As flooding across Australia has become a regular occurrence, could this flood-resilient concrete house design be part of the solution?
Multiple flood events in recent years have taken place across the country in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia. In areas like Lismore in northern NSW, it has been a regular problem for more than a century.
Architects SDA have created the Floating House built on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It has an exposed concrete frame, three concrete slabs that include multiple cantilevered balconies, and a rooftop terrace.
What’s interesting is that the concrete structure is elevated one metre above ground to mitigate the impacts of flooding which often occurs from the nearby river, according to Dezeen.
Floating House has external concrete staircases between the levels that are sheltered by overhanging floor plates while the internal spaces are set back within the concrete frame and allow the rooms to open onto the terraces.
While this design is tailored to life in Vietnam, this type of house or one similar, would also be at home in Australia in our temperate climate.
Architect: SDA – Sanuki Daisuke, Nguyen Huynh Bao Ngoc
Structural engineer: Thanh Cong Construction Design Company
ME engineer: Hung Viet Tst Corp
Contractor:Coppha Builders Construction Co.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.