nrc research pavilion
Through a National Research Council of Canada funded project, the Buoyant Foundation Project is completing preliminary prototyping and testing to develop flood-resilient housing for Canada. The project is being carried out in three phases.
Phase one involves the design, construction and installation of a floating research pavilion on a storm water retention pond at the University of Waterloo to monitor and evaluate the performance of various buoyant materials under freeze-thaw cycles.
Phase two involves the design and construction of a retrofit prototype.
Phase three involves the drafting of design guidelines for amphibious retrofit construction in Canada as a preliminary step toward having amphibious retrofit construction included in the national building code.
In the face of climate change, the NRC pavilion is a valuable endeavour to study effective means of flood-resiliency for vulnerable First Nation communities. Buoyant foundation retrofits have the potential to empower communities to avoid displacement by reducing recovery time and costs.
