House boats or boat houses: New housing for the Dutch!
Whether you get the concept of global warming or not; believe it’s just tree hugging people going to extreme or believe it is real the Dutch see it as a serious concern and have been taking steps to ensure its country’s survival. Polar ice caps are melting and it is causing the sea to rise. It can be felt on the river Rhine and it can be felt along the Delta works as rising waves crash into the Dutch’s defenses to keep their feet dry. The Netherlands is known throughout the world as a low lying country, 70% of the land is either below or at sea level. They are also know for their ingenious ways of keeping back the sea with their dams, dikes and other defenses surrounding the coast and their knack for taking back land from the sea. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, rainfall in the Netherlands could increase in the coming century by up to 25% and the sea level rise by more than three feet. While they would love nothing more than to keep their precious land from Mother Nature but they have come to realize the day might come where they can fight no more and have to give back that which they have fought so hard for. So if it is a losing battle in the end and it is inevitable they will lose land to the North Sea why fight? We will simply live on the water! 
On a small estate on the banks of the river Maas, south of Arnhem, Factor Achitecten as designed homes for developers Dura Vermerron. They were designed so that when the river breaks it banks each of the 37 homes will rise on a pair of 15-foor concrete piles to escaoe the torrent. As the water recedes the homes will drop back down to solid ground.
Architect Art Zaaijer has designed homes for building company Ooms Bouwmaatschappij and these also float. They are build on a floating platform made of Styrofoam wrapped in a thin shell of concrete, the floors and walls are fashioned from lightweight prefabricated wooden panels and the facade is clad in coated aluminium ultimately making the outer skin maintenance free. They want to create whole new water-based quarters for Hollanders. One such prominent area is the new Ijburg district of Amsterdam. The company will provide floating offices, schools, hospitals and transport facilities. 
Of course homes and offices aren’t the only concern of the Dutch. Where would all the cars go? On roads of course! These roads are in progress right now but the idea is rather simple. Take pieces of road made of durable lightweight material and link them together you have a road to cross the water on. They can float with traffic and can be taken down if need be. Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is below sea level and developers want a way to make floating runways for planes to land and take off safely. Will all of Holland be floating in the decades to come? It’s better that than the alternative. The Dutch have always been inventive when it comes to the waters around them, having to give some land back hasn’t stopped them from being creative and keeping their people nice and dry. 
Flood homes, Factor Architecten, Aqua Villa - Ooms Bouwmaatschappij, global warming, Netherlands, Global warming in the Netherlands, Boat houses, House Boats
June 26th, 2010 at 1:26 am
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