.1 KERALA FLOODS 2018:

Kerala has two rainy seasons, the first starts in July and the second in mid-October and ends in mid-November. The 1st monsoon rains in Kerala falls during the month of July till the end of August and the normal cumulative rainfall is about 1795.4 mm. However, during the period from 1st July to 17th of August 2018, the monsoon got a cumulative rainfall of more than 2428.9 mm.

Because of this, water level in all the dams has risen close to the overflow level and decided to open the dams.

As per the past records of last 140 years explains that the lastly recorded highest rainfall in Kerala occurred in 1907, which was almost 900 mm i.e. 175% higher than the normal. During 2018 till August 21, the rainfall has been recorded 780 mm, which is 150% higher than the normal as said by the Director of IMD.

Figure 44: A cumulative data of rainfall from June 1 to Aug 30, 2018 actual v/s normal.

45

6.3 KUTTANAD FLOOD ANALYSIS

During the year 2018, between July and August, Kuttanad Taluk of Kerala had experienced a devastating three times flood which forced lakhs of people to leave their houses and migrate to safer place. The water levels in the rivers Achankovil, Meenachil, Manimala and Pamba rose gradually over the safety level and water spread out rapidly causing floods.00

Figure 45: Before floods on Feb. 6, 2018, Captured by Landsat 8 satellite.

Figure 46: After floods on August. 6, 2018, Captured by Sentinel-2 satellite.

Approximately 1,70,000 residents were affected in Central Kerala’s Alappuzha district.

Kuttanad is known as Kerala’s rice bowl. More than 10,000 hectares of paddy fields were destroyed due to floods.

As the water level receded, the people came back to their homes and started to rebuild their houses.

The government provided 4 Lakh for each family to completely rebuild their houses.

The financial aid for partially damaged houses were given based on four categories: 1. Damage up to 15% were given Rs 10,000. About 13,555 families received this aid.

2. Damage in the range between 16-29% were given Rs 60,000. About 9,182 families received this aid.

3. Damage in the range between 30-59% were given Rs 1,25,000. About 2,726 families received this aid.

4. Damage in the range between 60-74% were given Rs 2.50.000. About 922 families received this aid.

46

6.4 LAND USE, ACCESSIBILITY AND CENSUS

Kavalam village is located in Kuttanad Taluk of Alappuzha District of Kerala State. It is located 30 Km from District Head quarter Alappuzha. The village can be accessed by road from Aleppey, Kottayam and Changanacherry. The village can also be accessed by Alappuzha Veliyanadu Ferry route through river Pamba. According to the census 2011, Kavalam has a total population of 13089 with 3142 houses. The land is used for agricultural, commercial, institutional, public use and residential purposes with residential as largest single land use.

Figure 47: Land use map of Kavalam Village.

47

CHAPTER 7 DESIGN HOUSE

7.1 GOALS The house will be a solution for living on flood prone areas like Kavalam village. As per the studies predicted more floods on the way in future. The solution includes a house residing on land but will float during increase in water levels and consists of waterproof material and protection of utilities, a buoyant foundation and vertical guidance posts to provide resistance to lateral forces of water.

The house will serve its purpose equally as the house built on land providing comfort and quality service. Materials and maintenance are just as equal to the houses built on land. The life of the house will also be the same as the house built on land.

7.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

LOCATION: Vill, Kavalam, Kuttanad Taluk, Alappuzha Distt., Kerala.

WATER TYPE: Fresh Water.

HOUSE TYPE: Amphibious.

BUOYANCY MATERIAL: Ferrocement with EPS Blocks.

TOTAL FLOOR AREA: 116.8 đ?‘š2 FOUNDATION AREA: 97.67. đ?‘š2 Figure 48: Perspective view of designed house.

The house is made up of timber and Anjhili wood (for exterior flooring) as the wood is excellent for use on water and is used in many Kettuvallom houseboats. The reason for use of wood construction is that the construction will be lightweight. A ferrocement foundation is used

48

as buoyant foundation with additional waterproof coating along with infilled EPS blocks. The house is built symmetrically on the buoyant foundation ensuring maximum stability.

To hold the house in place and to handle lateral forces of water and wind, the foundation is attached to four vertical guidance poles made up of steel. The construction will enable the house to float up and down with the water level. The house faces to towards South West. The house aesthetics of the house is built similar to the traditional architectural style.

Figure 49: Front View.

Figure 50: Side View.

49

Figure 51: Top View.

Figure 52: Rear View.

7.3 ARCHITECTURAL PLANS, ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS

Figure 53: Ground Floor Architectural plan.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN SCALE- 1:100 Note: All the dimensions are in millimeter.

