flood of ideas

2 and 3 story houses with power (electrics) at the top.

If extreme weather puts the economy on hold, we don’t have a resilient economy. Every time these events occur the clean up, particularly from the mines is often more damaging, than the extreme weather event. It’s time to design a 21st century economy for Queensland. Now is the opportunity to bring on the public debate about Queensland’s clean economic future and what it looks like.

This masterplan is a momentary snapshot into the development of an idea through a design process that remained centered around Resilience and Fluid Terrain. This masterplan is a small portion of a larger body of work that has been produced to explore and test ideas for the future of Brisbane City’s river transport system. What you see in this project are direct and indirect design outcomes of a

Really, this is for the Toowoomba and Lockyer valley area: Construction of an emergency mechanism stretching across that creek in Toowoomba at several different points along it – like big fibreglass balloons attached to cables stretched across the creek and as the water level rises to a dangerous level, an emergency siren is activated to alert people to the rising water level. If the source o

We need advice after a flood. What should be thrown out and what can be saved? People threw out clothes, sheets, curtains, ect which could be washed and reused. Could electric goods bee dried out and reused? They were in 1974. The courier mail and TV stations could disseminate this information.

We can’t flood proof Queensland because we have no control over the rain, where it goes or how heavily it falls. So what we need to try and do is stop the damage flood water causes. To do this, I think we should build our houses and buildings so that the base is made in the same way to a boat. This would mean that if it flooded again, the houses would simply float and not get damaged.

My idea is to pick up rubbish from after the floods. There is a truck and it has five rubbish bins at the back and it has two claws to pick up all the rubbish. The driver has controls to control all of the claws. It is called the Rubbish Pickerupper 6000. I had this idea because from the flood a lot of rubbish was swept everywhere and it was a problem for the people. The Rubbish Pickerupper 60

Flood inundation of low-lying creek catchments in Brisbane was largely the result of river water rising into the mouths of creeks and across adjacent riverbanks. The large Oxley Creek catchment was flooded through a relatively small breach at the mouth of the creek. This may have been prevented by floodgates installed at Pamphlett Bridge, and linked to a landscaped levee extending less than one

What is it? The Help Seeker is a boat that helps people in flood waters. It is operated by a well-trained person. It has rescue, clean up and high technology features. What does it do? The Help Seeker rescues people in the flood waters. To help it find people it uses a radar. It has amphibious features such as the slow moving wheels that enables it to take people to dry land. Screen techno

Water management needs to involve liaison between bureau of meteorology and dam managers directly. We had an unnecessary flood because parliamentarians decided we needed to maintain the dams at 100% capacity if at all possible. Result: over 20 deaths, untold misery through insurance backpeddling and losses of livelihoods, homes and dreams. It was well known that the summer would be a wet one. Ca

Log and stone-filled gabion barriers are built into the river along the existing shoreline. Slowly, over time the deposition of soil will create a new publicly accessible riverbank. Eventually a path could be built connecting Merthyr Rd with Stanley Street. This infrastructure would protect the ferry terminal and shoreline from debris and erosion during flooding. Mangroves naturally establish w

Stop building river front mansions and million dollar apartments. Turn the land near the river to a natural parkland... Or pass the flood bill to those who allowed developers to have their way!

We can flood proof Brisbane by using a machine that has two buttons. One for sending the water to Wivenhoe Dam and one for sending to taps in houses . So when the rain falls out of the sky that amount of water goes into Wivenhoe Dam and the tap water for the houses.

Think big and remake Brisbane into a world class city. Focus on house design, even small clusters of housing, misses the main opportunity for Brisbane to reshape the urban fabric at a grander scale. A suitable template for vast urban renewal is found in the Haussmann reshaping of Paris in the late 1800s. By rebuilding multistorey housing / retail / office space along grand arterial roads (with

To have more drains and grass that soaks a lot more.

Stop damming waterways change building regulations/approvals

Step 1: Start with an engineered solution to regular inundation. Step 2: Minimise stormwater runoff. Step 3: Transpose this concept onto your landscape, integrating the engineered solutions with urban design. In this example, a vibrant urban community in the heart of the city, where public space, high density living, retail and commercial opportunities are integrated with a landscape t

Inspired by the original 80s Safety House scheme, the idea of a Powerhouse sticker which would be nationally recognised as a source of power in an emergency situation. Constructed of solar panels and power sockets and attached to a power pole so that once it gets wet the base would float up. It would be placed on the high end of a previously flooded street and be vandal proof. It could also bec

This project amends and expands Brisbanes existing Ferry system (both physical forms and operation). Its ultimate objective is to promote a more flexible and durable transport system with a higher capacity to cope with disturbance. Vision Resilience is a process not a trait; it is not just the ability to bounce back to a previous state of operation, it is the ability to learn from experience.

