Floating Buildings? A Look Into Amphibious Constructions

Floating buildings are architectural wonders designed to float on a body of water, often used for homes and businesses. They’re built on a floatation system, typically pontoons or similarly buoyant foundations, to ensure they can be moved around or held stationary. These structures can offer unique advantages like waterfront access. 

Houses that Permanently Float

Permanent floating houses work by resting on buoyant platforms that allow them to float on water while remaining securely anchored in place. These platforms are often made from materials like concrete pontoons filled with lightweight, watertight substances such as polystyrene, which provide the necessary stability and buoyancy. The houses are connected to flexible utility lines (for water, sewage, and electricity) that move with the structure as it gently rises and falls with changing water levels, such as tides or floods. Anchoring systems, like vertical guideposts or pilings, keep the house from drifting while allowing vertical movement. This design makes floating houses an innovative solution for living in flood-prone or waterfront areas, combining comfort with resilience against changing water conditions.

Houses that float in floods

Houses that float during floods, also known as amphibious houses, are specifically designed to rest on the ground under normal situations yet rise with floodwaters when necessary. These dwellings are built on a buoyant base, which is often made of lightweight, watertight materials such as foam-filled concrete or plastic. When flooding occurs, the entire home lifts off the ground, guided by vertical poles or pilings to prevent it from floating laterally. Flexible utility connections such as electricity, water, and sewage can stretch and move with the house as it rises and lowers. This design keeps the house safe and dry during floods without permanently floating, making it appropriate for places where high water levels occur on occasion.

The distinction between permanent floating houses and flood-floating (amphibious) dwellings is how they interact with water. Permanent floating houses are built to float constantly, sitting on buoyant platforms that are anchored in situ, and are intended for live directly on the water, such as in canals, lakes, or floating towns. Flood-floating houses, on the other hand, sit on the ground in normal weather but are designed with buoyant bases that allow them to rise with floodwaters when necessary. They float only briefly during floods, guided by vertical supports to prevent drifting, and then settle back to the ground when the water recedes. In summary, floating houses are always on the water, whereas amphibious buildings only float during floods, providing a versatile alternative for locations with intermittent flooding.

Citations:

Floating and amphibious housing (no date). https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/metadata/adaptation-options/floating-and-amphibious-housing.

Floating Houses: Types, principles, and Advantages (2022). https://theconstructor.org/architecture/floating-houses-types-principles/568280/.

Yap, E. (2025) Hope Floats: Amphibious Houses in a Climate-Changed World. https://bluprint-onemega.com/architecture/concept/amphibious-housing-climate-change/.