Floating Homes Philippines

Abstract

All around the world floods are a growing problem. Dealing with high water levels in residential areas is of great importance. The delta area of Macabebe, in the Manila Bay, has to cope with daily flooding, caused by the river and the sea. Groundwater is pumped and used for local industry, causing land subsidence and worsening the problems. Where once rice fields were the main source of income, these fields are now fishponds where fish escape during a large flood. Additionally, typhoons strike the region regularly. Due to climate change and the ongoing ground subsidence the problems won’t lessen, so a solution needs to be found. In the Netherlands, multiple organizations are working daily on finding solutions. One of these is Finch Floating Homes, who designed a typhoon resilient, floating home for in the Philippines. This design had to be elaborated on before construction of a pilot project. This report contains the needed changes and advice for the design of the floating home. Through research, local interviews and analysis, the design of the house has been improved on the roof, sanitary system and mooring system and a construction plan has been created for the pilot project.

Based on a revision of the roof shape, the hip roof turned out to be the best shape in a typhoon prone area. During the design, the geometry of the housing unit was slightly changed into a double symmetrical geometry, increasing constructability and simplicity of the house. The design of the roof structure and its connections, consisting of four identical prefabricated frames, is presented. After prefabrication, the frames will be connected on-site, after which the newly designed foldable balconies will be placed in the frames. The material used in the design is corrugated steel roof sheeting.
The final roof shape is used to calculate the rainwater collection. The floating house requires a self-sustaining system that fulfils the needs of drinking water and wastewater treatment. This
system consists of three separate systems: (1) rainwater harvesting, consisting of a drainage system, first flush barrel system and sand filter. (2) Storage of water, capable of storing sufficient water for one-third of the total usage over 80% of the year. (3) Wastewater, based on natural treatment before discharge into the surface water, containing a septic tank and wetland filter.
The water management system within the foundation, the wind load on the house, waves and currents influence the motions of the floating structure and the forces on the mooring system. An analysis of the options for mooring systems leads to the decision of using mooring piles. The total stiffness of the piles influences the horizontal motion and rotation of the platform. The vertical motion is a free behaviour; it is not influenced by the mooring piles. It is needed to choose a specific combination of pile length and bending stiffness, after which the strength of the pile is checked.
The design is used for the project construction plan, focussing on the time, risk and change management of the pilot project. The resources and construction activities and their duration were identified to develop a schedule for controlling the construction phase. Preparations and construction of the pilot will take 13 weeks, but includes several risks. Response strategies for these risks are proposed, to use for a risk mitigation plan. Finally, advice is given on how to manage possible design changes regarding new research, development of design and up-scaling changes after a successful pilot project.

With the use of this report and more detailed research and design, the pilot project will be an optimal test of the floating house in the Philippines.