The wining flood resistant design from Dion Seminara Architecture

With the Brisbane floods still fresh in the minds there has been increasing interest in generating designs which help deal with the estimated $63b worth of Australian housing currently residing in flood prone areas.

Whilst some would like to ban building altogether in flood prone areas the design community has instead been focused on  proactive solutions that allow the built environment to coexist with areas very likely to be underwater at some point in the future.

The latest in a raft post flood competitions and commentary is the LJ Hooker Flood Design Competition.

The competition, which was held in conjunction with the real estate business, Archicentre and the Future Housing Taskforce has been won by the Queensland based Dion Seminara Architecture from twelve new designs submitted by local residential architects.

Mr Ian Agnew, Archicentre State Manager Queensland said.

" All twelve designs from the competion will be promoted to provide people re building after the floods in urban and regional areas a choice of suitable replacement homes of flood resistant design."

"Given the number of homes at risk in this country, this is literally a $63 billion problem," said L J Hooker CEO, L. Janusz Hooke. "The architects in this competition have set new standards in flood-safe home design."

Up to $63 billion of existing residential buildings, including as many as 247,600 individual buildings, are potentially at risk of inundation in Australia this century, according to Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coast, published by the Australian Department of Climate Change.

Winning Architect Dion Seminara said, "One of the main aims of the design was to provide for an easy clean up after the flood with a flexible multipurpose use of the ground level for vehicles or storage.

The concept home has a flood clearance level of 4.5 metres to the first floor.

"This zone features materials and finishes which can be hosed down without damage.

The design itself allows the water to flow through the building without placing pressure on the structure.

"The concept home is built on posts making it suitable for any sloping site

and has the flexibility to be expanded through interlocking pavilion extensions."

The environmentally friendly design features light weight building materials and the concept home fits into both urban and bush environment.

The winning design will be built as a demonstration project by Ken Mitchell of Queensland Lifestyle Development Group.

The entry from Focus Architecture

Cloud Dwellers entry

Mr Agnew said all entries were of a high quality and fulfilled the entry criteria which required each submission to:

• Successfully integrate flood resistant, energy efficient and sustainable design.
• Meet or provide a well-substantiated challenge to requirements set by Building Code of Australia and local and statutory authorities.
• Provide three bedrooms and not exceed 220 square metres in size.
• Provide under cover accommodation for two cars.
• Be able to be constructed on a site with up to a 1:4 slope.
• Be built from 80% lightweight materials.
• Have a construction budget not exceeding $200,000, excluding consultants' and authorities' fees and permits, site preparation costs, service connections, site allowances and landscape works.