Amphibian House

Description

Short listed design from Building Trust international Cambodian housing competition:

Water as a protagonist:
The proposal aims to respond to climate and the influence of water as a main element in territory. By understanding the relationship between the water and Cambodians, we recognized two personalities: the providing and the destroying water. That perception gave us the guidelines to work on a project that should be adaptable enough to protect and, at the same time, allow the residents to be in touch with this element.

Adaptable Dwelling and Floating Device:
Dealing with different contexts, the house allows different levels of interaction with the water, which is possible by use of a floating device.
In general the project attends to the urban and geographic conditions and the specific needs of residents. The house was made based on a modular concept that allows rationality, an easy way of assembling it and a ruled composition.
It is formed by three main elements:
[Shell] the roof and zinc wall that protect the house;
[Closures] composed by half modules plates of concrete, bamboo and/or wood: easy to manufacture and carry. It also allows a large range of compositions;
[Floating device] the mechanism is adaptable to the water level in order to protect the houses from the floods.

The plan is composed by fixed elements [terraces] and an [open plan] that can be composed by the parameters proposed.

Sustainable Construction:
The main material used is the bamboo, cheaper than wood and largely available. All the leftovers are used to make the hollow element panel, generating only a few residues. Besides the use of local material, the use of local labour, and, at the same time, the qualification of it, makes it a sustainable process.