ABSTRACT. Plenary Presentation I solicit your help in addressing these questions: What is the nature of privilege? How can we (assuming that anyone reading this has some claim to privilege) show that we care about vulnerable marginalized populations? How do we quantify the human cost of flooding that causes loss, displacement and trauma, beyond what are typically counted in dollars, euros or zloty? If we care about reducing human suffering in the world, how can we create beneficial change to address this? What can amphibious solutions contribute to the quest for social and environmental justice and a decrease in disaster-induced human trauma?

ABSTRACT. Industrial production or mass production plays a dominant role in fulfilling of basic human needs today. Architecture relates to one of the basic needs, shelter and this is also largely depended on industrial production. This, to a large extent has created to a homogenized expression of the works. The world that we live in is not a homogeneous one rather it's a varied one. Whether it is topography or climate, society or culture, there is a large amount of diversity existing.   While taking into consideration all the variedness, architecture seeks to appeal to an universal ethos.  Today's postindustrial digital society is taking this into consideration. Location surely plays an important role in the shaping of the architectural design strategy, Physical attributes as well as social and cultural attributes contribute to the making of a successful work of architecture. Natural environments affect works of architecture and at the same the natural environment is also affected by architecture. The world today is passing through a time of great environmental challenge, the challenge to overcome the emerging climate change scenario induced by global warming. Architecture today needs to be more environmentally responsible.

The challenges of working in the deltaic landscape of Bangladesh are myriad. Geographically Bangladesh is mostly floodplain with very little hills and a large number of population engaged in a massive economic development operation. The surge of economic development has put tremendous pressure on its resources including land and water. In order to attain economic development, environment is faced with the threat of degradation. Architecture and physical development besides taking into consideration of many factors is also in the need of paying a greater attention to its environmental impact. Environment specific responses are already emerging and not only drawing attention within the country but also beyond the national boundary.  

ABSTRACT. In the overpopulated deltas of the Philippines, people live in are¬as that see floods every day. The floods are being caused by a combination of tides, heavy rainfall and land subsidence. The demand for safe and affordable housing is immense, yet available dry land is scarce. Most of the land in the provinces Bulacan and Pampanga were formerly used as rice fields. Nowadays these areas are permanently flooded and thereby became vacant. By implementing floating homes in these areas, demanded new building space is becoming available. To come to an affordable and sustainable design that fits in the region of the Manila Bay Area, traditional building designs as the “bahay kubo” have been analysed. Many aspects of this design correspond with modern sustainable development goals. By means of parametric building simulations, key aspects of the Bahay Kubo have been optimized to provide the floating home with good performances in indoor climate and structural behaviour. The design for the floating home consists of locally prefabricated elements. In the façade and roof elements openings provide the building with daylight and natural ventilation. Eaves above the openings protect the building from direct sunlight and heavy rains. All openings can be closed to create an airtight building during strong typhoon winds. Now the first floating home has been built, the home is being tested. Multiple sensors monitor the performance in indoor climate and structural behaviour. These outcomes can be used to validate the parametric simulations. The home is being inhabited by local families. In multiple cycles of three months, inhabitants provide feedback on the use of the building. Outcomes obtained by sensors on the technical performance and outcomes obtained by surveys on the use and acceptance of the building can be used to improve the building design.

ABSTRACT. The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is covered by flood during the wet season every year. The annual floods have been providing nutrition for the land and supporting livelihoods for local people. Recently, the floods have become unpredictable due to several reasons including climate change and human activities such as agriculture and hydropower development. Adaptive approaches including “living with flood” such as a flood-based farming system combined with safety measures is suggested for sustainable flood protection and mitigation. Amphibious housing model seems to be suitable to support the approach since it not only provides safety but also enhances resilience and preserve cultures of the vulnerable communities during the flood period. Currently, the model has been introduced in the Mekong Delta with four successful prototypes and of high potential to scale up. Local governments show their interests in expanding the model, nevertheless, they are reluctant in making decisions. The main goal of this research is to find out the enablers and obstacles in scaling up the amphibious home model for the vulnerable communities to help facilitating the developing of the model in the future as well as to support local government in building strategic plans for a sustainable development of the region. We first identify the potential factors that influence the upscaling process, then discover roles and interests of relevant stakeholders from the ground, especially the local communities and governments.

