The third International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design and Engineering (ICAADE) will be held from October 13-16, 2019 at the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. Early bird registration is available through July 15. The Call for Abstracts for oral and poster presentations is ongoing. Please join us!

DEVELOPMENT OF AMPHIBIOUS HOMES FOR MARGINALIZED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN VIETNAM

With the support of the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) Water Window Challenge and the Z Zurich Foundation, our joint Canadian-Vietnamese team introduced amphibious retrofitting to the Mekong Delta as a cost-sensitive alternative to higher stilts.

In the summer of 2018, our team installed four amphibious retrofits to flood-vulnerable rice farmers' homes. We returned in October during the monsoon season to observe the retrofits in action. Post-flood interviews with owners and local authorities confirmed local stakeholders' delight with the outcomes of the project. We are investigating opportunities for scaling up.

FLOOD-RESILIENT AMPHIBIOUS HOUSING FOR FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES

Indigenous communities in Canada have a deep connection with the land; however, increased flooding poses risks to their way of life. With support from the National Research Council of Canada, the Buoyant Foundation Project is undertaking a proof of concept project for amphibious construction for eventual implementation as a climate change adaptation solution for indigenous communities.

The first part, which is complete, is an amphibious pavilion prototype on the University of Waterloo’s north campus. We are now in the second phase, which involves the amphibious retrofit of a cottage in a flood-prone location north of Toronto. Part Three will be drafting guidelines for amphibious construction in Canada.

NEW INTERVIEW

The Buoyant Foundation Project was recently featured in an interview on TVO's show The Agenda with Steve Paikin. The discussion provides an overview of the Buoyant Foundation Project and the potentials of amphibious construction.

RECENT AWARDS

The Buoyant Foundation Project won two awards at the 8th International Conference on Building Resilience in Lisbon, Portugal last November. Our paper “The economic argument for amphibious retrofit construction” was awarded Best Conference Paper and will be published in an upcoming issue of the International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment. Additionally, we placed 3rd in the international Building 4Humanity Design Competition. Our entry showcased the GRP project in Vietnam described above.

Save the date! Elizabeth English will be giving a talk at TEDxManhattanBeach in California, USA, on November 2, 2019.

IN THE PRESS

MEET SOME OF OUR TEAM

TERESA TRAN

Teresa is a recent Master of Architecture graduate from the University of Waterloo. Her focus has been on design projects linked and integrated with existing and proposed infrastructural systems such as water collection and filtration, stormwater management, and sewage treatment. Recently she has also worked in Vietnam on affordable residential projects, using vernacular typologies and materials to achieve modern and sustainable designs. Her masters thesis explored modern versus traditional sanitary standards and wastewater management systems within rural villages in Vietnam.

REBECCA ZARINS

Rebecca is an undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. She is particularly interested in how technological innovation can be combined practically with architectural design and construction methods to create effective solutions that improve the lives of others. She is currently exploring computational design and is involved in design and marketing for a student design team developing a personal flying device. Rebecca’s work with the Buoyant Foundation Project has been focused on developing a prototype for amphibious housing solutions in flood-prone Canadian indigenous communities.

ELIZABETH ENGLISH

Dr. Elizabeth English is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Waterloo in Cambridge, Ontario. She is the founder and director of the Buoyant Foundation Project, a not-for-profit organization based in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and Cambridge, Ontario, that works on the development of retrofit amphibious foundation systems as a low-cost, low-impact flood mitigation strategy that supports the preservation of traditional housing forms and respects local cultural practices. Current projects focus on the needs of vulnerable low-income communities in Vietnam, Ontario, Louisiana, and North Carolina.