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Vivre dans une maison flottante, c’est l’aventure

Le Mond, Audrey Garric, July 2013

Sur sa large terrasse arborée, Rick Uylenhoet profite de la légère brise marine. Ce pilote de ligne de 47 ans, qui passe ses journées dans les airs, a choisi de vivre sur l’eau. Il est le tout premier à s’être installé dans les maisons flottantes qui ont jeté l’ancre au cœur des îles d’Ijburg, un quartier de 20 000 habitants du sud-est d’Amsterdam (Pays-Bas).

“J’ai dessiné les plans moi-même”, lance-t-il fièrement, en faisant visiter sa spacieuse et lumineuse villa de 175 m2, sur trois étages, dans laquelle il vit avec sa femme et ses deux enfants depuis 2008. Dans son grand canapé blanc, caressant son chien, il raconte : “Ici, on a l’impression d’être toujours en vacances. L’été, les enfants se baignent devant la maison et découvrent de nombreux poissons. L’hiver, ils patinent sur le bassin. C’est fantastique de vivre sur l’eau : on s’y sent libre.”

Coût de l’embarquement : 650 000 euros pour la maison, soit 3 700 euros le mètre carré, alors que les prix peuvent grimper jusqu’à 7 000 euros dans le centre d’Amsterdam. Ce prix inclut celui de la parcelle d’eau de 160 m² (130 000 euros), donnée en concession par la ville pour une durée de cinquante ans renouvelable.

“EXPLOITER CETTE EAU QUI EST PARTOUT”

Depuis quelque temps, l’horizon de Rick Uylenhoet s’est toutefois voilé. Avec le succès de ce nouveau mode de vie, une trentaine de demeures personnalisées par des architectes ont amarré sur les pontons voisins. A quelques encâblures, de l’autre côté du bassin protégé par une digue, la municipalité a par la suite installé une soixantaine d’autres habitations flottantes, toutes identiques et moins chères.

“Amsterdam cherche à exploiter cette eau qui est partout”, explique Koen Olthuis, architecte du cabinet Waterstudio, qui a construit deux des maisons du quartier. Objectif : s’adapter à la montée du niveau des mers due au réchauffement climatique, mais, surtout, pallier le manque de place – les Pays-Bas enregistrent la deuxième plus forte densité de population d’Europe.

“Les maisons sont désormais trop proches les unes des autres. J’aimerais me sentir davantage dans la nature”, déplore le pilote, en montrant la vue plongeante sur le salon de ses voisins, à travers les immenses baies vitrées.

“AVOIR PLUS DE PLACE”

Cette proximité, Maartje Ramaekers n’en a cure. Au contraire, elle l’apprécie. La jeune femme de 35 ans, conseillère dans le domaine médical, a acheté avec son mari l’une des maisons flottantes récentes, une habitation mitoyenne cubique. “On a l’impression de vivre dans un village. On est très proches de nos voisins, avec lesquels on organise des fêtes, des barbecues, et on s’aide pour le baby-sitting”, s’enthousiasme-t-elle.

C’est pour leur fille, âgée de 2 ans, que la famille Ramaekers a élu domicile dans ce quartier d’Ijburg. “On a emménagé ici à la naissance d’Arte, pour avoir plus de place et lui faire profiter de la nature”, raconte la jeune mère alors que la petite joue dans le bac à sable installé sur la terrasse au ras de l’eau. A l’intérieur de la maison baignée de lumière, les jouets sont partout : depuis la vaste cuisine au rez-de-chaussée jusqu’aux chambres en bas, sous le niveau de la mer, en passant par le salon à l’étage, qui donne sur la terrasse où trône une balançoire. Pour ces 105 m2, le jeune couple a dû débourser 300 000 euros. Un investissement non négligeable. Mais, estiment ces amoureux de la voile, l’impression de grand large est à ce prix. “Vivre dans une maison flottante, c’est l’aventure !”

