Flood-Proof House in Stinson Beach

Studio Peek-Ancona built this flood-proof house in Stinson Beach, California, which is located on San Andreas fault and is also in a tsunami zone. It offers a solution to the threat of natural disaster by way of a steel anchoring system combined with a concrete thickened edge foundation, which provides usable recreation or parking space on the ground floor that is subject to seasonal flooding. The foundation is light enough that it floats in the wet soil, but heavy enough with the hybrid anchor/perimeter system that it resists waves above. The foundation provides an alternative to typical piers that often measure forty feet underground.

In the prototype version, ground floor bi-fold walls automatically retract allowing waves to roll beneath. For future sea level increases, bi-folds can be left in up position as docks for boat access. It also has renewable cedar rainscreens and windscreens, and employs passive solar design. 

 [via Dwell]