ABSTRACT. Begun in 2014, the Buoyant Ecologies architectural research project intends to provide a blueprint for the design of coastal floating communities that address the threats and uncertainty of climate change for island and coastal nations. This method involves a coordinated academic, scientific and technological effort leading to both speculative and applied research goals. Within the context of academic design studio goals, students have been able to develop designs and visualize the integration of complex systems into these new communities. The scientific goals underscore a paradigm shift to reconsider fouling communities (marine invertebrates) as a beneficial partner in tackling climate change. The project has sought to demonstrate, through small full-scale prototypes, the capabilities of dense fouling communities (underwater marine growth) to mitigate coastal erosion, attenuate wave forces and provide robust and resilient diverse ecologies. This new ecology is designed in combination with the technological goals of a scalable anaerobic wastewater treatment system, currently prototyped at a local University. The ability to recover resources from wastewater, especially in an amphibious community, independent of other connections to land is a demonstration of a scalable, modular and resilient system with broad implications throughout the world. Currently 50% of the world’s population lives without any wastewater treatment of any kind and roughly 40% of human habitation occurs along the coast, making this research both sustainable and prescient.

ABSTRACT. The presentation is a part  of larger design research into the topic of Floating Architecture/Landscape and Amphibious City, started twenty years ago, in which Venice city and the ancient vessels were taken as historical precedents and model to be deduced, disassembled and reassembled in order to become an Amphibious Urban & Architecture vision. The morphology and character of Venice become the historical example or founding connotative element for the invention of an Amphibious/Floating construction. The cyclic nature of history, and therefore the continuity of history over time, in which Venice it is model and archetype.

The presentation tackles the topics of micro and macro construction in/on water through some practical and theoretical analysis. Analyzing the morphological character of Venice as an urban fact born in the lagoon system which is facing with the flooding issues, two topics have emerged, the first related to the resilience of the existing cities -rethinking  the water edge - and the second related  to the new urban development in/on the water - new urban fact.

The presentation explores the potential application of the Amphibious City experimental approach, to different location considering the unstable climate conditions and the growing of the new cities in flooding lands. The Amphibious-Floating Urban settlement as approach and urban guidelines to be adopted for the development of new cities e.g. in South Asia, where the urbanization, due to the increase of the population and economy is heavily reclaiming the wetlands area for the construction. How the original natural and pre-architectural condition, effecting and delineating an architectural and urban system in the water?  

ABSTRACT. City of Venice / Città di Venezia. A city that is a synonym and the most important example of settlement for centuries situated directly on the water and in its vicinity. A city where the canals are streets and the main square periodically becomes a "water square", a pond in the middle of the city. Venice, a city that is constantly treated as a destructed substance, promising its imminent end – although it has lasted for over 700 years and is currently under the high priority of conservation supervision. However, Venetian experiences do not remain the domain of the history of architecture and construction. It is a living city, still developing its potential. The examples of twentieth-century realizations discussed here present the way in which Venetian architecture remained in the area of influence of modern trends in architecture and town planning.

ABSTRACT. Not all that long ago geographical conditions and available building materials determined the architecture of a particular place. Decisive factors for the appearance and size of a structure were where you could build and whether you built with wood, stone, marble or dung. Cultural historians and tourist associations still celebrate these original dynamics that once shaped our built environment. In reality, however, such dynamics have long become folklore. After all, we are now able to build anything we want anywhere, and we no longer celebrate our brilliant mastery over the limitations of place but, rather, celebrate the endless possibilities. In the quest for identity in the built environment however, its most important vectors are often missed. These ‘bearers’ of identity have for a very long time been the specific limitations of a site within which a particular development ambition has to be conceived and realized. Nowadays we resolve the limitations using technical means and contrive an identity afterwards. To this end, it is often the icons that have evolved over time that are copied, but we fail to develop new ones. Proceeding from this idea, I devised the ‘Amphibious Living’ project in 2000, a project that generated potential new icons for settlement and water. since 2000 I have broadened my research around the question whether it is possible to infuse a newly built or redeveloped urban environment with meaning by strategically positioning specific contextual features as limitations in a process of spatial transformation. The central question in this study is: In what way does deliberately strengthening the influence of both material and immaterial limitations affect our ability to experience collective memory within the built environment? This study is based on the assumption that collective memory plays a crucial role in the relationship between the built environment and its users.

