Dive Brief:

• Architect Koen Olthuis in the Netherlands has designed a 60-unit apartment complex that will float on a concrete caisson in a low-lying area called a polder.
• Construction is to begin next year.
• The caisson "hull" of the floating residences will also house the parking garage for residents' vehicles, which they can use over a connection to higher land.

Dive Insight:

This project is a sort of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" affair because the Netherlands has been fighting off water almost forever. Polders are areas behind dikes that are kept relatively dry by pumping out water 24/7, and the apartment project will eliminate the need for that effort once the structures are up and the drydock needed to construct the caisson has been taken down.