Living with Water - Flood Resilient House
RIBA / Norwich Union International Design Competition
In late 2008 the practice entered an International Architectural Competition, to find a
ingenious way of designing housing for areas susceptible to
flooding. The competition received 85 entries from practices based all over the world.
Our entry was included in the 20 schemes featured in the exhibition at the Thames
Gateway Conference at the ExCel Conference Centre in London, November 2008.
The hpa scheme relied on ‘absorbing’ flood water in large tanks under the house, this
water could then be reused as non-potable water within the house (WC
flushing, clothes washing etc). Excess flood water was diverted into
ponds within the garden area and surrounding landscaping. The house design also
includes a number of energy efficient measures, and potentially could be built as a
carbon-zero home.
We have since been able to apply the knowledge gained from this project into ‘live’ schemes within the office.
