Amfibiska hus : möjligheter och utmaningar att nyttja byggtekniken

Sammanfattning: Climate change will increase the risk of floods from storms and rising sea levels in many countries with coasts, seas and rivers. In Sweden, climate change is going to affect the intensity and frequency of precipitation which, together with rising sea levels, will result in more floods in the future. In the last few years amphibious buildings have emerged as an alternative solution to building protective infrastructure such as walls and levees around communities.  There are several different strategies for how communities can be protected against floods. Amphibious architecture is a strategy were buildings are working with nature instead of trying to force water away. Amphibious buildings have the same amenities and appearance as traditional building constructions and help residents to stop living in fear of potential flood and start living in harmony with water. The building technique is applicable globally and minimizes material damage, financial losses and mental suffering in the event of a flood. The purpose of this master thesis is to contribute to increased knowledge of amphibious buildings as a building technique by summarizing experience and knowledge from other countries and identifying opportunities and limitations for building that type of constructions in Sweden. A literature study was conducted in order to find published knowledge on the subject and to form a basis for an interview study regarding opportunities and limitations to build amphibious buildings in Sweden.  Results from the literature and interview studies indicate that one of the main opportunities of the building technique is the possibility to use more land for buildings and that amphibious buildings are adapted for future climate changes. By using an alternative strategy against floods where buildings work with the water less impacts in nature and ecosystems occur. One of the limitations of amphibious construction is the limited research on the subject. Amphibious buildings also requires low vertical water flow rates and waves. Knowledge of amphibious buildings as a building technique is low among many professionals in the construction sector and many countries’ laws are not adapted to this type of construction which makes it more difficult to build amphibious houses.  Furthermore, results indicate that amphibious buildings could be an effective solution for building in flood areas. Proposals for future studies include how amphibious buildings work in a Nordic climate. Another proposal is to investigate what is needed for amphibious buildings to become an accepted alternative solutions in Swedish flood areas.