2nd International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design and Engineering (ICAADE 2017)

The second International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design and Engineering will be held at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada from June 25 to 28, 2017. Amphibious design refers to an alternative flood mitigation strategy that allows an otherwise ordinary structure to float on the surface of rising floodwater rather than succumb to inundation. 

ICAADE 2017 will unite academics, practitioners, professionals and policymakers in the exchange of knowledge on amphibious flood mitigation strategies, inviting collaboration among researchers, business, institutions, and governments around the world. Flood mitigation and climate change adaptation will require the development of new housing types and retrofit strategies in order to maintain community integrity in populated regions where flooding is expected to increase.

The conference will encourage collaboration among architects, planners, builders, researchers, engineers, and participants from government and industry, representing a broad range of disciplines such as water management, urban and landscape design, architectural design, hydrology, engineering, social sciences, humanities, building construction and codification, education and health, and experts from such fields as commerce, policy, information systems, knowledge management and insurance.

There will be a Student Design Workshop, to be held during the week prior to the ICAADE conference, as well as a post-conference Policy Symposium scheduled for June 29-30.  The goal of the Policy Symposium is to initiate an international discussion of the pressing issues related to government policies, insurance regulations and building codes that so affect our work, and to begin to formulate recommendations.

What is Amphibious Architecture?

Amphibious architecture refers to an alternative flood mitigation strategy that allows an otherwise-ordinary structure to float on the surface of rising floodwater rather than succumb to inundation. An amphibious foundation retains a home's connection to the ground by resting firmly on the earth under usual circumstances, yet it allows a house to float as high as necessary when flooding occurs. A buoyancy system beneath the house displaces water to provide flotation as needed, and a vertical guidance system allows the rising and falling house to return to exactly the same place upon descent. Amphibious architecture is a flood mitigation strategy that works in synchrony with a floodprone region's natural cycles of flooding, rather than attempting to obstruct them.

Amphibious design also includes the concepts of land use planning, site selection, community resilience issues such as the place of amphibious buildings in multiple-lines-of-defense systems, and policy considerations. Amphibious engineering addresses issues such as infrastructure, mechanical systems and utilities, system components and selection criteria, and codification and certification concerns.

The ICAADE 2017 Organizing Committee invites authors to submit abstracts for presentations on any of the ICAADE 2017 topics. Submissions are sought for both oral and poster presentations.

Additional Information

For registration process and fees, please click here.