Last week, Dezeen presented Bruges Diptych, a floating event pavilion in Belgium that references 15th-century canal houses. Here we have collected 10 other floating architecture projects spanning housing, farmhouses and event spaces.
Portage Bay Float Home, USA, by Studio DIAA
Located in Seattle at the north end of Lake Union, this Studio DIAA home is inspired by the area’s traditional houseboats.
The house is square in plan and comprises a single level. It was built on a log foundation dating back to the early 1900s and features a pitched roof and exterior walls clad in cedar and Richlite.
Learn more about Portage Bay Float Home ›
Floating farm, Netherlands, by Beladon and Goldsmith
Envisioned and initiated by Peter and Minke van Wingerden of waterborne architecture firm Beladon, and built by architecture studio Goldsmith, Floating Farm is a dairy farm in Rotterdam.
It has been pre-emptively designed for a future where climate change and rising sea levels mean farmland will be devastated by flooding. The structure generates its own electricity from floating solar panels and collects its own water from rainwater irrigation systems.
Learn more about the floating farm ›
Chichester, UK, by Baca Architects
London-based architecture firm Baca Architects has designed a timber-clad floating house on the Chichester Canal in southern England.
Developed as a prototype with British company Floating Homes, the structure references typical riverboat design, but scaled up to create a spacious and luxurious home on the water.
Learn more about Chichester ›
Watervilla Weesperzijde, The Netherlands, by +31 Architects
Partly underwater, this floating house by +31 Architects is located along the Amstel River in Amsterdam.
The structure is one of Amsterdam’s growing number of houseboats lining the banks of the city’s canals and waterways. It consists of a lower level which is submerged in the river, while an upper level is located at the water surface level.
Read more about Watervilla Weesperzijde ›
Veetee, Estonia, by students of b210 and the Estonian Academy of Arts
Veetee is a wooden shelter floating on metal poles designed to provide shelter for visitors to the forest of Soomma National Park during the annual spring floods.
It was created by interior design students from the Estonian Academy of Arts in collaboration with Tallinn-based architecture firm b210 during a 10-day workshop.
Learn more about Veetee ›
Floating house, Canada, by MOS Architects
Steel pontoons provide this log cabin with buoyancy allowing it to float its two floors on the surface of Lake Huron in Canada.
Designed by New York studio MOS Architects, Floating House’s pontoon base allows it to adapt to the changing water levels of the lake.
Learn more about the floating house ›
Schoonschip Amsterdam, Netherlands, by i29
Part of a floating village, Schoonschip Amsterdam is a floating house designed by Dutch architecture firm i29.
The village has been under development since 2010 and intends to be a model of sustainable development. The two-story house features angled openings and cutaway corners to provide views of the Aquatic Quarter.
Learn more about Schoonschip Amsterdam ›
Arkup 75, by Waterstudio.NL
Dutch architecture studio Waterstudio.NL has designed a solar-powered electric yacht villa with extendable stilts that can raise the structure out of the water to become an off-grid home.
“The design was inspired by the way flamingos stand in water,” Waterstudio.NL founder Koen Olthuis told Dezeen. “Only one leg in the water and the untouchable body above the surface.”
Learn more about the Arkup 75 ›
Genesis, UK, by Denizen Works
Originally moored near Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Genesis is a floating chapel designed by Denizen Works that functions as a church and community center.
It was developed by Denizen Works with Turks Shipyard and naval architect Tony Tucker and features an extendable roof that is inspired by the bellows of a church organ and Volkswagen motorhomes.
Learn more about Genesis ›
Floating pavilion, Brazil, by Bruno Rossi
Designed by Brazilian studio Bruno Rossi, this 80 square meter pavilion was built on a bridge that spans a dam in Santo Antonio de Posse, Brazil.
It was built to provide shade and add extra space to the existing pier, which is used for recreation and water activities.
Learn more about the floating pavilion ›