ABSTRACT. In all human cultures, water is considered as a prima materia. Since it belongs to the structure of the world itself, it constitutes a prominent element when designing sacral objects. In such creations, its function is not only utilitarian, but it’s also, and above all, symbolic. We can see how water appeared in the contemporary sacral architecture of several religious traditions. When it comes to designing sacral architectural objects, the link with water can seem arbitrary. That’s why these objects need a specific structural and semantic analysis. Water, as a part of the structure of the sacral object, has many functions. On the one hand, it constitutes a plastic means for architectonic expression. On the other, it has a symbolic function. We can observe this relationship between the sacral objects and water both on the urbanistic scale and in the equipment and the layout of the interior. In this article, we will show the diversity of architectonic solutions that include water in the permanent structure of the object, which show its prominent material and symbolic role. The method that has been used for this research is the inquiry and the analysis of contemporary sacral objects, in which water plays the role of prima materia. The research will be backed up with the author’s narrative method, used for analyzing the architecture of meaning. This study of the architectonic piece will be led through five deliberate and narrative aspects, analyzing the intention of the author - location, creation date and narration among others. The question will be studied using projects or finished objects belonging to contemporary sacral architecture.

ABSTRACT. Due to the geography characteristic, water dwellings have emerged and developed through the centuries and have become a common type of accommodation within the criss-crossed river system in Vietnam"s Mekong Delta. The floating house is the place for both accommodation and means of livelihood for local people earning money from fish farming, waterway transportation, water way trade, and other business activities on the rivers. Beside traditional use, in recent years, there is a potential of floating houses to be a significant solution adapting to rising sea level that has been occurring and seriously effecting Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, where it is predicted to be submerged by 2100. However, nowadays, due to urbanization threat, rapid population growth, rapid aquaculture growth, climate change, and social cultural changes, most of floating villages have been suffering the pressure of environmental pollution and resource degradation. In order to preserve and develop floating settlement which is a unique typical kind of residences within a long historical development as well as an effective solution adapting to rising sea level, the sustainable concept of floating settlements is neccesary. The concept would be financially viable and would provide a livable living environment with all adequate functions for daily life - work – social activities of people. Therefore, based on a detailed analysis of environmental, socio-cultural, economic, architectural characteristics, this research aims to accumulate precious traditional design solutions and propose design criteria for the sustainable concept of floating settlements in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The sustainable floating settlements development requires the respect for environment keeping the symbiotic relationship between man and nature, and the achievement of local economic objectives as well as preserve and promote local culture and vernacular architecture that optimizes the advantages and limits the weaknesses of local architecture by the use of cost-effective innovative construction techniques and materials.

ABSTRACT. Nowadays climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security including human life in urban areas. The rising level of the seas and oceans forces mankind to face new challenges. Therefore, we should start to learn to live on the water. The paper deals with the parametric architecture which is trying to introduce a new spatial language in the context of the water urbanism, using nature as a model, measure and mentor. The first part of the article defines what is architecture oriented to climate change and what is the urban planning on water. In architecture, these terms redefine the process of architectural design, understood not as the traditional shaping of the object's form, but as a compilation of various factors resulting from the exchange of an object with its specific environment. In this context, selected research and design methods will be presented, as well as current digital techniques for discovering forms of imitation processes in nature. In the second part of the research, a case study that uses the above methods will be presented. Different approaches to the topic will be considered, with a focus on the physical‐spatial system of imitation of natural forms and processes in the aquatic environment. Can Nature tell us how to organize a community of water settlements to use them effectively? In order to exist, floating cities will need not only new technological solutions but also new life strategies of their residents, consisting in sharing space, food and energy. In conclusion, the article will show how many important solutions nature suggests us in the process of organizing our potential living environment on the water.

ABSTRACT. Since the beginning of the 21st century floating buildings have been growing in popularity in Poland. According to market research and quantitative studies the majority of operative Polish floating buildings serve for commercial purposes, such as, among others, short-term rentals, vacation houses and floating marinas. Simultaneously, despite the increasing demand, the development of this kind of investments in Poland is limited by the inconsistent legislation, government policy and, most importantly, natural conditions of Polish inland waters. The most attractive sites for floating architecture are the semi-natural lakeshores and river banks. At the same time, low water levels and poor maintenance of many Polish basins require special architectural and engineering solutions.

In this presentation we share our experience with meeting the market’s demand for small cost-effective floating commercial buildings despite the local shortcomings of inland waters on the example of the floating apartment built in 2019 in Pisz, Poland. The presented building was intended to serve as a water-based extension of the existing hotel on land. It was designed in a form of a modern barn with all-glazed gable wall allowing for a spectacular view to the Roś Lake in the Masurian Lake District. With 50 sqm footprint, the one-story house with a small mezzanine has a relatively small draft of 33 cm and sufficient stability which meets the criteria for inland ships.

The presented case study shows that integrating the naval architecture theory, Building Information Modeling simulation along with cutting-edge construction techniques such as Scottsdale Construction System (SCS) and polyurethane spray insulation, can bring significant progress into the development of the floating buildings market in Poland.

