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Dutch flock to floating homes - inspiring similar resilient housing projects worldwide

Rather than see rising sea levels as an enemy, Dutch developers are embracing the prospect of storm surges and floods by creating a new generation of floating homes. Unlike houseboats, which are designed for easy relocation, these nautical townhouses are permanently moored to poles sunk into the seabed, allowing them to rise up and down as water levels vary. Concrete hulls provide ballast for sturdy residential structures rising up to three storeys high, with connections to the local power grid and sewage system. Dutch designers are now working on floating homes as far afield as Britain and the Maldives, with plans afoot to house 50,000 people on artificial islands in the Baltic Sea.

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