Flood Resilient Housing: An Amphibious Approach

Author: Muskan Singhania
Site Location: Jalpaiguri, West Bengal
Institute: Dept. of Planning & Architecture NIT – Rourkela
Advisor: Dr. Soumi Muhuri

description

Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. 31% of deaths from disasters are caused by floods.

Floods impact both individuals and communities and have social, economic, and environmental consequences. The immediate impacts of flooding include loss of human life, damage to property, destruction of crops, loss of livestock, and deterioration of health conditions owing to waterborne diseases.

The aim of this thesis is to come up with a solution to adapt to riverine floods in order to prevent dislocation of settlements, ensure basic services during flood conditions, and minimize disruption to daily life.

Amphibious construction is a fairly new technology used in western countries to adapt to floods. This thesis has attempted to introduce this new construction technique to the Indian context by making it cost-effective as well as adaptable to the needs of expanding families (incremental housing).

Different housing modules have been developed in response to the site conditions as well as livelihood requirements. The users have the flexibility to customize their house. Bamboo mat board (BMB) is the principal building material.

Although a site has been selected, the prototype can be replicated in other locations with similar flood conditions.