Last Day: John Bridge from Croft Goode Architects comes in to give his thoughts on the final designs.

Here we are setting up our final outputs for our review day. Then we listened to the two other groups presentations and watched a video for the testing of each of the floating structures. John Bridge from Croft Goode architects also joined us on the day.

And there goes the reward - champagne! John Bridge considered our design the best and we won the bottle of champagne!

Final presentation of the design in front of Event 15 and special guest - John Bridge from Croft Goode Architects.Picture taken while showing the movie about our main material - mushroom and it's production and functions.

Event 15 - finally all together in one picture!

Our model is 1:10 scale so it is supposed to maintain 7 bricks as was calculated according to the information we got about the weight of the family for which it was designed. After adding a bit more foam representing mushroom structure our model maintained 5 bricks. The conclusion is, to maintain the whole family it would be necessary to put more foam to the model [mushroom in reality].

Yes, it floats!

Placing the wooden base representing the ground in the water - we put some bricks on it so it stays on the bottom of the lake.

Ready to test the models, but safety first! Ed Wilson in a wetsuit and safety jacket. No swimming?

SAFETY FIRST ED!

Final presentation of our schemes to architect John Bridge and reflection on the potential application of our designs in an emergency scenario

Day 7 was test day and although we were disappointed to not have the model complete we still decided to test the base. everyone especially me was relieved and slightly surprised that it floated and took all the weight that had been imposed on it, at least with my maths they could not blame me for it sinking. the performance was slightly hindered by the frame not being watertight which in reality it would be this coupled with the walls and how they were designed i believe would of meant the model would of worked better. Day 7 we presented our designs to John Bridge and he gave us solid advice and positive feedback on our design.

Day 5 started with myself welding the metal frame together while the others made the trip to B&Q to source materials which we still needed. although we had hoped to be further complete the project was starting to take shape. Day 6 was completing the superstructure but due to certain incident which involved it breaking in transportation and being run over it never made it to the model.

Last Day - Presentation with John from croft Goode
Our group's presentation board. :)

We meet up to do our presentation sheets before the day of presentation.

Day 4 started slow and had a lot of running about sourcing materials, issuing cutting lists and including a few minor set backs like being denied the amount of wood we required. However after the slow progress the substructure had been cut.

Day 6- Water Sale Park
Our model failed. It can only carry 6 bricks which was supposed to be 14 bricks.

Launch day!! Testing our model at Sale Water Park to see if it would float and whether it could carry up to 14 bricks - the equivalent of a family of two adults and three children at 1:5 scale. Sadly it started going down after six bricks!

Day 6 - Water Sale Park
Our 1: 5 model is ready !!!!!

Day 6 - Water Sale Park
We inflate the air bags and assembly walls on site.

Creating the canvas roof to cover the foam panels and weatherproof the houseboat

Day 5 - workshop
Our foldable 1: 5 model works !!!!!! Air bag is ready at the bottom of the base.

Day 3 our group established that we had all understood the final idea and talked it through with Andy Cameron with the environment agency. After this talk we went to the workshops to source what materials to use for our model.

Day 2 everyone came in with precedents, some more information on the materiality of the project and floatation calculation. this helped us finalise our design.

Day 5 - workshop
We stick the pieces up. But, UHU glue didn't work with the blue Styrofoam, so we sand Styrofoam to remove the sticky UHU glue on it. After that , we decided to use double sided to stick them up.

Day 4 - workshop
We found a alternative to tie the panels up other than dig a whole
in the styrofoam, which is stick those small pieces on the right of the photo at the bottom of the base.

Second day in the workshop. Attaching the airbags and perfecting the string system to tie together the foam panels.

Day 4 - workshop
Our group model is roughly looks like that. Styrofoam is chosen to ensure it float.

Day 1 started with a brief introduction onto the event we had entailed on outlining the details and the outcomes we were hoping to achieve. this started out by sketching initial ideas for the design.

day 4 - workshop
We works as a group. :)

First day in the workshop, considering construction options and cutting the foam panels

Day 4 - Workshop
This is what our group did in first day of workshop. We had cut all pieces out and just wait for air bag to arrive.

Day 3 - Andy visit. He was giving some feedback about our design to us.

This is our final output sheet which we used to present our ideas to John Bridge, an architect from Croft Goode architects. He has an interest in disaster relief architecture and assessed and criticised our designs.

Day 2 - After discussion with a group, finally we came out with a concept, inflatable boat .

Final presentations with John from Croft Goode. He really enjoyed the designs and presentations and encouraged the students to continue looking into disaster response architecture.

Bottle of champagne for the winners!!

Final crit, in partnership with John Bridge from Croft Goode Architects. Our group won the prize for best design base on the fact we used the concept of growing organic material for the buoyant base.

Presentation boards for our storable rescue boat.

This time it didn't work, too much weight.

And still floating with 12 bricks = 5 member family.

And it floated!! Let's try with some weight...

Sale Water Park -Testing Day. The substructure is ready to float.

Testing Day: With the heaviest structure holding the most amount of weight whilst floating, the winners were clear. Amazing team work!

Day 4: Breakfast and banter, the best way to start a full day in the workshop!

Day 3: Andy Cameron from the Environment Agency gave a presentation and advice on the initial floating structure designs.