ABSTRACT. Inasmuch as a concrete river barge remembering the Great War was Le Corbusier’s base for designing a Salvation Army Refuge in Paris in 1929, the barges constructed by the Korneuburg shipyard in 1992 were specially designed to house one of Vienna’s junior high-schools. Inasmuch as the barge “Louise-Catherine” on the River Seine in Paris was a genuine watercraft which changed its mooring place from time to time, depending on a season, the Vienna school barges are permanently moored at the left bank of the main arm of the Danube. Inasmuch as the reason behind the Salvation Army Refuge was to help the homeless people of Paris, the decision of Vienna municipal authorities to have a school on the river rather than on the ground was made chiefly in order to ease a difficult economic situation of the shipyard due to a loss of orders from the Soviet Union. Another words, a somewhat bizarre decision of the Vienna authorities was driven by lack of prospect of buying a plot of land to build a school cheaply, because of the preparation to the 1995 World Expo event to take place in Vienna and Budapest, as well as by a wish to shorten the construction time. Thus, two inter-connected barges form something like a catamaran which houses the total of 55 lecturing rooms and laboratories, as well as ancillary rooms. The third vessel which is joined at the back of the two, is made into a full-fledged school gym. Inasmuch as the decision to turn a barge on the Seine into a floating refuge for the homeless additionally emphasised, in a sense, their social exclusion, the “school ship” on the Danube River in Vienna brings school community together and adds a new and unusual dimension to the daily school routine.

ABSTRACT. see the previous e-mail

ABSTRACT. Saigon's urbanization and massive population increase within the last few decades resulted in a unique alleyway typology known as hẻm in Vietnamese.  Hẻm is a common type of smaller road that branches out from a major street. Both sides of hẻm are loaded with informal and formal houses of differing typologies forming a dense neighborhood. Within the Vietnamese urban context, hẻm entails more than just a road, but also a space that encourages social and economic diversity  for families and businesses that embody many characteristics of its city. 80% of Saigon’s population is living in these hẻm due to increased densification and lack of urban planning.

Saigon’s urban fabric continues to expand southward to low-lying regions, putting it at risk of flood damage due to the lack of city planning and uncontrolled development. Short-term responses implemented by the city have resulted in raised roads and alleyways to avoid flood waters. As a result, the impacts to alleyway (hẻm) housing typologies within the city pose disruptions to daily life, health, cultural and financial risks for residents who are unable to raise their homes at the same rate of the city.

Alternative solution to raising hẻm roads are proposed at multiple scales in a way that the city and residents can contribute to self sustaining development without setting lower income households at risk. This urban design approach utilizes an interdisciplinary method combining architectural, landscape and soft infrastructural design to regain and extend public spaces and the vibrant culture created by this typologies. Hẻm typologies are integrated within the design for resilient flood-strategies appropriate for different types of new and existing houses and land conditions accessed by these alleyways.

ABSTRACT. There is a certain group of species in nature which exist in both environments: on the land and in the water. The human is among those privileged beings. In our history of culture we could distinct many civilisations, which owe their origins to the location near the rivers, the lakes, the seasides e.g. Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and others. In Middle Europe, we could also notice many examples of such settlements especially near the rivers and the lakes. From the Early Middle Ages, we know some local legends e.g. about Popiel near Goplo Lake, Wanda from Cracow near the Vistula, Smok Wawelski near the Vistula, etc. The rivers and the lakes in the past were more important for transportation, trade, defence as well as the source of water and food - the best proof of that statement would be the huge number of Polish villages, towns and cities which still exist nowadays near the water environment. However, for some historical reasons, the presented traditional attitude of society co-existing between the land and the water is abandoned. In the paper, there is an attempt to return to „the roots", using modern technology combining with the traditional rundling type of settlement. On the other hand, the classical rundling settlement, there was a lack of common space (in the centre of the village in the form of the pond or the meadow) for the local community. In the modified rundling, there would be a stipulated maximisation of the boundaries between the land and the water, which would enable better multimodal access for communication among local inhabitants. The paper also presents some examples of the facilities and means of transportation integrated into the landscape including the complementary zones of dwelling, transportation, communications, leisure, craftsmanship, trade, etc.

ABSTRACT. Shaping the contemporary functional and spatial structure and buildings in the city should correspond to the issue of adaptation to climate change. The pro-environmental buildings are implemented in various ways also in a way that integrates the buildings with water and greenery in the city. Urban Farms, i.e. buildings and spatial development that enable the production of greenery for the needs of the local community and ecosystem services in the city, were analysed. The presented results of research and analyses allow to indicate the directions of development of hybrid buildings. Buildings integrated with water and greenery in the city to minimize the effect of the "heat island" and solutions for the development of buildings in the face of climate change.

