FLOATING CONSTRUCTION

AND

FLOATING PAVILION

By

V.PUNEETH

ultimatepuneeth@gmail.com

ph:8125802850

G.PULLAREDDY ENGINEERING COLLEGE ,KURNOOL

ABSTRACT:

As an effect of global warming sea levels are rising in a much faster passion there by leading to the flooding of the lands in many parts of the world leading to heavy damage to their living places i.e, homes etc. Inorder to have a better management one among the best option is to make their living areas floating in the sense to have a floating construction which rise along with rise in water levels. This is a paper presented to elucidate the methods ,principles and advantages of floating constructions taking floating pavilion as an live example.

INTRODUCTION:

When people talk about the impact of rising sea levels,they often think of the small island states that risk being submerged if global warming continues unchecked.But it's not only those on low lying islands who are in danger.Millions of people live by thesea and are dependent on it for their livelihoods and many of the world's largest cities are on the coast.By 2050 the number of people living in the delta cities is set to increase by as much as 70% experts suggest vastly incresing the number of those at risk.Glaciers-if the world's mountain glaciers and icecaps melt,sea level will rise by an estimated 0.5m.Thermal expansion--the expansion of warming oceans was the main factor contributing to sea level rise,in the 20th centurycurrently accounts for more than half of the observed rise in sea level.Icesheets-these vast reserves contain billions of tonnes of frozen water if the largest of them(the east arctic ice sheet),melts the global sea level will rise by an estimated amount of 64m.The 2007

intergovernmental panel on climate change(IPCC) projected a likely sea level rise of 28-43cm this century.Much of ROTTERDAM-Europe's busiest port city-lies several meters below sea level,and this vulnerable position has led it to develop some of the best flood protection in the world.

CONSEQUENCE:

Because the sea level is higher at most places the water has no way to go other than flooding the land.

ALTERNATIVE:

One of the solution of the flooded land is not to build barriers to protect it but regulate it and make it big water basins out of it.At one hand

you can create nice urban developments on the water and at the same time you create buffer for rainy times.the only restriction for the urban developments is that it has to float otherwise the basins cant have a buffer action.

Floating construction constitutes one of the solutions that will be favoured more and more in the 21st century all over the world.

BASIC PRINCIPLE FOR MAKING FLOATING CONSTRUCTIONS:

(1)To make a solid platform that lighter than the water.

(2)The second principle based on ship,it is a hollow concrete box which is open on the top.due to all the air which is in the open box it gets the ability to flow.

Floating constructions are connected with a flexible connection to the quay so the construction can rise with the water when the tide changes.when needed the floating system can be moved elsewhere at short notice without leaving any scar to the environment, instead a new house can be placed into the old situation which makes it most sustainable and durable way to build. Floating construction is

explained below with floating pavilion as an example.

DISCUSSION ON FLOATING PAVILION:

Construction of a floating pavilion is an attractive project and it is the catalyst to motivate people for floating construction of concern to display the "symbiosis with the water" philosophy.

WHAT IS FLOATING PAVILION?

From a distance like the three large water droplets,floating side by side close look at the three big ball in the water translucent this striking building is a landmark in the dutch city of rotterdam and called floating pavilion.It consists of three semi transperent domes of respectively 18.5,20 and 24m in diameter.In total they cover a surface area of about 1000squaremetres.The floating pavilion will be remarkable not only because of its shape consisting of three floating half spheres ,but also becauseof its climate change resilient,innovative,sustainable and flexible qualities.

WHY IT HAS BEEN BUILT?

A large part of the Netherlands is situated below sea level. Over the last 150 years , the dutch people have conquerred the sea to devolop new land (polders) and protect them with dikes and extensive water pump system. Raising sea levels and intensified storms lead to reinforcement of existing water management structures.

Every strip of land and every strip of water is precious in a highly dense country like the netherlands. Important objectives of the new pavilion are to show case ways to reduce energy consumption and co2 emisssions along with floating construction.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

The development of a floating building allows architects ,building constructors and public parties not only to learn about 'how to build on water' but also how to transport floating buildingsand all other aspects related to 'houses on water.'

WHO DEVELOPED THE PAVILION?

The complex is a design by the design team deltasync and publicdomain architects and constructed by duravermeer and rnw concept design is responsible for the interior development and development of the seminar permanent exhibition in the pavilion showcasing new ways of building .energy production and use and water management.

