Floating and Moving Houses: a Need of Tomorrow

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Floating and Moving houses: A need of Tomorrow Dr K M Soni, Chief Engineer, CPWD, Western Zone I, Mumbai Er Piyush Soni, Amdocs, Pune “Floating” term in the foundation engineering is used when the soil beneath the footing does not experience any extra load, as the load of the structure is equal or less than the soil displaced. Floating houses are similar in concept and can be defined those houses which are constructed on water in a way that the load of the structure is equal or less than the uplift force of the water which helps in floating the house on water. Traditional hoses like hoses on boats have mobility while now floating houses are considered those houses which are used as living spaces on water that are minimally mobile other than moving vertically with the tide. Unlike a houseboat, a float house is not self-propelled though some smaller float houses can be propelled by attaching an outboard motor to them. Holland has many float houses as they have started using water as a resource for construction of houses. Traditional floating houses, normally houseboats, were built in various countries in the places prone to floods, near coast lines and on the lakes and rivers. In Australia, especially on the Murray River and the sunny coastline of Queensland, there are many motorised pontoon based houseboats with two or more bed rooms, some of them even have multi-storeyed. Houseboats are also in Lake Eldon in Victoria and in Hawkesbury River near Sydney. Similarly floating houses/houseboats are available in Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Laos, New Zealand, Serbia, UK, USA and India. In India, houseboats have been traditionally constructed in Kashmir, Kerala and in Assam. Houseboats are also very popular for recreational activities for groups of people of all ages but for residential purposes, it is Holland where houses are designed, constructed and are in

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