ABSTRACT. In response to power crisis and water crisis in south east part of our country Bangladesh needs to find alternative ways to produce renewable energy. A number of feasibility studies made in the 1980s and in 2014 which have the potential for setting mini-small hydropower stations of 10 kW to 30MW capacity. But the existing type of hydrological power plant only serves as a function of power producing and totally isolated from the community. And those structures had devastating effect on human lives. What if these hydrological dams are integrated with the society and nature? What if they are act like one small village? One breathing hydrological infrastructure. It is my proposal that a prototypical hydrological infrastructure that is not only generates power but also connected with society. Current models of infrastructures comprises the problems including, : Segregation and Imposition into its Context, isolation from Society, Specialisation of Service and Single-mindedness of Function and Aesthetic. For these reasons, my proposal of in search for a Breathing Dam is towards a new typology of dam, away from the image of typical hydrological infrastructures, and towards a model which is not only integral but also integrated with society, to create "Architecture + ecology= Arcology" which may help alter the public perception of the essential infrastructures and reduce many of the negative consequences connected with dam management. This proposal will accommodate the people who would become homeless after flooding the reservoir. This dam will provide them scope for better agriculture and water management system. And power will make them a self-sufficient. Together, with the integration of ecology, society and infrastructure, the breathing Dam would be a physical model of a modern 'hydraulic civilisation'; a community and society sustained and dependent on its utilisation, control and management of water.

ABSTRACT. Throughout history, natural disasters were recognized as the driving power of the gods. Consequently, preventive actions against floods were rather temporary, and such events left huge damage to society. However, over time, knowledge about how one can reduce the damage caused by floods has increased. Public awareness of climate change and its impact on the environment we live in is also growing. Most of the historical changes in our climate are attributed to very small changes in the Earth's orbit, which affected the amount of solar energy supplied to our planet. The current trend of global warming is of particular importance, as there is a 95% probability that it is a negative effect of human activity from the middle of the 20th century and it has been proceeding at a rate unprecedented for millennia. There is no doubt that greenhouse gases cause Earth to warm up faster. Climate change has very adverse consequences for our living environment. One of the major effects of global warming is the increase in groundwater levels.  A significant part of the area inhabited by people is located relatively low, and will therefore be severely affected even by a moderate rise in the sea level. In the case of the majority of metropolises located along the coast, there is growing concern about the increase in the level of oceanic waters, and hence - the role of urban planning and architecture with the forms that are able to survive the enlarge in water levels. As a result, the importance of water in the city increased, and consequently, architects and planners started to include the important role of water areas in their projects. The aquatic and floating architecture is able to cope with many problems of present society and to offset one of the more harmful effects of population growth, ecological problems, or even global warming. Architecture that can withstand rapid water rise can play a significant role in shaping future cities, and also provide an alternative form of development in areas prone to flooding, such as river valleys or sea ​​waterfronts. Due to the method of protection against flooding and the functioning of the object I have separated 4 types of aquatic architecture:  architecture on terps, pile buildings, amphibious buildings and barges.

ABSTRACT. Cities and territories across de globe are or have been facing the climate change consequences, not recently but from many years ago. Since our collective actions as humanity do not change, we – architects, urban planners, decisions makers and local communities - are somehow obliged to rethink new relations between nature and human settlements. In this respect, resilience and adaptation appear as keywords to deal with the current destructive development model. When it comes to the tropical regions, particularly the Caribbean basin, this problem seems to take huge dimensions. Indeed, nearly 160 million people – including islands and countries that have any coastline on the Caribbean Sea – have become front row spectators of an increasingly unpredictable and sometime devastating weather.

Through a research-by-design approach, I pretend to illustrate not only the climate change challenges such as powerful tropical storms, sea level rise and drought but also the complexity and exceptionality of the inhabited Caribbean islands. Firstly, my analysis starts from large-scale maps comprising all the basin that spatialize some of these phenomena. Then, in an in-depth demonstration, I present a study case in the touristic island of Roatán, Honduras – where I come from. Using different types of project representations and statistical data, I develop a scenario of possible adaptation between 2019 and 2050 of a fishing village confronted to climate change issues, social inequalities, mass tourism and a generalized mismanagement of coastlines, tropical forests and coral reefs. Considering its touristic vocation, I propose a new adaptive land use scheme intended to use nature to preserve nature – marine and terrestrial ecosystems - and a housing model more resistant to new climate conditions. In short, my work tries to explore concrete solutions for a complex issue in a region well-known by its beauty and natural but not unlimited resources.