ÉQUILIBRER LES MEUBLES

Il a ainsi fallu s’habituer à dormir à 1,5 mètre sous le niveau de la mer – dans la “coque” de la maison-bateau – et au roulis en cas de grand vent. “On voit régulièrement les luminaires tanguer”, décrit Maartje Ramaekers. La maison, construite sur un caisson de béton flottant, est fixée à deux piliers solidement plantés dans l’eau, qui assurent sa stabilité tout en lui permettant de suivre le mouvement de l’onde. “Nous avons aussi dû équilibrer les poids de nos meubles avec ceux de nos voisins !”, ajoute-t-elle, en montrant son piano, disposé à l’extrémité du salon. L’hiver, le gel peut aussi s’emparer des tuyaux des arrivées d’eau, d’électricité et de gaz, qui courent sous les appontements. “On vit avec”, assure-t-elle.

Malgré l’attrait du quartier – médias et curieux s’y pressent depuis cinq ans –, certains logements n’ont pas trouvé preneur en raison de la crise économique. La municipalité projette néanmoins de construire de nouvelles habitations flottantes, plus loin vers la mer. Un nouveau quartier dans lequel Rick Uylenhoet se verrait bien emménager. En y remorquant sa maison.

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Waterstudios villa Traverse is near completion

Villa Traverse is near completion, and the construction of another New Water Villa has started .

The construction of the first Traverse villa in The New Water is almost complete.

At this moment the facade builders are finishing the characteristic facade and the interior work will be completed this summer. On the other side of The New Water urban plan, the construction on another modern villa has started. The foundation piles are already in place and preparations on the construction of the basement floor is well ahead. The designs can easily be recognized by its modern and iconic architectural appearance.

Both villas are amongst the first that are equipped with a highly sustainable DuPont Corian facade, Waterstudio is the first office that uses this material in a large scale. It was selected by us because it is a fantastic material to use on and near the water. It also has a modern appearance, low maintenance and has the ability to thermally form the characteristic round and seamless corners of the design.

The materials used in these villas work as a test case for our water villas in the Maldives project.

A visionary where the art of construction and water come together

Water enjoyment, Koen Olthuis, March 2013

Rising sea levels resulting from climate change present many nations with serious problems, with disastrous floods posing an increasing threat.
Where will people go when there is no land left?

When your country is threatened by rising seas and land is literally eaten away by the sea you have two options. Either you will move towards higher land or you change perceptions and
look at all the space on water as an opportunity to build upon and start utilising it. This sounds unrealistic but the Republic of Maldives is already planning for this geographic change. This nation exists of 1200 islands spread out over 700 kilometres in the Indian Ocean. With the highest grounds not more than 1.60 meters above water this country is the first to suffer from rising sea levels. Even a relatively small water rise of 30 cm in 60 years, it will mean a big change for the Maldivians. There are voices within the government who believe that buying new land on the continents would be the best way forward. This would however mean the loss of local cultural roots and identity.We believe that there is another option. Making floating land.
Large floating landscapes which would look the same as a normal land. In a way not so different from landfill, but more sustainable. These new islands would have beaches, houses,
trees and more green. We think that this is not a process over a few years but of a period of few decades where our floating donor land would be slowly over taken by vegetation and fauna
of the existing sinking islands. To kick-start this process Dutch Docklands is developing the first large scale projects like the floating private islands Amillarah and the floating golf course of 500,000 m2. These projects show the feasibility as well as the possibilities of a future with rising seas.

You see the interface between architecture and water not as the point where two separate entities simply come together, but where they connect and shape each other What is the vision behind this idea?

For a long time we have thought that living on land or living on water are two separate worlds. The border was clear and even rules and regulations change by crossing the waterline. Today
we see that water is a new available space to expand our cities and solve several problems caused by climate change and urbanisation. No longer is there a collision of two worlds but an
integration of maritime and land based functions. We believe in hybrid solutions where the boundary between land and water is blurred. This means that if you are driving your car from the mainland towards floating islands you will not see or notice any difference. The only thing different is the foundation under the surface is made of another technology.
Next to the enlargement of building space there is another opportunity when we start using water for city expansion. Water provides flexibility. Theoretically, functions on water are
no longer doomed to stay on a fixed location during their total technical lifespan. These floating developments can easily be moved because of the simple mooring system. This means that
we can move functions throughout the city when needed. No longer we have to demolish buildings when they are out of use but we can re-use or resell them to other locations. Exactly
the same as happens with second hand cars. By this we create a city that provides enough flexibility to react instantly to the changing need of our dynamic community. Often we see that
buildings or functions which we thought were perfect ten years ago are no longer fulfilling our needs today. I do not believe in totally floating cities but in hybrid ones that use water territory for an extra place to expand and to create flexibility that fits our constantly changing demands. Your projects “Cruise Terminals” and “Het Nieuwe Water” in the Netherlands and with other projects in Dubai, you are entering “new territory” in every sense. What are the features of these new “architecture / water interfaces”? The new territories we enter provide us with new challenges. But it is not the technology that is holding back the use of water but our perception. In order to let water be the essential part of the metamorphosis to the cities of tomorrow we should show authorities and developers the opportunities that water can provide. Water provides next to the flexibility I just mentioned also some sustainability and ecological advantages. Floating solar energy fields which spread out like large blankets over the water, water-cooled floating buildings and green floating habitats to composite the lack of open green territory for little animals on land in growing metropolis.