Day 2: Tea, coffee and muffins played a crucial role in fuelling the mind for creative floating ideas.

Day 1: The students had to consider how they would house a family of 5 in a flood disaster. Our collaborator John Bridge used his own family as an example.

Our last day working as a group gathering together our sketches, pictures and information to create the two A2 presentation boards ready for our review tomorrow.

We went to Sale waterpark to test if our prototype models floated. They did!

Not only did the substructure stay afloat despite the steel frame. It was then able to carry ALL OF THE BRICKS without sinking. In this photo there are 9 bricks, in total it carried 12. Putting that to scale, it would mean that at real life size, the substructure would be able to support a family of five without sinking.

Testing the substructure at Sale Water Park. Was so happy when it actually floated. (Our model was really heavy, as it had a STEEL FRAME).

Sketch of the roof structure. The roof of the building would have a small pool which would be used for water storage. This water would then be filtered and used for drinking water for the people inside.

This sketch shows the design of the wall structure. The interior would be protected from water by polycarbonate sheets on each side. The material on the inside of the building would be flat panels of plywood which would have a space at the top which would have reused car tyres which let light into the building as well as provide space for storage. In between the plywood sheets and the polycarbonate sheets is a layer of insulation made out of bubble wrap. This is because one of the main aims of out project is to source materials which are very difficult to recycle, and then use these to build a flood resistant home.

This sketch shows the basic design of the floor structure and shows the materials we would use. In reality the substructure also has a lightweight steel frame that surrounds it. The red hashed area is where the polyfoam would be placed, and beneath that is the space for the pipes that would aid in making the structure buoyant.

This was one of the initial concept sketches for our floating building. It shows a space for water storage at the top and the possible entry method.

Team Flaus and their anchored shed design.

The floating house boat managed to carry 6 bricks before it started to tip. Pretty impressive!

Testing time! This model basically survived a road accident and STILL managed to carry all those bricks! Hurrah.

Just in case. A certified saver of lives was on hand.

Dry run. Waiting to be tested.

Each design had a completely different approach to the brief. This design used inflatable plastic pouches.

This shows the process of testing the weight from the brief today at Sale water park. It managed to withstand the weight of 6 bricks until it gave way.

We fully assembled our prototype model today as it is to be assembled while the flooding occurs so it can be easily stored away and not be reminded. Ready to be tested.

07b_ As nobody had drowned by this stage, we began to test how much our 1:10 model could support by using bricks. Our design was only able to support two bricks, but with the addition of more styrofoam it was able to support five bricks comfortably, even against the vicious tide.

07a_ Following the completion of our model, we took it to Sale Water Park to test. Such a dangerous environment required all the relevant PPE before entering the water- wellies, wetsuit and life jacket. The risk of drowning and hypothermia was then significantly reduced.

06b_ While the main aim of our model was to represent the technology, we added a sample flooring and some walls to give an indication of structure.

06a_ We then began to construct a 1:10 model. A simple timber structure held in the styrofoam base that represented the mushroom material. This was able to slide up and down metal piles that were fitted to the base.

05_ Research led us to a buoyant material that we could use in our structure's foundations. Ecovative Design in the USA use agricultural waste and fungus to grow mushroom materials that are natural, renewable and biodegradable. The buoyancy has led to the material being used in the construction of surfboards and it could actually be grown on site in a matter of days.

04_ We settled on a design that would be a permanent feature as opposed to a temporary structure or one that required assembly. The concept was so that it would be used as a conventional garden shed or outhouse that provided floating shelter during flooding, by simply floating using buoyant materials in its foundation and held in position by sliding up and down 'guide piles'.

Testing of the three great models at Sale Water Park on this lovely sunny day! Great job everyone!

03_ On the second Wednesday of the events program we were given a talk by Andrew Cameron from the Environments Agency. He informed us of the extensive work they do to prevent flooding and how serious a risk it is becoming and has been in the UK. We then discussed design ideas with him and his knowledge gave us extra criteria for our design to fulfill.

Piling on the bricks. This prototype at scale 1:5 held 12 bricks. That's equivalent to almost a whole family of 5. Impressive.

02b_ Due to the low land level in Netherlands, floating architecture is far more common. As such, the Dutch architect Koen Olthuis and his firm Waterstudio have produced a large number of designs from domestic housing to floating ocean-liner terminals, however very few designs have gone further than the conceptual stage.

Tense moments at Sale water park today... but they all floated- great success!

Team 'Flaus' with their model. Lovely day at Sale water park for testing.

02a_ Following on from this visit, we began to research precedents on a more domestic scale that would therefore be more suited to provide temporary flood relief for a small number of people. One such precedent was the Kevell Eco Floating Home by Aquashell in France.A basic design inspired by a lobster pot that could house a family of 5.

01b_ The award winning project was completed in June 2011. 'The buildings and open spaces form a village-like cluster that floats on a large pontoon' and therefore has unlimited flood protection. www.adamkhan.co.uk

01a_ On the first Friday of the events program we took a trip to Brockhole Nature Reserve near Preston to see the floating visitor and education centre by Adam Khan Architects.

We went to sale waterpark to test out the floating structure in competition with the other groups. The weight of the family was scaled to the weights of bricks and calculate at 7. Our structure managed 6 bricks.