WHAT MAKES THE PAVILION SO SPECIAL?

FLOATING FOUNDATION:

The polystyrene foundation contains a cellar for technical equipment of 9 by 3 for technical equipment.by using a floating foundation, buildings can be built on the water and shipped to the future (temporary) destination on water.certainly the rest of construction needs to be ultra light, so the building won't sink.

It is constructed from expanded polystyrene sheets(EPS).five layers of EPS will be placed one on the top of the other,the thinnest layer measuring 20 centimeters in thickness,and the thickest 75cm.The thickest layer will contain a grid of concrete beams, which will befastened to prefab concrete slabs.These slabs form the hard shell of the pavilion, protecting against the beating of the waves,for instance.placed on the top of this,a 20cm thick concrete floor will together with the beams,render the pavilion a rigid unit.thickness of this will be 2.25metres.the top of the floor will be about 80cm above the water level.

ULTRA LIGHT BUILDING STRUCTURE:

The pavilion has been built on a 2, 5 meter layer of polystyrene. All elements are chosen to limit the weight of the total construction: small steel frames and ETFE foil is being used to create the roofs so that floating foundation requires only a limited thickness. Compared to a glass building, this construction is 100 times lighter.

CLIMATE MANAGEMENT:

The foil roof consists of the layers of foil, filled with air under pressure that insulates and keeps the warmth inside the building. A part of the upper roof elements are covered with vector foiltec that add a layer for ultraviolet protection(principle also used in the beijing olympic swimming pool).Air convection streams are created by window opening on ground floor level and in the top of the floor. In this climate in the different rooms is managed in a different way, depending on the use of the room.

the level of sustainability of the pavilion is determined by the materials used, it’s flexibility, as well as it's fittings.for instance, the building's heating and air conditioning systems rely on solar energy and surface water.It contains various climatic zones; the energy is used only in places where it is concerned, the pavilion will largely be self sufficient. Even the toilet water will be purified by its own system whatever is left,can subsequently be discharged into surface water.

floating is a favourable technology other sustainable technologies like local drinking water purification and sustainable energy supplies.

ECO FACTOR:

Sustainable floating pavilion designed to harness solar energy for power.

ADVANTAGES OF FLOATING CONSTRUCTIONS:

flexibility and moveability are the major advantages of the floating construction.this means that floating buildings can be easily

adapted to meet changing needs.the concept also has a great deal of potential in terms of adapting to climate change.floating buildings rise as the sea level rises.in addition, floating construction lends itself excellently to the implementation of local, sustainable concepts for water and energy provision.

floating pavilion is an excellent example of how a port city can change its focus to tackle the challenges of climate change.

ADVANCEMENTS:

floating houses with foundations,if necessary as the water level climbs,the floating house itself can move up five meters. The cellar in this case is not built into the earth, instead it is on a platform and is much more than a mere storage room.the hollow foundation of each house works in the same way as the hull of a ship, buoying the structure above the water. To prevent these houses from floating away, they slide up two broad steel posts and as the water level sinks, so they sink back down again.the columns have been driven deep into solid ground, and they are even strong enough to withstand currents we find on open sea.

CHALLENGES BEFORE US:

(1)Need to design and develop extra ordinary structures that can withstand heavy wind loads and tidal forces.

(2)Need to develop ways to make this technology adaptable to different places on earth.

(3)Need to develop and make use of materials in an effective way needed for use in floating construction.

PROJECTS ON THESE:

Many projects are going under construction and some more in design process around world with this concept. Some of them are:

New Orleans floating city or arcology habitat on mississippi

Floating homes in dutch

Float at marina bay

The gyre floating oceanic skyscraper

Green float lilypad skyscraper city

New Orleans model

Model of floating homes

Green float lilypad skyscraper design in amsterdam

CONCLUSION:

I feel the technical knowledge we have acquired in engineering school and in practice should be put into full use not only for standard building projects but also for creating new possibilities

and designs.This results in product development and also in innovative engineering for otherwise standard projects.The added value of innovation is always long term and it takes a load of good common sense and intuition to evaluate research and development.

REFERENCES:

www.greentake.wordpress.com

A&b magazine on architecture

www.rotterdam.info

www.rotterdamclimateinitiative.com