Rotterdam University participates in a Dutch cooperation project of floating houses

in Metro Manila
07 November 2014
A Dutch-inspired floating homes project could be the answer to the frequent
flooding in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila. Dutch techniques and
knowledge of sustainable floating houses will be used to reduce the vulnerability of
the urban poor communities. Urban poor communities live in the floodplains and
along the riverbanks and are the most vulnerable for flooding and the effects of
climate change. Metropolitan Manila is hit several times a year by typhoons, which
bring with them massive amounts of rain, causing widespread flooding in the capital
city of the Philippines.

Rotterdam University is involved in this floating housing project and one of the
proponents of the project is Rick Heikoop, water management professor at IGO
(School of Built Environment Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences). Heikoop
studied Urban Planning at the University of the Philippines and lived in the
Philippines for four years. He is therefore familiar with the problems of flooding in
the country. Besides Rotterdam University other Dutch companies like Flexbase,
Arcadis and Delta Sync are involved and they are working together with local
companies like Vista Land Corporation, the NGO Sipag Foundation and the
University of the Philippines.
The collaboration for the floating housing project started when Arcadis, Flexbase,
Deltasync and Rotterdam University discussed the possibilities to start a low-cost
floating housing project aimed for urban poor communities to reduce the
vulnerability for urban poor communities, while at the same time the project should
be sustainable and commercially feasible. Senator Cynthia Villar visited the
Netherlands early 2014 and visited floating housing projects in the Netherlands and
the floating pavilion icon in Rijnhaven Rotterdam. The visit convinced the Philippine

partners to apply for a Dutch subsidy of the Fund Sustainable Water, which covers
70% of the total project cost.
Senator Cynthia Villar was key note speaker at the Deltas in Times of Climate
Change Conference in Rotterdam last September. She explained about the extreme
challenges and threats that Manila faces, because of the typhoons and climate
change. As experts in living below sea level some techniques used in the
Netherlands can also be used in the Philippines and other delta cities according to
Heikoop. The pilot project contains 40 low-cost built houses and will be replicated in
other places in the Philippines when the project is proven successful.
Source: http://www.rotterdamuas.com/about/news/rotterdam-universitynews/rotterdam-university-participates-in-a-dutch-cooperation-project-of-floatinghouses-in-metro-manila