REPORT

BUOYANT FOUNDATION

NEHA DAS
SEM 5
ROLL NO.07
ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS
 THE BUOYANT FOUNDATION PROJECT
The Buoyant Foundation Project (BFP) is a non-profit research
initiative founded in 2006 at the LSU Hurricane Center with the goal of
designing and implementing retrofittable buoyant foundations for New
Orleans "shotgun" houses.
WHAT IS A BUOYANT FOUNDATION?
A buoyant foundation is a type of amphibious foundation that is
specially designed to be retrofitted to an existing south Louisiana
shotgun house. It allows the house to sit just above the ground like a
normal elevated house under normal conditions, but to rise up and float
safely on the water when there is a flood. It has a structural subframe
that attaches to the underside of the house and supports the flotation
elements, or buoyancy blocks. Extensions of the structural subframe
attach to the tops of vertical guidance poles near the corners of the
house that telescope out of the ground to provide resistance to lateral
forces from wind and flowing water.
When flooding occurs, the flotation blocks lift the house, with the
structural subframe transferring the forces between the house, blocks
and poles. The vertical guidance poles keep the house from going
anywhere except straight up and down on top of the water. The elements
of the structural subframe are inserted underneath the house in pieces.
Most of the pieces are small and light enough to be installed by two
persons without machinery. After the buoyant foundation is in place, the
house remains supported on its original piers except when flooding
occurs. Utility lines have either long, coiled “umbilical” lines or self-
sealing “breakaway” connections that disconnect gas and sewer lines
when the house begins to rise.
 Buoyancy rafts or hollow box foundations also known as the
floating foundations is a type of deep foundation is used in building
construction on soft and weak soils. Types of buoyancy foundations,
their construction methods, and advantages are discussed in this article.
The decision of construction of a deep foundation is taken when the load
has to be distributed to an area either with soft weak compressible soils
or to reach strata that have strong soil or rock or any other special
concerns. One such generally used a type of deep foundation is called as
Hollow box foundation or buoyancy rafts foundation. These 
types of foundations are designed such a way that they behave as
buoyant (floating) substructures for the net loading over it. Hence
reducing the load intensity over the soil.
1.The buoyancy raft foundations are also known as compensated
foundations or deep cellular rafts. Whatever be the name they are known
for, they come under the category of floating foundations. These are
known as fully compensated foundations as during their construction the
soil underneath the foundation is removed, whose weight is equal to the
weight of the whole superstructure. Hence the weight removed from the
soil is compensated by the weight of the building. 
2.The buoyancy rafts are adopted under the following cases:
The soil bearing capacity is very low.
The estimated building settlement is more than the safe limit.
 The weight of the materials can be calculated by multiplying the amount of area (ft²) that each
material comprises and by the material load (lb/ft²). For example, the wood planking has an area of 780 ft²
and a load of 3.2 lb/ft², therefore it has a total weight of 2,496 lbs contributing to the structure. Other
materials with a higher density can be calculated by multiplying the material volume (ft³) with the material
density (lb/ft³). For example, the steel pontoon wall has a volume of 51.5 ft³ and a density of 492 lb/ft³,
therefore it has a total weight of 25,338 lbs. Load and density values can be found in Table 4 & 5.
NEED FOR BUOYANCY RAFTS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
Those areas with soft soil, layer in a huge depth is observed, it is
economical to go for floating foundation. No other foundation like pile
foundation cannot be an efficient replacement for these. Occupants in
low-altitude areas face the problem of high floods resulting in the
collapse of houses. The construction of buoyant foundation would help
in increasing the elevation of the house. This arrangement is a flexible
method, as the building would remain on the ground under the normal
conditions. When flood approaches, the building would rise to a
necessary height, as shown in the figure-1.

TYPES OF BUOYANCY RAFTS OR HOLLOW BOX FOUNDATIONS

Now the floating foundation can be of two types
1.The basement rafts, and
2.The buoyant raft.
The buoyant rafts differ from the basement rafts and both should not be
confused. The basement rafts, unlike buoyant raft foundation, involve
only excavation of soil whose weight equals to a part of the weight of
the building. The whole building weight is not taken and hence called as
a partially compensated foundation.
 CONSTRUCTION OF BUOYANCY RAFTS OR HOLLOW
BOX FOUNDATIONS
In the case of buoyancy rafts construction, the shear strength of
the soil in the site is very low. Now under such conditions, the
construction by floating of the foundation is the only way that works.
To have such a foundation, cellular rafts are sunk in the form of the
box section. These forms a raft foundation that is rigid in nature, which
reduces the settlement.

