A "floating village" has been proposed for a San Jose neighborhood, with building riding on pontoons as a safeguard against repeated flooding.
George Avalos reports: "A 'floating village' project is being eyed in north San Jose’s Alviso hamlet by tech company Arx Pax, using a technology that would deploy a group of pontoons beneath the buildings to protect the development from floods and earthquakes."
Arx Pax invented the technology, which uses principles similar to the 1.5-mile-long Hood Canal Bridge that traverses Washington state’s Puget Sound. Arx Pax calls the technology the SAFE Foundation, or Self-Adjusting Floating Environment.
Arx Pax has submitted to city planners a preliminary proposal for a Alviso three-building, mixed-use development, including homes, offices, and retail.
FULL STORY: "Floating Village" eyed for San Jose's Aviso area
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research