A couple of months ago I wrote a review of Matt Kahn's newest book, Climatopolis. Among many of the stories and arguments Kahn presents on the need to adapt to climate change, he mentioned a UCLA architect named Thom Mayne who designed a floatable house.
"Known as the FLOAT House, the structure is a new model for flood-safe, affordable and sustainable housing and is designed to securely float with rising water levels. The innovative house was built for actor Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, which is helping with the rebuilding of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina."
NPR picked up on this story about a year and half ago. Listen to this 4 minute interview with Thom Mayne to hear about why he designed the floatable house and what he thinks it will be able to do. For anyone interested in climate change adaptation, floatable houses are a very promising design solution. They are expensive and it would be unrealistic to expect flood prone cities like New Orleans to invest in thousands of them, but the potential for reduced damage from flooding can be greatly minimized along with millions of dollars saved from this pro-active and adaptive technology.
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