Abstract:Future sea-level rises on the urban waterfront of coastal and riverbanks cities will not be uniform. The impact of floods is exacerbated by population density in nearshore urban areas, and combined with land conversion and urbanization, the vulnerability of coastal towns and public spaces in particular is significantly increased. The empirical analysis of a selected number of waterfront projects, namely the winners of the Mies Van Der Rohe Prize, highlighted the different morphological characteristics of public spaces, in relation to the approximation to the water body: near the shoreline, in and on water. The critical reading of selected architectures related to water is open to multiple insights, allowing to shift the design attention from the building to the public space on the waterfronts. The survey makes it possible to delineate contemporary features and lay the framework for urban development in coastal or riverside areas.Keywords: sea level rise; flood phenomena; waterfront adaptation; floating and amphibious housing
Rotterdam is an ambitious city, especially where it concerns architecture and sustainability. The European cultural capital RUHR.2010 pays tribute to this ambition via 2010LAB.tv by interviewing water architect Bart van Bueren and sustainability alderman Alexandra van Huffelen. Follow the link www.2010lab.tv/en/video/waterworld-dive-world-water-architecture to see and hear how water architecture lets Rotterdam take the lead in reducing CO2 emissions and to enhance its reputation as a city of architecture.
Amphibious Housing in the Netherlands: Architecture and Urbanism on the Water
Floating structures for housing and leisure, give people opportunities to live, work, and play on the surface of the water. If someone is fond of a relaxing atmosphere, romanticism, and living on the water, there are plenty of reasons to live on a floating home. Such projects aim at bringing people closer to the natural aquatic lifestyle, without any negative impact of the water body. Another main advantage is safety during floods being a necessity in some of the areas. Also, such houses can be integrated with beautiful landscapes and comfort conditions with minimum energy bills and a small carbon footprint. There are also disadvantages of living on the water, one of them being limited space for storage, the cost and inconvenience of heating in the wintertime, and maintenance and repair if required. Nevertheless, architects are constantly developing solutions to minimise recurring electricity and water costs, which can be reduced by using unconventional energy sources. The large level fluctuations of the Danube waters, which are sometimes up to 8 meters, brought an additional challenge to the architects. To solve it, they designed appropriate structures, to which the floating houses are attached one by one.
THE PLAN Journal (TPJ) intends to disseminate and promote innovative, thought-provoking and relevant research, studies and criticism in architecture and urbanism. The criteria for selecting contributions will be innovation, clarity of purpose and method, and potential transformational impact on disciplinary fields or the broader socio-cultural context. The ultimate purpose of the TPJ is to enrich the dialog between research and professional fields, in order to encourage both applicable new knowledge and intellectually driven modes of practice. 2ff7e9595c
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