Oct 7 2009
Morphosis Architects, under the direction of renowned architect and UCLA Professor Thom Mayne, has completed the first floating house permitted in the United States for Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation.
The FLOAT House is a new model for flood-safe, affordable and sustainable housing designed to float securely with rising water levels and the latest design to be built for Make It Right, which has just been named the largest, greenest neighborhood of single family homes in America by the US Green Building Council.
In the event of flooding, the base of the house - reconceived as a chassis -- acts as a raft, allowing the house to rise vertically on guide posts, securely floating up to twelve feet as water levels rise. While not designed for occupants to remain in the home during a hurricane, the structure aims to minimize catastrophic damage and preserve the homeowner's investment in their property. This approach also allows for the early return of occupants in the aftermath of a hurricane or flood.
Designed in response to Ninth Ward residents' specific needs, the FLOAT House serves as a scalable prototype that can be mass-produced and adapted to the needs of communities world-wide facing similar challenges. On track for a LEED Platinum Rating, the state-of-the-art home uses high-performance systems, energy efficient appliances, and prefabrication methods to produce an affordable, sustainable house that generates its own power, minimizes resource consumption, and collects its own water.
Like the traditional New Orleans "shotgun" house, the FLOAT House sits on a raised four-foot base, preserving the community's vital front porch culture and facilitating accessibility for elderly and disabled residents. This high-performance "chassis" is a prefabricated module, made from polystyrene foam coated in glass fiber reinforced concrete, which hosts essential equipment to supply power, water and fresh air. The chassis is engineered to support a range of home configurations.
While the FLOAT House is the first to be permitted in the United States, the technology was developed and is in use in the Netherlands where architects and developers are working to address an increased demand for housing in the face of rising sea levels associated with climate change.
The chassis was designed and built by Morphosis Architects and UCLA graduate students on the UCLA campus. In July 2009 the chassis was transported to New Orleans where prefabricated modules designed by the group were assembled on-site. Construction services were donated by general contractor Clark Construction Group, Inc.
Mayne's Morphosis was among thirteen local, national and international architects selected to participate in the first stage of the Make It Right project. The architecture firms were called upon to reimagine traditional New Orleans housing types to provide affordable, sustainable, and high design quality housing. The FLOAT House will support Make It Right's mission to catalyze redevelopment of the Lower Ninth Ward by providing a displaced family with a flood-safe home, while preserving the community's culture.
Source: Make It Right Foundation