The Flooding School for Amphibious Living: Colne Estuary, United Kingdom | Masters Design Project on Floating Architecture

Site Context

The Thames Gateway, a flat and open landscape 40 miles east from London to the coast at Margate and Southend, offers significant potential. However, rising sea levels due to climate change pose an increasing threat. According to UK Climate Projections (UKCP18), sea levels in the Thames Estuary could rise by up to 1.15 meters by 2100 and potentially by 2 to 4 meters by 2200.

Further along Essex’s coastline, from Southend to Ipswich, many areas remain without proactive planning, leaving their future uncertain. Cedric Price’s forward-thinking approach highlights the need to move beyond immediate concerns and embrace the uncertainty of future scenarios, including adapting to the inevitable rise in sea levels as seen in projects such as his unrealised Two Tree Island project.

While the Colne Barrier provides flood protection for Wivenhoe and Colchester, areas downstream remain vulnerable. The Environmental Agency’s focus on Colchester’s economic risks overlooks nearby regions’ ecological and cultural significance. The Colne Barrier, built between 1989 and 1994, now faces the risk of failure, stressing the need for new coastal defence strategies. As sea levels continue to rise and extreme weather events become more frequent, a comprehensive approach integrating ecosystems and urban areas is critical for long-term resilience.

Design Process

The proposed flooding school, designed as an “edufactory,” promotes amphibious living through phased development. By dividing into zones, the site serves as a model for adaptation. The first phase creates a community centred on amphibious living, featuring spaces for production, restoration, and education. Students engage in hands-on learning, developing solutions for water-resilient living, which attract funding and further investment. Over time, this zone will grow into a compact city where residents can comfortably live with water.

Final Outcome

The masterplan strategically branches near its conclusion, extending toward the existing woodlands and marshes. This layout fosters a seamless connection with the natural environment, ensuring ecological integration and enhanced accessibility while promoting sustainable living.

Type Torus, inspired by container ships, employs a cellular structure that allows it to float efficiently. Its doughnut-like design creates a central courtyard, providing residents with communal space while offering engineering advantages, such as wind resistance and optimal load distribution.

Based on oil rig technology, Type Live Lab elevates above sea level with integrated water towers. These towers collect and filter rainwater, and as the roof rises with the floating towers, natural ventilation is enhanced—an example of the adaptability required for living with water.

A tribute to Cedric Price’s Potteries Thinkbelt, The Flooding School for Amphibious Living envisions a utopian yet thought-provoking approach to architecture. By embracing flexible, ad-hoc infrastructures, it challenges architects to address wicked problems like the climate crisis through imaginative and speculative design, approached with unwavering seriousness. The project advocates for bold, unconventional perspectives on sustainability and inhabitation in the face of climate change.

As an “edufactory,” this productive landscape merges education with creativity, reflecting the evolving nature of 21st-century labour. Here, knowledge and alternative modes of living are the primary outputs, offering a unique convergence of intellectual and practical labour. Once fully developed over the next five years, the community will be equipped to handle varying flood conditions from 2100 onwards. Floating water filtration towers will produce potable water, and multifunctional solar panels will shelter market spaces. Hanging bridges will connect torus-type buildings to green roofs, which students will transform into playgrounds and communal spaces.

Conclusion: Within this inherently unstable and unpredictable environment, our autonomy and freedom of choice are continually challenged by the persistent uncertainties of an increasingly precarious setting. The project aims to embrace community transformation, land reuse, and an adaptive attitude towards communication, thinking, and change.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]