Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation unveiled today the Float House. Designed by Morphosis Architects, it is covered with concrete and built with a polystyrene foam base. A home that can break away from its moorings in the event of a flood, the base of the house acts as a raft, allowing the house to rise vertically on guide posts, securely floating up to 12 feet as water levels rise, while a pair of guideposts keep the home from floating away. While not designed for occupants to remain in the home during a hurricane, this innovative structure aims to minimize catastrophic damage and preserve the homeowner’s investment in their property. This approach also allows for the early return of occupants in the aftermath of a hurricane or flood.

The Float House is a high-performance house that generates and sustains its own water and power needs. The sloped concave roof collects rainwater and funnels it to cisterns housed in the chassis, where it is filtered and stored for daily use. The roof supports solar panels that generate all of the house’s power, resulting in net-zero annual energy consumption. The chassis incorporates electrical systems to store and convert solar power for daily use and to give back to the electrical grid during the temperate fall and spring months. Other than that, high-grade energy efficient kitchen, appliances and fixtures maximize durability and reduce the need for replacement. A geothermal mechanical system heats and cools the air via a ground source heat pump, which naturally conditions the air, minimizing the energy required to cool the house in the harsh summer months and heat it in winter.

While the Morphosis floating house is the first to be permitted in the United States, the technology was developed and is in use in the Netherlands where architects and developers are working to address an increased demand for housing in the face of rising sea levels associated with climate change.