Study on the Architectural Projects of the Floating Structures for Housing and Leisure, along the Danube

• Main Author: Iulia Claudia Danilescu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Danubius University 2020-10-01
• Series: Journal of Danubian Studies and Research
• Subjects: floating structures; floating and amphibious houses; leisure; sustainability
• Online Access: https://dj.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/JDSR/article/view/526/585

Floating structures for housing and leisure, give people opportunities to live, work, and play on the surface of the water. If someone is fond of a relaxing atmosphere, romanticism, and living on the water, there are plenty of reasons to live on a floating home. Such projects aim at bringing people closer to the natural aquatic lifestyle, without any negative impact of the water body. Another main advantage is safety during floods being a necessity in some of the areas. Also, such houses can be integrated with beautiful landscapes and comfort conditions with minimum energy bills and a small carbon footprint. There are also disadvantages of living on the water, one of them being limited space for storage, the cost and inconvenience of heating in the wintertime, and maintenance and repair if required. Nevertheless, architects are constantly developing solutions to minimise recurring electricity and water costs, which can be reduced by using unconventional energy sources. The large level fluctuations of the Danube waters, which are sometimes up to 8 meters, brought an additional challenge to the architects. To solve it, they designed appropriate structures, to which the floating houses are attached one by one.