AMFIBIAHOUSE Code PAC052 In order to meet the environmental objectives the AMFIBIAHOUSE building was created so that it can be taken apart and reassembled, creating no waste at all. The morphology of the building was created to reflect both its amphibious nature and the cultural tradition of Dutch architecture, vernacular and early modern. Environmental considerations The objective of sustainable architecture is to create buildings that cause minimum impact on the environment possible. This means using materials with lower energy content and recyclable materials on the project, as well as site planning that does not significantly disturb the ecosystem of the location. In order to meet these objectives the AMFIBIAHOUSE building was created so that it can be taken apart and reassembled, creating no waste at all. The structural system consists of laminated wood columns (250 mm or as required structurally) that connect to similar horizontal beams, and wood joists using bolt connections. In between the columns there are intermediate wood members to which prefabricated plaster panels are attached that are bolted in place and finished on site. The floor and roof are created using wood structure with lightweight concrete slab on top. Although only one model is shown in this presentation, multiple variations are possible using same prefabricated parts and assembling them in different ways. The site plan shows the units either as single structures or combined in pairs, other variations are also possible. Building design The morphology of the building was created to reflect both its amphibious nature and the cultural tradition of Dutch architecture, vernacular and early modern. Construction system of the AMFIBIAHOUSE is closely related to traditional half-timbering post-and-beam building technique. The difference is only in the contemporary fastening system and materials used, as well as in the prefabrication of building elements. Vernacular half-timbering meets early modern design in shifting planes of simple geometries, and finally the slight diagonal shift of walls and triangulated exterior louvers gives the AMFIBIAHOUSE the unique organic form that communicates the amphibious nature of the building. The shape of the building creates an association with its location and purpose, so that it almost reminds us of a marsh insect or animal. Site plan The site is composed of soggy soil indicated on the site plan in green and marsh with water from 1 to 2 meters in depth. Size of the site is approximately 5 ha. with a two-lane road running east-west. The road is created by traditional means and is solid while all other structures shown on the site plan are floating. The cars are limited to the road with parking alongside the curb and at points were building clusters meet the road. Throughout the site the dwellings are connected with 2m wide floating pedestrian/ bicyclist trails that create pedestrian access to all parts of the site. Another alternative to driving is using boats or ferries, spaces are allocated at the outside parts of the site for this purpose. Anchoring and floating system Floating system consists of triangular tubes (page 5 figure2) made of reinforced ferrocement that are 4m in length and have 1m sides. The shape of triangle is chosen for greater structural stability, and the size for easy transportation and handling on the site. Triangular shapes are assembled using bolt connections, so that floating platforms can be dismantled and transported either by trucks, rail, or boats. Once assembled the platform can also be transported by towing, depending on the depth of water. Instead of several 15m deep piles for each dwelling, only one pile is used to anchor several floating platforms. (page 5 figure1 )The platforms are connected to the pile using 8m diameter cylinder that can slide along the pile as water levels vary. In addition, supplementary anchorage can be provided using steel cables in order to keep floating platforms from shifting.