50

FIRST FLOOR PLAN SCALE- 1:100 Note: All the dimensions are in millimeter.

Figure 54: First Floor Architectural plan and Front Elevation.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN SCALE- 1:100 Note: All the dimensions are in millimeter.

51

Figure 54: Section through site A-A’.

SITE SECTION (A-A’) 7.4

CONCRETE PILE FOUNDATION

The soil found in the Alappuzha district is mainly alluvial soil, which is porous because of its loamy nature. Therefore, pile foundation is recommended for the structure to rest on. Structural engineer carries the size and depth of the foundation. They provide the foundations sizes based on site seismicity, factored down drag load, soil-bearing capacity etc.

7.5 ACCESSIBILITY AND SERVICES The residents can access the house through the deck built across the levees. These decks are also amphibious and can float during increase in water level. The buoyant source can be a hollow barrel, pontoon or waste water bottles. The walkway is built up wood with rough texture so that the surface may not become slippery.

The services like light and sewage is connected to the house through the flexible umbilical cable which ha the tendency to stretch vertically as per the house movements during floods. These

52

services from the cable is connected to the municipal drains built under riverside levees so the house is connected to the services even during floods.

7.6 FLOATING CALCULATIONS As discussed in Chapter 4, the basic equation for floating construction is: U = G / (A x P) Where:

U

is the vertical drop below the water line (m)

G

is the total load of the construction (kN)

A

is the area of the floating body (m²)

P

is the density of water (kN/mÂł)

Therefore, in order to calculate the vertical drop line we need the total load of the building including dead load and live load, area of the floating house and the density of water.

7.6.1 CALCULATING LIVE LOAD

The live load of the house can be calculated as per IS 875-2 (1987), minimum UDL (Uniformly Distributed Load for a residential dwelling is 2 kN/đ?‘š2 . Total live load of the building is calculated by multiplying the total area of the house with minimum UDL. As the total area of the house is 116.8 đ?‘š2 . Therefore, the live load of the house will be 233.6 kN.

7.6.2 CALCULATING DEAD LOAD The dead load of depends upon the material used for construction and includes self-weight of the whole structure including foundation. The dead load is estimated by multiplying the amount of area (đ?‘š2 ) of each material comprising the structure by material weight per unit area (kg/đ?‘š2 ) or the volume of the material (đ?‘š3 ) with the material weight per unit volume (kg/đ?‘š3 ). In this case, we need to calculate the dead of the house and the dead load of the buoyant foundation. The total load of the structure is calculated by adding the dead load of the house with the dead load of the buoyant foundation.

53

Table 3: Dead load calculations table.

The dead load of the house came out to be 22852.03kg i.e. 228.23kN and the dead load of the buoyant foundation came out to be 17713.96kg i.e. 177.14kN. Thus, the total dead load of the structure came out to be 40565.99kg i.e. 405.66kN.

7.6.3 CALCULATING AREA OF FLOATING BODY The area of floating body can be calculated by adding the total amount of useable area i.e. useable area of floating foundation with the total area of the house. The useable area of foundation came out to be 29.36đ?‘š2 and the total area of the house is 116.8đ?‘š2 . Therefore, the total area of floating body came out to be 146.16đ?‘š2 .

7.6.4 DENSITY OF WATER The density of pure water at is 1000kg/�3 at a temperature of 4°C. However, the river water is not pure and the temperature change will affect the density of water. So taking the average Kerala’s temperature i.e. 28°C. Density if water at this temperature is 996.232kg/�2 i.e. 9.96kN/�3 .

54

7.6.5 FLOATING CALCULATIONS As, Where:

U = G / (A x P) U

is the vertical drop below the water line (m)

G

is the total load of the construction (kN)

A

is the area of the floating body (m²)

P

is the density of water (kN/mÂł)

Substituting equation values: U = 639.25kN / (146.16đ?‘š2 x 9.96kN/đ?‘š3 ) Thus, U = 0.44 m Therefore, the vertical drop of the building below the water line is approximately 0.44 m i.e. 440 mm.

Now, calculation total load that the foundation can take before completely submerging under water. This can be calculated as per Archimedes principle: i.e.

Weight of displaced water – Weight of the buoyant foundation = Weight of the house W(water displaced) – W(Buoyant Foundation) = W(House)

Now, for the foundation to be completely submerged under water, the (N) amount of additional load is added upon it. Therefore, the equation becomes: W(water displaced) – W(Buoyant Foundation) = W(House including live load) x N Substituting equation values: 97302kg – 17713.96 = 46212kg x N N = 79588.02 / 46212 N = 1.72 Therefore, the foundation can take 1.72 times total house load i.e. 7955.02kg as total load on it before completely submerging in water. As a result the foundation can take an additional load of 33272.64kg i.e. 332.72kN.