A small plant, repeated many times, can help prevent our soils collapsing.

- Clean the rivers out - No development on krown low lying land or the council faces large fines.

On every flood prone development a visual indicator of a flood peak of XXX metres will cause damage. Damage should be specified as water entering the occupied area of the house. The indicator should read the same as the flood reports. Similarly it should be noted on any documents relating to the property. This should include sale and lease documents.  It will give time to save contents and inform

TIDAL-SCAPE is a concept for the area spanning Merivale Street Bridge to QPAC. Imagine walking through a tidal ecosystem designed, seeded and formed by nature. The system would be both shaped by and reliant on the tide and flooding as a part of its functioning and would serve as a valuable educational resource for both professionals and the public. Through the TIDAL-SCAPE concept nature claims

Ministerial Responsibility

The pylon forest serpentines and wades the wetness of the Northbank reaches of the Brisbane River. Post expressway, the pylons wade the mud suspending a riparian walk and commuting corridor for people to engage with place, to share ideas and experience Brisbanes future. Connecting people to the greater system, its functions, services and sensitivity to increase the walkable circulation between the

This landscape concept is based on the understanding that whilst the Brisbane River is a system that can be completely described by ecological rules and mathematical equations, the system is more than capable of producing outcomes that are entirely unpredictable. It is then the focus of this concept to develop conditions within the River System that look at creating new landscape typologies whi

There is a lack of awareness and appropriate notifications to property owners about the risks of flooding at their properties. A system is needed that is linked to property titles to notify property owners about possible flood risks along with mechanisms to manage impacts on property valuations as a result of increased awareness. It is proposed that all properties at risk of flooding would have

While there was a great sense of community after the flood and many volunteers emerged to help those affected, Ive been asked to flag that some of those impacted werent necessarily happy about how the situation was handled. Im told that in many cases, too much was thrown out that need not have been discarded and that apparently sometimes volunteers didnt respect the homeowners desire to be the one

If everyone in Brisbane went down to the river and took a bucket of water they would lower the river and stop a flood. (ALSO, DRINK MORE WATER)

Unlike what has happened in the past few years, the council could require developers of multi-storey buildings to put building services above flood levels in areas where flooding could occur rather than allow those services to be put in the basements. When building services are damaged by flood waters it affects all residents in the building not just residents on the ground floor. It displaces man

Wide flood water canals/concrete channels to take large volumes of water away from city Start channel at Brisbane river near Corinda and go mainly east towards the coast or into another water catchment. Large underground pipes could be used but may clog up; open channels wont get too blocked but will need to go through suburbs so many houses will have to be removed. More bridges will have to be bu

All parks should have a knoll that is above accepted flood levels. The knoll should be used to site critical (and expensive) park infrastructure including shelters, playgrounds, clubhouses and amenities. The knoll can be created by selecting a new park with suitable topography and / or using earthworks to create the knoll. For existing parks, new infrastructure should only be funded and constructe

The individual and societal response to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan can be studied as an example for what can be achieved in community preparedness. Japanese children undertake regular earthquake drills in schools, and the society is always ready. While the last big event was Kobe 1995, everyone was prepared in March 2011. This is a resilient country. Unfortunately, much of Bris

Canterlever Kitchen and bathrooms to raise items above flood waters.

Design a flood free route for an additional two lanes of the Bruce Hwy. In this way the two new lanes will provide for a dual carriageway over the total length of the current two lane sections. This will allow for two lanes each way during normal operation. During major flood events the newly constructed two lanes will allow for flood free movement of traffic but only one lane each way. This propo

For my concept the City Cat Terminals will be used as a way for Brisbane to create a connection with its river. They will be used to create better flows, improve connectivity and to remove the hard edge and create more awareness of the ‘Fluid Terrain.’ BUT DOES THIS CREATE RESILIENCE? Having more of a connection with the adjoining landscape and surrounding space will minimise the exposure of t

Build things on hills.