ABSTRACT. Gdansk’s waterway is a part of local economy, history and culture - a heritage that in our opinion may also become the future of comfortable and sustainable urban transportation. It’s an ideal platform for development of a new, though historically well-established, concept of autonomous ferries, a supplement to modern public transport in Gdansk.

We focused on advancing the key parameters for the concept of a water transport system, which will perform a flexible, easy-to-reach ferry connections. Available in two modes – interval or „on request” – ferries are designed for pedestrians and cyclists only.

Our goal is to develop a system solution for small double-ended electric ferries based on one technological platform and the same shape and construction of the hull (developed by Gdansk University of Technology). It would enable us to create foundations for different, optimized and adapted for various areas versions of a boat. Basic ferry design will be autonomous (or remotely controlled) solution, but at the same time it will maintain fully integrated with the city’s shipping monitoring system.

We want this project to both stimulate the districts of Gdansk that are located near to water-passage, and stay in harmony with urban manner, so it could become a new hallmark for passenger vessels in Gdansk.

The project is developed as a research study by a team of designers (including students) of Naval Architecture Study, Architecture and Design Faculty, Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk.

ABSTRACT. PRS (Polish Register of Shipping) is an expert institution acting on the international market, that - by conducting business for the benefit of the community - through the formulation of the requirements, survey and issue of the appropriate documents, assists State Administrations, Underwriters and customers in ensuring the safety of people, floating objects, land undertakings, carried cargo and the natural environment.

PRS as a classification society being a member of IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) is currently developing a PRS regulatory publication "Technical Rules and Principles of Supervision over Designing, Construction and Operation of Floating Objects Permanently Moored (FOPM)”.

Subject and scope of the Publication The Publication defines requirements and procedures for all kind of objects: newly built, reconstructed or modernized throughout their life cycle.

Purpose of the publication • Determining and implementation of relevant definitions on the territory of the Republic of Poland, • Defining technical and formal requirements for design, construction and operation of the objects, • Determining the scope and methodology of exercising supervision over the design, construction and operation of the objects, • Informing the person ordering construction or purchasing the manufactured object about his duties.

The publication includes the following issues: • basic principles and design requirements as well as technical regulations that ensure the design of the facility as a safe object in operation; • technical conditions for the construction of FOPM; • principles and scope of technical supervision over the construction of FOPM; • requirements set by PRS in carrying out the required inspections, tests, examinations and measurements; • requirements, the fulfillment of which is necessary for PRS to issue Certificates of Compliance or relevant certificates resulting from conducted technical inspections; • requirements for proper operation of FOPM.

ABSTRACT. Creating floating structures that allow users to come into direct contact with water has a rich history. Initially used as places related to hygiene, then they served the general public as a place of recreation related to water. The progressive water pollution and the development of individual tourism have caused this form of contact with water to fall. Newly emerging examples prove that this type of construction is an effective way of reclamation of waterfront areas, paying attention to the issues of recreation, water purity and the comprehensive use of waterfronts in cities.

ABSTRACT. SCOPE The scope of the presented research is to depict the relationship between urban planning and environment. In the age of Anthropocene urbanisation processes result in densification of the built tissue of existing cities. This dynamic provokes high pressure on the land and natural resources, such as rivers and soil. The single study case of Powiśle examines the development of buildings despite the proximity of not regulated Vistula River. BACKGROUND Powiśle district in Warsaw is located in a central part of the capital city of Poland, which benefits of current fast development. The land was little built due to its location on the river bank and continuous exposition to flooding. Last decades after the political and systemic transformation in Poland have resulted in unprecedented building pressure on the land of the capital city surface as well as its surroundings. METHOD The desktop and literature research on the topic of master planning was completed with qualitative interviews with key actors of this process. The environmental analysis was led in GIS mapping system of multiple databases. The comparison of both aspects of the current development, formal planning and environmental were examined in an interdisciplinary approach. RESEARCH Conducted research examines the urban planning situation along with flooding maps and other environmental conditions. RESULTS Presented results show how managing flood risk within a dynamically developing city might be challenging. The neoliberal market rules overtook the inhabitant’s and nature protection from flooding since terrains on the riverbank were set for construction of housing.

