Taiwanese Floating House Drifts Closer to Reality
We may have lost Atlantis forever, but the mirage of a floating city is still very strong in our collective consciousness.
By Alex Girda, Associate Editor
Tainan, Taiwan—We may have lost Atlantis forever, but the mirage of a floating city is still very strong in our collective consciousness. Considerable progress is being made towards that goal as the National Cheng Kung University recently unveiled its floating house design. The project was revealed during the Taijian Floating Green and Sustainable Energy Strategies by the university’s Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy.
Designed to be built in one year on a local fish farm, the house will be the world’s first floating construction with the ability to rotate around a vertical axis. This feature allows the house to be more energy efficient, being able to generate around 11 percent more solar energy this way. The team behind the project estimates that the house would generate more than three-times the necessary energy for its operation, being able to direct the excess power to other structures.
The ability to rotate also translates into a more proper use of Taiwanese winds. By aligning the building’s two openings with the dominant wind direction at any one time, the house will have better ventilation, also greatly contributing to the energy efficient profile.
The floating house is a pilot program that, if successful, may very well translate into an adopted model. This type of construction could easily lend itself to the fishing industry, increasing efficiency, production, as well as the economic profile of fishing communities.
