LIFT house

The LIFT (Low Income Flood-proof Technology) House is an affordable, flood-resilient housing solution for the low income families of Dhaka. The LIFT house consists of two amphibious structures that are capable of adapting to rising water levels. It is constructed from environmentally friendly materials, and using local labor.

The building consists of two parts: the service spine and the amphibious units. The two amphibious bamboo units are on buoyant foundations, and float in flood conditions. They are anchored to the service spine in the middle, which provides vertical guidance to the floating portions of the building. The service spine also contains a rainwater cistern, waste storage, a vegetable garden, a washroom, and a kitchen.

The LIFT house does not rely on city services, instead providing basic utilities through self-contained systems. Rainwater is collected and filtered to provide water during the rainy season, while electricity is produced by rooftop solar panels. The shared washroom in the central spine allows residents to create compost from human waste, which can be used as a source of nutrients for plants.

Each module uses a different type of buoyancy element. One has a hollow ferrocement foundation, while the other used 8000 resealed plastic water bottles. The plastic water bottle foundation is much less inexpensive, and is made with materials that would otherwise go to landfill, increasing the sustainability of the building. In order to test the amphibiation, the amphibious units were built within holding tanks that can be filled with water to float the units on demand.