Arrangement of Buoyant Foundations Arrangement of Cellular Buoyant Raft

The load from the soil is reduced and hence
the superstructure floats like a boat. The
bottom basement as explained is placed on
the excavated area.
Foundation
The bottom slab can be treated as the
basement for the foundation. This is
connected to the ground slab, which forms
a raft foundation. The foundation can be
made cellular as shown. By the usage of
hollow raft or cellular rafts substructure,
the total load value contributed by the
building and the foundation itself is
reduced to a lower value by the soil that is
excavated, which make us clear about the
designation, fully compensated
foundations.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUOYANCY RAFT OR HOLLOW
RAFT FOUNDATION
1.The general design involves following step by step procedures:The
initial step involved is to determine the depth of the excavation. Its
size is determined by the plan of the building.
2.Next is to calculate the center of gravity that is required for the
overburden removal that must be equal to sustain the structural
buoyancy
3.Compare the decision obtained in basement design with the
client’s needs as well as with his opinions.
4.Calculation of the water pressure, to check for the flotation
phenomenon
5.To bring up a design combining all the needs and requirements
obtained from above four steps. This would give us avoided
foundation
6.The final step in design is to prepare to design details for external
walls, floors as well as the separating walls. The main concern is to
design for earth pressure, the bending moments and the shear forces.
Special design for flotation must be considered.
ADVANTAGES OF BUOYANT RAFT FOUNDATION
•The building is elevated to a required height, which makes them
stay above high water levels.
•The chances of settlement are reduced. As the total weight coming
is equal to the excavated soil, there is no settlement. A slight increase
in this load would not bring any drastic change in exceeding the
settlement limit.
•Watertight material for foundations would help in the durability of
the underground structure.
•Foundation having a height of 3 or 4 floors are used for skyscraper
construction. This construction is found for efficient than pile
foundation in areas with very weak soils for a larger depth.
DISADVANTAGES OF BUOYANT RAFT FOUNDATION
•As the depth of weak soil increases, the amount of excavation also
increases. In construction, the excavation process is an activity found
very costly.
•Catastrophic Movement possibilities- These occur when the
excavation is done beyond the critical depth of stability.
•Support of deep foundation may undergo settlement due to the earth
pressure it is subjected to, from the surrounding soft soils.
•Space is wasted as hollow raft foundations cannot be used for any
other purpose.
•Uplift pressure would affect the whole foundation arrangement.
•Leaving the cells unoccupied would result in water entering or
seepage. This may be through the substructure or due to any
complaints in the water pipelines going underground.
•There are possibilities of leakage of gasses into these hollow cells.
As these situations are unaware, they remain unventilated. This
would cause unexpected explosions, even if there are small chances
of ignition anywhere around.
 THE ORIGINS OF THE BUOYANT FOUNDATION PROJECT
In 2007 our team of LSU
Hurricane Center faculty and
students successfully constructed
and tested a full-scale prototype
buoyant foundation system installed
on a platform structure representing
the full width (13 ft) and 40% (24
ft) of the full length (approx. 60 ft)
of a typical shotgun house.

Full-scale testing of prototype buoyant

foundation system. Constuction of prototype;
stability test showing floating platform tilted due
to unevenly distributed sandbags representing
imbalanced live load.

How It Works

It basically works like a floating dock. A steel frame that holds the flotation blocks is attached
to the underside of the house. Four vertical guidance posts are installed not far from the corners of the
house. Utility lines have either self sealing ‘breakaway’ connections or long, coiled ‘umbilical’ lines.
When flooding occurs, the flotation blocks lift the house and the vertical guidance posts resist any
lateral forces from wind and/or flowing water. 
Amphibious construction is an adaptive flood risk reduction strategy that works in synchrony with
natural cycles of flooding to reduce the hazard vulnerability of flood-prone regions and increase their long-
term disaster resilience. 
Amphibious architecture refers to an alternative flood mitigation strategy that allows an otherwise
ordinary structure to float on the surface of rising floodwater rather than succumb to inundation.  
An amphibious foundation retains a home’s connection to the ground by resting firmly on the earth under
usual circumstances, yet it allows a house to float as high as necessary when flooding occurs. A buoyancy
system beneath the house displaces water to provide flotation as needed, and a vertical guidance system
allows the rising and falling house to return to exactly the same place upon descent.  
Amphibious construction is suitable for new buildings or as a retrofit to an existing structure. The
Buoyant Foundation Project focuses on retrofit applications. 
 