ABSTRACT. Although the effects of climate change are globally damaging, the impacts are disproportionately felt by poorer communities in developed countries and the Global South. As sea levels rise, coastal, deltaic, and riverine communities must deal with more frequent flooding of a greater magnitude than historically experienced. Solutions to increased flooding often propose relocation resulting in strategic buy-outs and tear downs. This method does not provide social sustainability nor environmental resilience, yet remain the status quo in many flood prone communities. The financial and cultural costs of rebuilding or relocating are high. As an alternative, buoyant foundation retrofits offer an affordable and resilient solution that adapts to changing flood conditions. In this presentation we demonstrate the potential of retrofitting to build resilience in communities using the town of Princeville, North Carolina as an example. As the first town to be incorporated by freed slaves after the American Civil War, it is exemplary of a community with a built history in need of preservation. We present evidence of the inherent anthropocentricity and inequality of flooding arising from climate change in the region by analysis of the social impact of increases in depression, anxiety, and other disorders caused by relocation. We use the comparative costs of reconstruction versus an amphibious retrofits of a house in Princeville to demonstrate the cost-effective nature of amphibious retrofits. We argue that the social impact of flooding must be addressed head-on in order to build resilience in the physical fabric and morale of a community.

ABSTRACT. Most of the cities are water cities, such as Gdańsk, located at the outlet of the Vistula River to the Baltic Sea. Featuring anthropogenic landscape of polders, dried marshlands and former oxbow lakes, the city may serve as a laboratory for innovative urban and architectural solutions. For ages, riparian territories were periodically flooded and developed precious amphibious ecosystems. An immense urban pressure observed in the last century resulted in landscape alterations. In effect, today one-third of urban area in Gdańsk is located so low, that remains dry only because of the constant pumping action. With climate change, lowland territories are even more prone to flooding by heavy rains and storms that push water back from the sea into the river. Rising lines of embankments and speeding up the pace of pumping out water no longer offers the best protection against inundation, and is environmentally and hydrologically questionable. Letniewo district in Gdańsk was selected as a laboratory field for developing innovative water management solutions, in frames of the international H2020 project “SOS Climate Waterfront”. As research study shows, the questioning land – water dichotomy and proposing their alternative and more fluid boundaries, allows developing new geography of place by designing with water. In the project proposal, selected areas were designated for inundation, some others developed into green spaces – to accommodate water overflow and support vulnerable ecosystems. Strips of land descend into the river in forms of floating platforms with vegetation and public spaces. Water reservoirs give alternative structure to the territory and open possibilities for introducing amphibious and floating urbanisation. Combination of flood protection measures and ecosystem services with urban plans differs from the standard land-use proposals for Gdańsk. Cooperation with local planning agencies as project partners should produce, in a longer term, a change in urban thinking and practice.

ABSTRACT. In collaboration with the National Resource Council of Canada (NRC), the Buoyant Foundation Project (BFP) has endeavored to create prototypes for existing and new amphibious houses, with the goal of developing amphibious construction as a flood mitigation and climate change adaptation strategy. In Canada. At the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, BFP held a competition to design a pavilion fitted with a buoyant foundation. The winning pavilion design underwent a full engineering review and construction document phases. The site for the pavilion is a stormwater retention pond, located at the University of Waterloo north campus. During the spring, the team evaluated the bathymetry of the pond to determine a location and an installation strategy for the pavilion. The pavilion was constructed at the School of Architecture campus by students working alongside the BFP. Between late August to September 20`8, modular components were pre-assembled and prepared for transportation to the pond in Waterloo. With the help of a team of construction trades, the pavilion was installed on the stormwater retention pond by mid-October 2018. Currently, the prototype is being monitored in order to collect data about its performance.

ABSTRACT. Translational Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach to convert theory into practice with lab to field concept. Projects in Translational Engineering focuses on a problem affected area, work on it from multi- disciplinary engineering perspectives and find a solution for it. In Munroethuruthu (Munroe islands), Kollam district of Kerala, India, which is considered as one of the vanishing islands, flooding happens frequently, salinity of water increases and houses and lands undergo large settlement. This project is a study in response to this issue considering a technology that can reduce the negative consequences and pave way for water instead of fighting against it. Amphibious construction is a type of flood mitigation strategy adopted all over the world. A reconnaissance study was done by visiting the amphibious houses built in Maasbommel, Netherlands, analysed their needs. Theoretical research about its foundation and superstructure, Multiple Criteria Analysis according to the location and analysis of a scaled model, have been included in this study for strengthening the reasons for its adaptation in Kerala.

