The seagull flight Code PAC066 An urban scheme of a 5 hectare neighbourhood imaginary located in a river estuary ("The Seagull flight") is proposed. The scheme allows for a strong relation between the land and the water. Floating houses form the thin dynamic boundary between these two elements. I also propose a project of the dwellings, which has a seagull-wind shaped cover, giving the image of a seagull flight just above the water surface. The houses may meet the needs of both large and small family units, and which is suited for multiple standardized production. The idea of designing urban spaces with particular emphasis on floating dwellings, in which men can live in tight contact with the water element, has fascinated me. My first impressions are based on the idea of a "ship" and its sails, but afterwards I have also incorporated the idea of water not only surrounding the architectural elements, but also penetrating in it. In this manner, the water becomes a characteristic element of the dwelling and of the whole urban scheme. I have imagined that the location is a river estuary. The urban scheme is based on a comb-shaped structure in which pedestrian-only roads leading to the dwellings are alternating with water channels. The channels are navigable by boats and by the houses themselves (Fig. 1). Next to each dwelling, we find a small pier in which is possible to moor a small-sized boat. The pedestrian-only roads lead, to the other end, on a large avenue, where the car parks are located. One of the water channels has greater dimension than the others, and it represents a public square in the water. Between this larger channel and the avenue, I have placed a big ship-shaped building with public functions. I have given great importance to the scheme of the floating house: it is a square, cut into two pieces by an axis. The axis is oriented toward East, and has also the role yard between two adjacent dwellings (Fig. 2). Visually, the yard-axis ends with a tubular structure in which all the chimneys and other drainpipes of the house are concentrated, being at the same time a sort of guarding tower. The typology of the house is duplex (two floors apartment), and there is also the possibility that each single apartment can be further divided, becoming more suited for individual occupation or for small family units. Another important aspect of the floating house I have designed is the cover of the building. It is in steel, wing-shaped, and it further stresses the structure of the block as two distinct dwellings. The covers of all the houses seen as a whole give the idea of a flight of a seagull just above the water surface, therefore I have given to the project the name "The seagull flight" . In total, there are 136 apartments in a 5 hectare area. Figure captions Fig. 1 shows the planimetry and a cross section of the Seagull "flight" at the scale 1:1000. Fig. 2 shows the plans of the two floors, the prospects and the cross-sections of the floating house. Each apartment has an area of 40 square meters. The steel roof is aluminum coated. The ground floor exterior house walls facing the yard-axis, which can also be thought as internal walls of the yard, have a casing of bricks, while for the correspondent second-floor walls, wood or aluminum plates may be used. Frames are also made of wood, and the internal staircase is in glass-cement. Fig. 3 and 4 show some drawings and sketches which I have made during the development of the project. In particular, the urban scheme is sketched in the upper-left corner of Fig. 3, and it can be seen that I was inspired by the Kenzo Tange's Tokyo urban planning for 15 million people. The central public buildings are surrounded by the comb-shaped structure the residential houses and by the main road network. The upper-right drawing describes an idea of house between two pierced walls, as a box which contains the floating and movable house, therefore a real boat. The perspective in the center represents a wall playing the role of urban background, and, at the same time, is like a barrier against the chilly winds from north. Fig. 4 shows some ideas on which I have based my project of the floating house. In particular, the drawings in the upper right show the idea of a house above the sea level and with two feet anchoring it. In the lower left drawing I imagine that the house becomes a real ship, in which the roof is used to hang some fishing net.