To flood proof Queensland… we need to build our important buildings like houses on hills. The water wont get the houses up on high land

Some streets become canals. Streets have water when flooded. Green-space when no floods.

During times of disaster, mobile phone users should immidiately be able to freely roam on any network. e.g. a vodafone user should be able to use a telstra network. This can prevent people from entering danger areas because the person they are trying to contact does not have mobile coverage.

To help flood proof Brisbane… you can use helicopters that have big buckets. These big buckets can be dipped into the Brisbane River to lower the water level and stop the water overflowing into the city. The water in the buckets can then be taken to dry land or places that need water.

To flood proof our houses we can change how we build them. We can build our houses using concrete as the base. In this concrete we have a plug. This plug has a sensor and when it feels that water is building up over it, it opens and the water is sucked through. This stops it from flooding.

To flood proof Queensland we need to put lots more drains into the ground of the cities and towns. The water that goes onto the ground in the cities will then go into these drains and be taken away to rivers and dams and so on.

Deep sea disco

To flood proof Queensland, we need to have some very deep dams around our houses. At the bottom of the dam is a plug. If the dam starts filling up too much, we can turn the tap. This opens the plug at the bottom of the dam and lets some of the water out. The water that is let out goes through pipes to the sea.

After the 1974 flood some engineers proposed that a rock wall be built in the upstream side of the Brisbane River where Oxley Creek enters the Brisbane River. Because of the direction that Oxley Creek enters the Brisbane River , unlike Breakfast Creek or Norman Creek , when the Brisbane River floods the water flows into Oxley Creek and not only fills it up but stops the flood waters from the Oxle

Live on hills! Queenslanders

Four areas of Brisbane, near the airport, had vacuum sewer reticulation areas rather than traditional gravity sewers. Stormwater could not enter the system, and clients in these areas could still operate and no overflows of sewage could occur. Many flood prone areas around the world use these systems. Contamination from raw sewerage is a big problem in a flood.

In exploring the recommendation of a ‘regulating reservoir’ at the junction of the Stanley and Brisbane rivers, Colonel John Pennycuick presented two ideas for important issues that would arise from the construction of this dam. The first idea addressed who would control the reservoir. He believed that: “…the absolute control of the regulation be placed in the hands of an individual

Dont build in flood able areas. Build high. High rise to allow for floodable floods. De-centralize.

Put houses on hills and wear life jackets to keep you safe.

Move to NSW NSW is awesome

My idea is the Flood Water Sucker 3000. It can suck up flood water and turn it into fresh drinking water. It has a filter in the machine that makes the water fresh. The water gets sucked up through the pipe into a container. There is a hole in the container and the water falls down into the bucket after going through the filter, and there are cups on the side of the bucket. You can wind up th

A fireproof and waterproof container in which valuables are stored. The enclosure would be available in various sizes with varying security (locking, fire rating and water rating) and methods of fitting. Perhaps economics and/or demand would dictate lower cost boxes that are fire-only or water-only suitable. The idea is that in the event of sudden fire or water ingress the box can be shut/locke

Giant Bubbles

Establish the B.R.I.S.B.A.N.E. Fund, ie the Brisbane Regional Inundation Savings Bank and Natural Emergency Fund. The Fund would collect $20 per person per year (increasing annually with CPI) from everyone in the Brisbane Region. This would raise $50M in the 1st year increasing to $80M by 2026. The accumulated real value over 25 years allowing for interest on deposits and inflation would be app

Give buildings a watertight mode.Selected doors would be replaced with equivalents that included a one-time-use inflatable watertight seal could be deployed around them using compressed air. To deal with windows and drains each building would keep in storage an insert with a similar function (ie. a one time use plug that was enabled using compressed air).When a flood became inevitable building own

The ‘Floatable House’, designed by Matrix Design & Planning, is a conceptual proposal combining the house with a floating system. The floating system comprises three key components. 1.Movable Footing Due to the renovated structure of reverse trapezium shape struts sleeving concrete ‘mortar’, the building is sitting on the foundation rather than fixed on it. The design increases

Cloud Seeding

Re-establish the chain of ponds

Recognise and put value into these services. In most cases they represent the most cost effective solutions. An obvious first idea is to require urban water utilities to fund landholders to manage their properties so that downstream water quality is improved. Saves on treatment costs and saves on marine pollution.

