flood of ideas

The pylon forest serpentines and wades the wetness of the Northbank reaches of the Brisbane River. Reaching out of the mud it suspends a riparian walk and commuting corridor. Visitors trace out an interpretive journey through the resilient river landscape that is adapting and persevering. This public space provides a large area for recreation and connection between Central Business District str

The most financially vulnerable have the least capacity to recover from flood. Government subsidized flood resilient affordable housing, and insurance for low socio-economic communities.

Living in Rockhampton I saw the clear need to design a house that can cope with water coming in - and water going out. I have searched for a material to suite this occurrences. I have the plans ready for working drawings and the material is currently with the CSIRO. The Plastic we use is green friendly. Stronger than steel and lighter than wood. Composites have the lowest embodied energy of any b

- Temp. Structures - Floating houses - Stormwater management - Absorbent Material

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

The final blog post in this series is based on the Resilient Homes category. This category seemed to resonate with people affected by the floods as the ideas are about directly combating the water, and the devastation left behind after the flood waters retreat. The ideas in this category rethink the elements that make up a typical home, both individually, and as a system. Some of these elements in

Raise Australia

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

Build more dams that can hold much more water.

There needs to be more accuracy in Councils flood overlays and more effective links between DERM & councils. At present, I am bandied back and forth between councils and DERM about who wants to provide the appropriate information. Most of the time Im told to check with a local who has lived there for a long time.

Have an annual flood festival that rotates through flood effected areas that remind people about floods. It would continually involve the community in flood-of-ideas like scenarios.

Floating City

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

Often ferry terminals are placed in “loose spaces”, or just on the edges of building, often on the edge of a space. They usually have poor flows and if there is any connection it is only to foreshore; there is no connection to the space behind the terminals. The terminal could be used as a way to connect Brisbane with the river, create better connectivity, way finding and better flows. The

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

Be better prepared for the next one.

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

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!

City Connection will provide the people of Brisbane with a flood proof Promenade that will increase the connectivity between Brisbane and its River. The design also increases the Height of the Prominent River Wall that separates the Brisbane River from the land on the East Side of Kangaroo Point (East Point). This will not only prevent future flood waters from spilling in to the Riverside homes an

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.

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.

Giant Bubbles

To flood proof Queensland… we need to build more rivers around buildings. These rivers will be built so that the water flows away from our important places.

Keep houses light weight and be able to be raised when a flood is signaled.

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.

Over the past decade climate and flood modelling and geographical information systems have revolutionised our ability to map and communicate flood risk. No longer are the black box computations of hydrologists hidden away in tables of numbers in the appendix of a door stop report. Contemporary modelling and mapping techniques now allow us to look beyond the old blue line of inundation which typ

Accept that sometimes life is cruel, random and hard. What went wrong was it simply rained too much.

This is basically an image to get people to think about if we have actually seen what the river can do, and should we be preparing for the river to rise or change its course. It is also about what would it mean for Brisbane if the water did rise another couple of meters...

More monitoring and controlling dam water levels prior to times of the year prone to flooding based on previous weather records and cyclical season patterns. Better risk management.

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

Make room for the river - Progressively redesign our urban form to.... MRFTR

My idea focuses on the river edge between Howard Smith Waves and Sydney Street Ferry Terminal. The current issue with this area is public river access. The floating walkway was a great solution allowing public river views and interaction; unfortunately it was inundated so I used this opportunity to design a new approach. There are two main parts to my design; a tunnel and UV lighting. To achieve p

To flood-proof Queensland… we need to use boxes, paper, plastic buckets and put these in our environment. These things can be used to soak up water or hold water. And if you have $900 you can buy more of these things to stop it flooding.

Rivers flood and urban rivers behave differently to natural waterways. One of the most significant flood causes in most river systems is the reduction in channel capacity caused by development and management. This slows down the release of urban water, exaccerbating the impact of the rural catchment. The Brisbane River recently flooded upstream to at least AHD 7.5 but in Newstead it was AHD 2.5 (a

The amount of damaging debris that clogs the Brisbane River during flood times, not only pollutes the waterways (and adjacent properties) but also cloggs up the river with potentially dangerous missiles to the landscape and surrounding infrastructure (bridges, pontoons etc). One of the Brisbane River’s most prominent depositional banks is on the West End bend (Orleigh Park) where it is one of

Having observed how our river edge infrastructure adapted, or otherwise, to the flood surge it is obvious that more adaptive systems are required. Our case in point is the popular floating boardwalk linking New Farm to the City – half of which became the subject of a dramatic tug boat escort beneath the gateway bridges. This proposition explores a way to replace this structure with a walkw

Apply infiltration and retention upstream. Including above Wivenhoe. By slowing the water here we potentially reduce the peak downstream. Such ideas could also reduce pollution including pesticides and fertilizers entering the system.

Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley areas but could be applied to Brisbane or Australia-wide: Modify the phone numbering system to include the post-code of the area affected. When emergency messages need to be sent to specific endangered areas then ring the phones to those post-codes or map-reference numbers. Have heard that in South Australia they use map reference points that are noted on fence pos

Need better warning systems Employ competent dam engineers

Engineers should communicate with the community to explain why flood levels are approximate.