CASE STUDIES
LIFT House in Dhaka, Bangladesh
This prototype of a low-cost, sustainable amphibious house for
urban slum-dwellers broke ground in November of this year in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. Initiated and designed by Prithula Prosun, currently a
Master of Architecture student at the University of Waterloo School of
Architecture, each independent structure consists of two to eight
floatable bamboo dwellings clustered around a shared courtyard. A
stationary brick base supporting the dwellings contains plumbing,
utilities and rainwater storage cisterns. Each two-room amphibious
bamboo dwelling unit provides living and sleeping quarters for a single
family.

The LIFT House in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Eight-unit and two-unit clusters.

The LIFT House in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Concrete and brick base structure under construction;
buoyancy block made of recapped, recycled plastic bottles.
 Make It Right FLOAT House in New Orleans
Actor Brad Pitt launched the Make It Right (MIR) Foundation in
2007, promising to give to former residents of the Lower Ninth Ward in
New Orleans 150 affordable, sustainable and storm-resistant new homes.
Morphosis Architects designed the amphibious FLOAT House for MIR.
It was completed just a few weeks ago in October 2009. The base of the
house is a "chassis" formed of EPS encased in fiberglass-reinforced
concrete. It acts as a raft, allowing the house to rise vertically by sliding
on two guide posts that pass through sleeves in the chassis, one at each
end, inside the house. The house can float up to twelve feet as water
levels rise.

The FLOAT House, New Orleans. Elevation, interior guide post and sleeve detail.

WATER TYPE: Salt Water

HOUSE TYPE: Amphibious

BUOYANCY MATERIALS:
GFRC Coated EPS BLOCKS

SIZE: 940 ft²

ADVANTAGES: Maintains
neighborhood character, high-
performance systems

DISADVANTAGES: Residents
cannot remain in house during
flooding.
 Maasbommel Waterdwellings
Water Type: Fresh Water

House Type: Amphibious Buoyancy

Materials: Concrete with Rebar Size: 2,865 ft²

Advantages: Attached houses become more stable,

low erosion, utilization of river embankment for
infrastructure

Disadvantages: Close proximity to neighbors

Amphibious houses in rural

Louisiana, dry in September,
floating in February.

An amphibious
house in rural
Louisiana, the
same house in
September and in
February. .
 The patterns of development are being set now. Planning,
design and construction has not evolved sufficiently to face a
future of increased flood risk with confidence. However, as we
have seen from the precedent studies, new alternative thinking
and innovation is coming to the forefront. The long-term view
that is necessary in taking account of climate change also enables
us to view other issues with the same horizon of opportunity –
facilitating new solutions to spatial planning and the location of
settlements, best practice in building design, infrastructure
development, and environmental flood defense.
It is time to evolve a new relationship with water, to ask
what is possible of design and construction, and begin to look
towards a flooded future with confidence and imagination.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
We are currently exploring the use of Thermoplastic Timber, a
new structural material made of recycled plastic bottles, reinforced
with fiberglass from recycled automobile bumpers, to replace the steel
in the structural subframe and telescoping vertical guidance poles. We
are also exploring the use of containers filled with recapped recycled
plastic waterbottles to replace the styrofoam in the buoyancy blocks.
Our goal, with proper funding, is to install buoyant foundations on 300
shotgun houses in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward in the next eight to
ten years.

CONCLUSIONS
Amphibious foundations are a proven, low-cost, low-impact
flood protection strategy that can increase a flood-prone
community's resilience in the face of disaster. Why fight
floodwater when you can float on it?

Rendering of a shotgun house retrofitted with buoyant foundation system.

THANKYOU