Proposed is an idea which can be easily and quickly integrated into a site affected by natural disaster. The pods consist of a hexagonal sturdy base with soft non slip foam on top, three interchangeable hexagonal core pieces sitting on a generator and a hexagonal umbrella top. The material for the core is plaspanel plastic and the material for the roof is solar infused tyvek (both clean easily,

This design idea is all about challenging how we use floodplains in Brisbane at present, and suggesting more sustainable options. The recent flooding has shown us that the river is not an entirely definable body of water, but part of a fluid terrain. It has also shown us that our urban environment is not always appropriately designed to cope with flood damage. Perhaps it would be better to make th

Clear out creeks and minor waterways on a regular basis so that bull rushes and debris dont block the flow of water. Back logged water will flow sideways and inundate properties beside these creeks causing great damage. The bull rushes do trap the debris however they matt together and encompass the debris which is then a home for vermin and it also forms a dam which causes the water to back up w

Only allow people to build homes out of flood plains. - Better town planning (including SLQ and GOMA) obvious to people who saw the 1974 floods that buildings should be planned for flood.

Lift-up Houses technology (for flood prone areas)

Against the backdrop of the urban Brisbane City skyline and the iconic Story Bridge lies the historic Howard Smith Wharves parkland. This significant site within Brisbane was inundated by the recent January floods, showing the public that there needs to be something done to improve the resilience of the ‘fluid terrain’ (Mathur and Da Cunha, 2006), the space that cannot clearly be defined as ei

Houses built on a metal block

This concept is unrealistic - The reality is Bne is on a flood-plain. We have to construct houses differently and accept that some houses are out of bounds - except for grazing animals

You cant flood proof it just plan development accordingly.

This design intervention centres around the themes of flow; flow from the water, from the land, from humans, movement through the site both from the land and the water. The design looks at incorporating the themes of flow into the landscape. For example the flow from a flood of rising water, or on a more regular basis the flowing movement of people through the site. The design interventions are

Our idea is tree houses. Everyone would live in their regular houses, but in the event of a flood the people would move into a giant tree planted in their backyard which is quite tall. In the tree, there would be ladders and bridges between branches to get around. The tree house would be just like a normal house and being made from wood with a thatched roof; this house would be relatively environm

Introduce a flood tax for South East Queensland.

Houses become shells that allow water to pass through using resistant materials allowing one to rinse the shell once the flood has evaporated.

To stop Queensland from flooding… we need to put more holes in the ground. These holes lead to pipes which carry the water away.

During the devastating 2011 Brisbane flood, many watched their homes slowly disappear under the rising floodwaters, unable to do anything. This postcard looks at the idea of the “IKEA” house where occupants are able to dismantle all or part of their home into easily transportable components. In areas prone to flooding, we could look towards more temporary, transportable buildings that can be r

Even if we do flood again, we need clear insurance policies.

To flood proof Queensland… each house needs to have a drain. These drains lead to underground tunnels which take the water to the REALLY BIG underground dam away from the city/town. There is a gate that lets water stay or go to water plants or to houses or other towns.

It’s your choice….. Whether you live on a river, in the city, in a desert or on the beach. It’s your choice. But you can’t choose what the varying elements of those situations will bring. You can’t choose where the wind will blow, when the water will rise or when it will fall and this is what we have to learn to respond to. We need to learn to live with nature. We need to start chan

Raise houses, turn flood plains into parks. Dont let people build in flood areas.

Floating veranda with skirts that raises and protects house from water.

This image shows a 60sqm full brick house on a 300 thick reinforced concrete raft foundation, complete with continuous/attached perimeter wall 150 thick and 750 high. The top of the wall in this case is to the local flood design level but could be constructed to window sill height, approx. to 1.2m above floor level, for the same cost. The level access to the house is through a gate which could

This is a house surrounded by as floaty (made of indestructible material) that inflates when you hit a button. This floaty goes around the perimeter of the house. When the water comes, instead of the water flooding everything, the house will float on top of the water and save everything in it!! To stop the house floating away, ropes will be attached from the floaty to the ground. It also has a m

Heres a little something I have been working on since January with a couple of friends. Its nearly ready but heres a sneak peek. Share the Link and leave your comments. If you can help out in any way let us know even if its only a few hours volunteer work every week http://tinyurl.com/MRDPCSN

Manage flood plains for floods not against them.

Need better warning systems Employ competent dam engineers

All neighborhoods should have flood evacuation areas.

