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Changes in Flood Risk – Setting the Stage
Published in Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Changes in Flood Risk in Europe, 2019
Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Erich J. Plate, Harvey J. E. Rodda, John C. Rodda, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Witold G. Strupczewski
Object protection is a simple strategy, effective for flooding levels that are not too high. People can build walls around their properties, or water proof low parts of their houses, or elevate the thresholds of the doors; in many regions, living quarters are half a storey above ground, with the basement used for goods that can be flooded, while valuables that may be damaged are kept on higher levels of the houses. In some areas, people protect themselves from frequent flooding by building their houses on stilts, so that the floor of the living area is above flood level.
Viet-cool: Thermal comforts in Vietnam
Published in Ine Wouters, Stephanie Van de Voorde, Inge Bertels, Bernard Espion, Krista De Jonge, Denis Zastavni, Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories, 2018
During the last years of his life, Ho had chosen to live in a very different kind of comfort. As president of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, he occupied the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. However, instead of using the palace itself, which had been built for the French governor-generals of Indochina, he stayed in a small bamboo house referred to as “Uncle Ho’s Stilt House.” (Fig. 4) Unlike the colonial architecture that, like that of Dalat, mirrored styles of temperate Europe, the stilt house was a common vernacular housing type in rural Vietnam, well adapted to its tropical climate. Stilt houses are elevated one story above the ground, allowing for increased airflow through the single living floor. Their steeply pitched thatch roofs with long overhangs provide sun shading and help to keep out monsoon rains. Typically constructed of bamboo, their low specific heat avoids unwanted thermal storage.
Emergency Management
Published in Michael L. Madigan, Handbook of Emergency Management Concepts, 2017
Preventive or mitigation measures take different forms for different types of disasters. In earthquake-prone areas, these preventive measures might include structural changes such as the installation of an earthquake valve to instantly shut off the natural gas supply, seismic retrofits of property, and the securing of items inside a building. The latter may include the mounting of furniture, refrigerators, water heaters, and breakables to the walls and the addition of cabinet latches. In flood-prone areas, houses can be built on poles/stilts. In areas prone to prolonged electricity black-outs, installation of a generator ensures continuation of electrical service. The construction of storm cellars and fallout shelters are further examples of personal mitigation actions.
Baan Fai Rim Ping: a haptic approach to the phenomenon of genius loci by a riverside residence in Thailand
Published in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2023
Koompong Noobanjong, Chaturong Louhapensang
The design of Baan Fai Rim Ping was commensurate with another aspect of traditional Thai houses: elevated floors. By constructing the entire building on stilts, historic Thai dwellings could prevent flood water from entering the living areas, whereas the space underneath them could be utilised for storage and resting during the hot daytime. This open space under the main bodies of those structures permitted movements of air to circulate through the houses in both vertical and horizontal directions (Figure 8).