Your innovative designs of floating structures pave the way to a future where whole cities can exist and grow on top of the water. Will this approach result in protection against flooding
and increase responsible use of dwindling water supplies?

Our designs are part of a new approach against urban flooding. The oast has taught us that defensive solutions like higher levies and canalization of rivers are not sufficient any more. We think they must be in close combination with more offensive concepts that live with nature and the water. Floating and amphibious solutions are not threatened by floods and can provide safe heavens during times of disaster for many inhabitants of the old land based functions. It is not only land or only water developments but the cooperation of both that will lead to safer waterfront cities in the future.

City Apps by waterstudio.nl – sanitation solutions in slums for the poorest of the poor

As a pioneer of “floating architecture”, you develop solutions for sanitation facilities in slums. Under the project name “City Apps”, the aim is to create desperately needed solutions for the poorest of the poor. What has been your contribution to this altruistic project idea and how far along is the implementation?

In 2011 I started research together with UNESCO-IHE in
Delft to see if water based functions could help slums located at the waterfront in growing development cities to upgrade their prosperity.

Slums in coastal regions – such as the Korail slum in Bangladesh – are being upgraded with floating sanitation components. How does that work?

The idea is that the lack of space and the resistance to invest in these slums because of the uncertainty of eviction disturbs any possible upgrade of conditions. By using space on water we
could introduce so called city apps to these slums. City apps are floating products that provide the most essential functions like floating sanitation, floating shelter and floating energy
productions and communication. These functions are built in containers in Europe and shipped over to these slums. In the slums we build the floating foundation and place the containers
on top. In case of any eviction or change in needs these city apps can be re-used or resold to other locations. These city apps hold their value and should be part of an investment
program to upgrade these slums towards the normal local city standards. These investments will be done by European influential brands which are dominant in their field of expertise
and want to use their expertise to make a difference. Again it should not be a matter of donating but investing in a small scaled business case to create commitment and interaction
with local users and local micro businesses.

After research and a fieldtrip we have chosen Korail a wet slum in Dhaka Bangladesh to be the first location where we want to upgrade prosperity.

Your award-winning idea therefore requires a team of different companies for the development, the components, installation work and project management. What local and external partners have you already secured for this project?

What contribution has been made, for example, by Grohe AG, a leading international company for sanitation components? One of the functions is a floating washroom and toilets together
with a filter system for the black water. GROHE is a typical market leader which has gathered innovations and products for the western high end market. This knowledge is very vital for
our sanitation app. GROHE will provide both products and knowledge for the implementation of the first city app in Korail.

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City Apps fight the rising seas

Discovery Channel Magazine, 2013

City Apps fight the rising seas

As sea levels rise and populations expand in poorer waterside communities, a series of floating structures that provide spaces for food and energy production, shelter and
sanitation may help improve the lives of people living in wet slums.
Known as City Apps, Koen Olthius and his team from the Netherlandsbased Waterstudio who designed it, recently won the prestigious Architecture and Sea Level Rise Award
2012 from the Jacques Rougerie Foundation, for these flexible and adaptable structures (pictured). The technology, which includes floating PV cell farms, vegetable gardens and
other useful structures, was originally designed for wealthy waterside dwellers. It will now be used for communities in need, with the prize money from the award going towards
implementing the first City App in the Korail Wet Slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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