Amphibious House

Our ‘Amphibious Houses’ are designed using prefabricated steel floatation system.  This floatation device sits in the trench under the house for two reasons.  One, the entire system can be hidden, so the house does not look too unusual from the surrounding context.  Another reason is that since the depression collects water when it rains.  As the water level rises, the depression gets filled with water and the house will be pre-buoyant in case of flood.




The homes will be built using prefabricated panels with steel framing.  This construction method allows that homes to be much lighter than traditional construction yet remain very strong for everyday abuse.
In time of flood, the most important thing is the survival.  The design of amphibious homes has built-in back-up systems including food storage, rain collection and power generation systems.  These homes are latticed together in group of 5 to 10 to form a mini community in time of flood.  This allows mini community to be self sustain for a longer period, and eases the arrival of external help.

Typically, there are four building types that make up Thai community.
Residential buildings are homes to the residence.  The size of home is normally based upon the number of the family members.
Commercial buildings are usually small open buildings that being use for small shops, farm stands or food stalls.
Residential and commercial hybrid buildings are also common in these communities.  Adaptability and flexibility allows that each inhabitant to create and personalize their homes.
Civic buildings in these communities are usually designed to be multi-purposes.  Residences adapt and modify the building for use depending on the event of the day.



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