ABSTRACT. Characteristic elements of the environment in the rivers’ valleys are the remains of the former river beds or so-called oxbow lakes. These are extremely valuable ecosystems and landscape components, as well as water management units of great importance, as long as they are biologically active. However, they quickly disappear if they are not periodically fed with river water, which takes place especially when rivers are embanked. Such a situation occurs, among others in Warsaw, where the wide Vistula valley loses its oxbow lakes, and this follows in a rapid manner. There are many opportunities for the reactivation of oxbow lakes, including through technical activities - excavation, broadening, deepening and feeding them with water retained in the vicinity. It is not always possible to restore the natural values of the valley in urbanized areas, however, oxbow lakes can then also play a recreational role and become an important element of the public space system. The author has carried out research related to land development projects of the new district located in the Vistula river valley in Warsaw (the “Siekierkowski Arc”). Many different design solutions have been proposed, taking as a leitmotiv the restoration of oxbow lakes, for example: (1) reconstruction of the water channel in the former riverbed (Łacha Czerniakowska) with the boulevard along its fragment and with the public park in another part, (2) water supplying of the existing oxbow lake (Jeziorko Czerniakowskie) through the blue infrastructure system, (3) creating linear parks with the system of bio-retention basins and wet ponds, stopping water to supply the oxbow lake. The author will present few urban designs carried out under her direction for this area and will show how they have been transposed into the provisions of the local plan, which may be the basis for further implementation.

ABSTRACT. Climate change affects the city as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The consequences of the global warming are, among the others, the increase in the average sea level and the extreme weather phenomenons that are becoming more frequent and more intense in the coming years. The flooding involves the need to reconsider the coastal urban areas, that, as stated by the European Commission, are often ill-equipped for adapting to climate change.

The paper addresses the Portuguese seashore streets, a complex urban territory between the city and the sea where different type of amphibious mediation elements coexist, aiming to identify, decode and typify these urban and architectural composition elements. The formation process of the seashore streets apart from the most simple landfills and regularization, included several defensive elements like seawalls, breakwaters and fortresses but also essential articulation systems between the consolidated city and water, that play a lead role as pivotal elements, such as ramps, stairs, piers, or docks, among others.

The ancestral nature of these mediation elements, and their timeless existence that persist over time in these ever changing territories is paradoxical. Nevertheless, it allows to understand them as key elements to address the coming evolutionary dynamics of the seashore street and its interrelation with the amphibious building and living.

ABSTRACT. Millennium of the Krakow history proves the strong relation between the Vistula river and the urban form. The defensive shape of the early settlements show the dependence of the river flow. Interlaced riverbed and wetlands influenced further urban transformations. The territorial expansion let the city to build over the wetlands. Still the main urban components of the axial urbanization – including Krakow Centre, Kazimierz and later Podgórze districts were separated by the Vistula. During the centuries the open water reservoirs got purposely reduced. 19thc. city beautification lead to cover the second river bed as to formulate the Dietla Avenue. Among the movements understood as “positive” extermination of the unwanted water flow the city reduced smaller watercourses as Młynówka or Garbarka. The 1904 flood showed, apart from the external problems of managing the water in the area, the lowered capacity of the city to absorb the extensive water. Austrian authorities proposed the relief channel as to save the main urban core from flooding. The channel became an urban utopia. It was discussed after two major floods in 1997 and 2010, leading to the invitation of interdisciplinary expert team of CUPA lead by International Intervision Institute in 2010 to discuss the feasibility of the canal. The final conclusions did not deny the implementation of the channel and related also to the possible water route use improvement. The next decade is passing by, while the developer’s market is reducing the possibility of building the channel. The city is relating its flood prevention system on the external reservoir and peripherally placed internal dry water tanks. Still the river function and internal water management issue might need to get revised by the Krakow city planners.

ABSTRACT. The concept of a dwelling is associated with an existential need to provide warmth, security and protection from the environment. It describes not only things, but also actions and refers to the physical structure and activities performed in it. It is something more than a building or part of it, forasmuch it exists in relation to the environment, living conditions and expectations of the user. Requirements regarding housing changed along with the organization of the society, financial capacity, awareness of the functional solutions’ availability, aesthetic expectations and the development of technology. To meet the needs of safety, comfortable family life, work and leisure, we use building structures and we expect them to be available, adequately durable and properly maintained. Contemporary challenges related to rapid urbanization, migration, deepening inequalities, climate change and environmental degradation make us contemplate the future of dwelling. The search for new places enabling the realization of housing needs is accompanied by the development of technology and striving for balance with nature. The aquatic areas become a field of experience for single- and multi-family buildings, in which traditional systems are enriched with new elements and solutions. Buildings like barges moored in a canal or port, are equipped with traps connecting to the mainland and technologically advanced solutions that enable the environment to be clean and to save energy. Realizations derived from the tradition of building in the contact with water, an important part of, among others Dutch and British heritage, affect the nature of modern housing development, enriching the overall catalog of functional and aesthetic solutions. The article aims to present solutions in housing construction that use relation to the water. It will indicate their specific features, significant historical precedents and the expected impact on the development of a modern dwelling.