Emergency housing that floats

[J & D Goldman]

True, floating homes won't save you from high winds, but may be an
option where flooding due to rising waterways or a broken levy is the
problem. Maybe we can try some air infused concrete if we can get the
strength with a material less dense than water, then we can get some
mechanical protection as well.
- Dan G.

-----Original Message-----
From: RoConroy at aol.com <RoConroy at aol.com>
To: domesteading at sculptors.com <domesteading at sculptors.com>
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 8:04 PM
Subject: Re: Emergency housing


>In a message dated 5/30/2006 6:27:13 PM Central Standard Time,
>shunter at u.arizona.edu writes:
>A while back, I proposed rebuilding New Orleans dwellings on floating
>foundations.  Now there is an article by Barbara Kreisler, pp.63-367,
in
>the May 2006 issue of the journal _Urban Land_ (ISSN 0042-0891,
>http://www.uli.org/Content/NavigationMenu/DiscoverULI/LeadersinOurFie
ld/Public
>ations/UrbanLand/CurrentIssue/Urban_Land_Current_I1.htm
>) entitled "Homes That Float," detailing designs from the
>Netherlands--which is largely below sea level--and elsewhere that are
>based on this very same principle.  There is one particularly
interesting
>illustration of a "prefab hybrid floating space frame system"
designed "to
>be a refuge during a catastrophic climate event, such as the flooding
a
>city like New Orleans always anticipates."
>        Hurricanes don't care if you float or not.  They will take
huge
>floating cargo ships, break their moorings loose,  and play dice with
them.  A
>large hurricane will simply take floating houses and stack them up
against and on
>top of each other.  The floating foundations will only create more of
mess to
>clean up.
>      As for New Orleans, it is sinking into the ground and will
eventually
>be under water irrespective of a hurricane or not.  Plus, the
protective
>wetlands are only years away from going the way of the Dodo bird.
>Bob