FLUID terrain is more than a physical concept; it also applies to the complex levels of social and economic. The 2011 floods illustrated the RESILIENCE of Brisbane to extreme events and its fluidity to change. This concept proposes that there can be more done on a social level in making Brisbane more resilient to day to day and extreme natural movements of the River. The core idea is that th

Cover QLD in a globe like in the Simpson movie.

Some native plants have leaves that act like sponges, such as cactus. These plants have hardly to no need to be cared for and can grow on their own. If we encourage the growth of the plants around bodies of water or flood affected areas they might absorb a fair bit of water.

The picture drawn shows the solution for Brisbane flooding in 100 years. The buildings in 100 years will be underground high-rise buildings of apartments and work buildings. The buildings are not drawn to scale so there would be several more levels to these. They will be made of brick below the ground and the walls and floors above the ground will be made of concrete with rebar to discontinue the

With good scientific information and modelling we can create greenspace corridors down our South East Queensland waterways for multiple uses including flash flood /high flow attenuation, water quality improvement, nature conservation and openspace recreation.

This is my DIMONDILIA SEMI DOME. If a flood ever occurs the flood will hit the very hard glass bowl and not come in and trash the whole of Brisbane. This is effective and the people of Brisbane do not need to feel like they have spent their whole lives in a gigantic glass dome. It is called SEMI DOME because it is a dome with no top so people can breathe and have that lovely air. This may have a d

Coordinate flood planning at state level. Stricter building controls. Early warning systems.

As each new development is designed, design in mind with electricity and major infrastructure i.e.- plant rooms for buildings on middle or top floors instead of underground car parks and schools and hospitals on hills or higher ground. (flood markers on houses)

The Cutting Edge concept works with the existing site to create one system of resilience and the physical environment. This concept aims to provide guidance, knowledge and methods to all people worldwide by setting an example of living in flood-prone environments. Human interference and aid of support in a flooding crisis will become something of the past. This concept works with widening threshol

TIDAL-SCAPE is an experiment in resilience, a landscape which depends on the Rivers’ tides and occasional flooding to form, evolve and function. TIDAL-SCAPE will be initially formed by; 1.Breaking down physical barriers such as retaining walls. 2.Allocating by public lottery, a 2m x 2m plot of land (to be located by GPS) to families, individuals and community groups. 3.These individuals/gr

The URBAN WETLAND is designed as a post flood mitigation device to reduce sediment loads on Moreton Bay and lower catchment areas. This will be achieved through the integration of urban detention and bio-retention basins along the length of the Brisbane River. In recent flood events fluvial discharge of sediments and pollutants were deposited on land only to be subsequently washed back into the Br

They could make the foundation of buildings with more concrete in the basement so the water cant get in. (Also solar power and wind power are good)

Advertise flood prone areas to enhance appeal of suburbs. Where you need to keep houses, use high houses or floating houses

Buildings that float

Houses on stilts (works in Asia). Devise a porous concrete that allows surplus water to soak into soil and bedrock.

Our underground body corp basement flooded to 30cm depth. So did all the other basement carparks in our area. This flood came up through sewer and storm water over pressure caps and the building sumps didnt work because the power was out

3rd Year Landscape Architects at QUT will this semester explore ideas for celebrating the tidal and hydraulic characteristics of the Brisbane River near QUT Gardens Point. Highly speculative ideas will be generated during our exploration of how QUT, Parliament House and North Bank might become reacquainted with the River – an historic relationship that was separated by the Riverside expressway.

To flood proof the Brisbane River… we need to make it deeper. If this doesn’t work because we get too much rain, we can build temporary walls which are supported by steel bars. This will keep the water flowing in the river and not going into the city.

More dams.

In early 2011 Brisbane was overwhelmed by flood waters to an extent not experienced since the floods in 1974. The devastating effects of the flood have raised many questions about the way we live and how we can prepare for increasingly frequent floods and storms. Could our infrastructure be re-imagined in a way that would not only help us to flood proof our city, but integrate our waterways

Everyone learn swimming lessons with Superman and Batman.

Remember the Nile! Floods were used to great advantage for fertilizing the land along the river. Keep the river flats for market gardens and ensure the environment upstream is clean and healthy.

Picture 1: House on the Ground This image is of a normal house on the bank of the Brisbane River in 100 years time, when anything is possible. If this house had no technological advances then it would almost certainly be inundated with water. Option 1: House with legs This house can easily grow a large pair of legs that can walk it all over the city, to vacant land so the house will be safe dur