Water Villa: Dutch-Style Floating Homes, a New Trend for i

The Netherlands, a country known by its nickname as the land of tulips and windmills, turns out to have quite significant environmental issues. Flooding disasters are quite common for the people in this country. It's not because many people litter carelessly, but due to the geographical condition of the land, which is on average below sea level. Dykes and dams have been built extensively.

However, new problems arise due to changing weather patterns. When there's heavy rainfall, the overflowing river water floods the land because the high sea level cannot contain it. One solution is to create basins to hold the water. Additionally, architects never run out of ideas to develop the area. One of them is by creating floating houses.

Another unique aspect is that this house not only appears to float but indeed floats. The building structure is not attached to the ground in the water. This can be seen from the cross-section of the house. There are two principles applied by the architects of this house. The first principle to make the house float is that the material for the building's platform must be lighter than the density of the water. The second principle is inspired by ships, utilizing open-topped concrete boxes allowing air to flow freely.

On the base floor, the exterior of the building is equipped with glass material on the side facing the water. This not only provides a beautiful view but also allows people from outside to have a glimpse of the inside of the house.

Upon entering the house from the land, visitors are immediately greeted by the kitchen and dining area on the right side. The interior of this house can be described as quite stunning. The finishing of the floor is smooth and combined with wooden furniture. The entire space has a cohesive color scheme. The individual chairs placed in the dining area have different shapes and colors.

Looking to the left, visitors are presented with the living room and a staircase leading to the basement room, seemingly floating. The windows surrounding the house can be opened by sliding, allowing visitors to enjoy the river ambiance from the terrace.

In addition to a TV, sofa, and bookshelf, this living room is also equipped with room heating. The form of the modern and elegant room heating system complements the overall modern ambiance of the space.

The staircase is placed in a void area, maximizing natural light from the outside to the lower floor. On this floor, there are two bedrooms with double-bed-sized beds. The rooms on this floor are quite enclosed without openings since they are below the water surface.

Apart from the beds, these rooms are equipped with large wardrobes for storage and a relaxation area. This area can be used for work or simply lounging around. The rooms also have a toilet and a shower room.

On the other hand, the other bedroom doesn't have a relaxation area but is replaced with a relatively large bathtub. Interestingly, this bathtub is left open without partition walls around the bedroom.

Beautiful and elegant are fitting words to describe this bathroom. It's equipped with raised flooring and non-slip materials. The glass door in this bathroom leads to the shower area.

If we look from the water, the house is covered in glass; at the entrance area, the glass walls are covered with aluminum sunscreen. Adorned with small dot perforations and numbers on the walls. During the day, it looks like a regular wall, but at night when the lights are on, it leaves a mesmerizing impression on those who see it. The entrance is adorned with a wooden door in contrast to the white color of the entire building.

The path to the house is a stable wooden bridge. Meanwhile, the house itself can have different heights depending on the water level. This house is easily movable and will not harm the surrounding environment.

Source: watervilla