Amphibious Architectures: The Buoyant Foundation Project in Post-Katrina New Orleans

street level street level

base flood

base flood elevation elevation 3 to 8 feet

3 to 8 feet

buoyant

buoyant foundation project foundation 15 to 25 feet project

15 to 25 feet

fig. 87: Static Elevation versus Amphibious Foundations During a Flood

flooded streetscape of homes at pre-katrina elevation (2 to 3 feet)

street level

base flood elevation 3 to 8 feet

flooded streetscape of homes elevated to BFE and higher (3 to 8 feet)

flooded streetscape of homes on buoyant foundations (15 to 25 feet) fig. 88: Streetscape Comparison Diagram During a Flood 126

Amphibious Architectures: The Buoyant Foundation Project in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Published on Dec 12, 2010

Elizabeth Fenuta

About

MArch Thesis Abstract: This is a research-based thesis building upon the study conducted over the past two years with Dr. Elizabeth English on the Buoyant Foundation Project (BFP). The BFP is currently developing an amphibious foundation system to retrofit vernacular wooden ‘shotgun’ houses in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. This neighbourhood was chosen because of its unique cultural heritage and the severe, but recoverable, damage incurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The BFP system will allow homes to float when flooding occurs, rising and descending vertically to avoid flood damage. It provides an alternative solution to permanent static elevation, the mitigation strategy currently recommended by the United States federal government. The thesis will demonstrate how the Buoyant Foundation Project is a culturally supportive, technically feasible, economical, sustainable and resilient form of flood mitigation for post-Katrina New Orleans.

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