Photocredits: Architect Koen Olthuis - Waterstudio.NL
Q. How can we use floating architecture to improve water quality and reduce our environmental impact?
A. Floating developments can be scarless developments, leaving no carbon footprint during their lifetime and no physical footprint after their lifespan. Sustainaquality provides us with new possibilities to make more effective sustainable developments. The temperature on the water in hot countries is always better than on land. Water-cooling and wind cooling are new forms of energy sources that will open the road for cities on water with less environmental impact.
Photocredits: Architect Koen Olthuis – Waterstudio.NL and Pieter Kers
FLOAT! is a beautiful volume that explores the world of floating architecture through historic, current, and future developments as well as the technologies behind them. Eye-catching images, bright neon typography and a well-written narrative all make this a book you will want to have in your collection. Think: Christmas present to yourself — or the architecture lover in your circle.
Q. What are some of the technologies or design features that make living on the water more sustainable, energy-efficient, and/or resource efficient?
A. Sustainability is good, sustainaquality is better! Sustainaquality is sustainability on water by using the unique qualities and conditions of aqua territory. Sustainaquality is the combination of sustainability – aqua- and quality. Cooling wind effects of water, enormous fluid mass with buffer temperature for water cooling, wave and tidal energy as well as floating solar fields.
Q. As sea levels rise, do you think we will realistically see billions people who live on the waterfront transitioning into housing that floats , rather than relocating away from the water line?
A. Urbanization will grow in the coming years and 90% of the metropolises are located near the water, so it is just logical that cities will find a way to live with the water instead of going away. Look at the Dutch — we are living below sea level for hundreds of years instead of leaving for higher Europe. Nobody wants to leave New York, Tokyo or London. We’d rather deal with the sea level rise by using the space in the cities on water.
This kind of thing appeals to me on many levels. Another nice benefit is that a neighborhood doesn not have to be subject to many months of noise, truck traffic and construction dust from new building construction. All that takes place far away and then the building is floated into place. But it would be a difficult sell for New York, where open water is fiercely protected by state DEPs. The understanding is that shading reduces the quality of aquatic habitat. But the US does have examples of huge floating buildings. I’ve seen the giant casinos along the Mississippi. They are built to float in man-made lagoons so that they are technically not on land, but in the river, and thus subject to different laws.
I M P O R T A N T
I need the email address of Koen Olthuis, WATER STUDIO NL as soon as possible please for a major design project for Sydney Harbour, Australia, cruise ship terminal.
Thank you
Andrew Woodhouse,
President
Potts Point and Kings Cross Heritage Conservation Society
30th Septemebr, 2011
Ph 0011 66 415 949 506
email heritageandconservation@hotmail.com
I saw it today at William Stout Architectural Books shop on Mission Street in San Francisco.
It should not be this hard to find a book.. anyone know where I can pick this up?