Maasbommel
The amphibious homes in Maasbommel are part of a larger riverside development. In total, there are 14 floating and 32 amphibious houses. Like the houses in Oolderhuuske, each pair of homes has guidance posts and utility connections in the center. The homes can handle water level fluctuations of up to 5.5 metres, important because they are outside the protection of the regional dike system. The floating and semi-floating homes are similar in construction: a light timber-frame structure on top of a concrete barge. The space within the barge can be used for basement storage, another trait this project takes from Oolderhuuske.
In 2011, 6 years after construction was finished, the houses experienced their first flood. They floated as expected, and no problems were found while floating or while settling back into place. Residents expressed that they were very satisfied with their amphibious houses.
Although the developer was enthusiastic to try amphibious construction on this site, and the Netherlands has several hundred floating homes, the project still faced legal obstacles during the design and construction process because it was amphibious. It was unclear how legislation applied to this type of project or how to classify these buildings when dealing with zoning guidelines. Like in Oolderhuuske, the houses were classified as vacation homes. However, some were occupied permanently despite this, a practice which was denounced by the municipality. This legal issue of how amphibious buildings are classified and how they are allowed to be occupied affects many amphibious projects. The Netherlands Ministry of Housing and Civil Service began to draft legislation to clarify how amphibious houses should be regulated in 2015, but no changes had been made in the country as of 2022.