55

CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION The main aim of this research is to study and develop new forms of living in the flooding zones to avoid population displacement and to lower the amount of destruction. Living on water will costs much lesser than the cost of living on land and the cost of servicing renovations will be the same as cost on land. There are different factors, which one has to reciprocate while living on water one of them is parking for vehicles which houses on land offers more conveniently. One has to park his vehicle to some additional safer place and walk to the house by foot only. But on the other hand the house can be easily accessed by a boat.

The amphibious houses are proven to have excellent resilience to flood through past-generated prototypes and simulation studies. The ferrocement foundation will prove to be success in both durability and buoyant material. Like the past studies, the house is loaded symmetrically on the buoyant foundation. The house resembles the traditionally built houses on Kerala so that people don’t see it as something out of the world. This increases the attractiveness of the house especially when it floats in water. Although it is similar to the house built on land the only difference will be the foundations. Four steel guidance poles are strong enough to hold the house still on same place counteracting the forces to wind and water.

The new methods of developments and innovations are coming forefront now. We have seen different alternatives of thinking and way of living according to the availability of the resources and techniques. However, the best is yet to come. This is just one-step closer to the better solutions and improving our relationships with water.

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REFERENCE [1]

Houseboats in Kerala - Constructional Features and Environmental Issues by Dr. Rymala Mathen, IORS Journal of Environmental Science (Dec. 2012).

[2]

Stilt Housing Technology for Flood Disaster Reduction in the Rural Areas of Bangladesh

by S. Biswas , M.A. Hasan , M. S. Islam, International Journal of Research in Civil Engineering, Architecture & Design(2015)

[3]

Engineering Principles and Practices for Retrofitting Flood-Prone Residential Structures (Third Edition) FEMA P-259 / January 2012

[4]

Thriving with water: Developments in amphibious architecture in North America by Elizabeth English, Natasha Klink and Scott Turner, School of Architecture, University of Waterloo (2016)

[5]

Review on Amphibious House by Tejas Urkude1 Amarchand Kumar, Apoorva Upadhye, Madhura Padwal, IRJET journal January2019

[6]

Buoyant Foundation Project, Inc. www.buoyantfoundation.org

[7]

The LIFT House: An amphibious strategy for sustainable and affordable housing for the urban poor in flood-prone Bangladesh by Prithula Prosun, University of waterloo, Ontario, Canada (2011)

[8]

Pontoon Bridges by S. Tattoni, Politecnico di Milano – Dept. ABC piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32 – 2013 Milano, Italy

[9]

Study of Designing and Manufacturing Floating Dock by Moiz Osama Mohamed, Omer EL-tayeb Mohamed, Omer Abdullah Idris, University of Khartoum, April 2015.

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[10] Floating houses – chances and problems H. Stopp & P. Strangfeld Department of Building Physics, University of Applied Sciences HS Lausitz, Germany 2010

[11] Bamboo as an Eco-friendly Material for Use in Aquaculture Industry in Malaysia Razak Wahab School of International Tropical Forestry Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia 2008

[12] HUMAN IMPACT ON KUTTANAD WETLAND ECOSYSTEM - AN OVERVIEW K.A. Sreejith Scientist, Kerala Forest Research Institute Sub-Centre, Chandakunnu PO, Nilambur, Malappuram Dt., Kerala.

[13] Ornithofauna and its conservation in the Kuttanad wetlands, southern portion of Vembanad-Kole Ramsar site, India by S. Prasanth Narayanan, A.P. Thomas & B. Sreekumar, Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development (ACESSD), School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam, Kerala 686560, India.

[14] Amphibious Architecture and Design: A Catalyst of Opportunistic Adaptation? - Case Study Bangkok by Polpat Nilubonab, William Veerbeekab, and Chris Zevenbergenab, Urban Planning and Architecture Design for Sustainable Development, UPADSD 1416 October 2015.

INTERNET SOURCES: 

How amphibious housing can save communities in flood zones | Elizabeth English | TEDxManhattanBeach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxZga2I_VbM&t=362s



Kerala Floods Analysis. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92669/before-and-after-the-kerala-floods https://graphoverflow.com/graphs/kerala-flood-2018.html 58

ï‚·

Timber Weight Calculations https://www.timberpolis.co.uk/calc-timber-weight.php#goToPage

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