Steps that float

Most buildings are made of timber which is very vulnerable to flood waters and cyclones. I would suggest using reinforced concrete buildings with  two or three stories.

This is no ordinary Gazebo. Ninety-nine percent of the time it will simply act as a fully equipped outdoor entertaining area, but when a flood hits it is ready for action. The Multi-Purpose Gazebo will float above flood waters on its pontoon-like structure acting as a sealed and lockable island for precious belongings. As the flood waters recede the structure will lower back onto its foundations a

Re-establish vegetation in the catchment area so flows are spread instead of peaking as high.

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,

- Public fund for emergency-relief like they do in New Zealand for earthquakes. (as a part of tax). - Dont blame it all on the dam engineers. - Educate insurance companies on flooding relief.

After the recent Brisbane floods there was an overwhelming response by the public to assist in the clean up. The co-ordination however left many eager volunteers with nowhere to go. If volunteers were allocated a response area prior to the event it would greatly reduce the confusion and allow for quick, efficient action.

Move the whole city 25 miles north away from the flood plain.

Constantly moving and changing, rising and falling, the Brisbane River is hugely integral to the layout and design of Brisbane City. It is important that we respect the changing tides and river heights within our city on all riverside and flood prone areas. As a defining piece of central Brisbane, South Bank must be treated in this fashion and must be developed in such a way which it can co-exist

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)

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

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

A CONTEMPLATIVE INHABITATION OF THE FLUID TERRAIN Two components of the proposal: (1) A walkable landscape A walkable landscape connecting people to the greater system; its functions, services and sensitivity. An increased walkable circulation between the Central Business District, Milton, Pertrie Terrace, Caxton Street, Roma Street Parklands, Spring Hill, Gardens Point, Woolloongabba, South Br

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

This concept works with the existing site to create one system of resilience and physical environment. Currently, we have two environments, one built, one natural, when a flood occurs these environments are merged into one without time for adaption and preparation. Creating a permanent physical environment aims to merge built and natural environments but at the same time ensure two environments ar

Putting balloons on houses to fly above the water.

The Flood Adaptive Queenslander addresses the issue of flood protection with the question, “Why demolish and rebuild, when you can adapt?”. Our proposal suggests building an extension onto and above existing Queenslanders. Normally this space would provide additional living area for the occupants, but during a flood would provide a higher habitable area which could be used for emergency accomm

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.

Make land that is closest to the river into farmland (saltwater crops). So even when it floods the water will irrigate the crops.

Creek and river esplanades provide a wonderful environment for living in fine weather. Housing has long views across water and vegetation and the river or creek-side walking and cycle paths provide good connectivity through the city. In various locations in SEQ, the esplanades offer potential for fishing, swimming, kayaking and boating. The esplanades can also be highly susceptible to riverine

Set up locations to evacuate furniture/belongings to. We had to drive considerable distance to family members to unload our things. We could have evacuated more if the local school opened the hall as a temporary storage space.

While devising short and medium term solutions to this problem, there should be a long term plan to phase out as much development as possible from the floodplain. Otherwise we will keep paying the price of living in a floodplain.

In concluding his report for the Queensland Government of recommendations following the 1893 Brisbane flood, Colonel Pennycuick presented two key proposals. The first to create a ‘regulating reservoir’ at the junction of the Stanley and Brisbane rivers and the second, a range of modifications and improvements to the Brisbane river banks. He writes: “The only improvements to the river at B

Dutch house boats on canals are floating on cement pontoons. Japanese floating airport resists ocean waves.

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

Colonel John Pennycuick was commissioned by the Queensland Government to investigate the cause and impacts of the 1893 Brisbane flood and provide recommendations for preventing the occurrence of a similar disaster in the future. In November 1899 he published a report that identified the primary cause of flooding in Brisbane as the volume of water arriving upstream from the Stanley River. His ke

Hire and supervise competent engineers

Terminals are placed in very loose spaces or just on the edge of a space. They also usually have poor flows and they fail to have any connection to the space behind them. This master plan explores using the terminals as a way for Brisbane to create a connection with its river. They are used to create better flows, improve connectivity and to remove the hard edge and create more awareness of the �

We could keep less water in dams or creeks so when it does flood it flows into the dam.

To flood proof Queensland we could build a mote around the important cities, buildings and houses. This will stop the water getting in because the motes will be really deep. There will also be pipes at the bottom of the motes to take the water to other places.

Storms and floods habitually cut electricity services. In a regionalised State, many communities rely upon power generated a great distance away often transmitted by a single strand of cables. This is wasteful and could be avoided. Setting up regional communities with distributed and community generation capacities, removes the waste and the vulnerability of regions to power blackouts during flood

Move the CBD away from the river!

Underground Tunnels Food supply tunnels

This page is a follow-up to my original idea submitted last month. The detail in this expands on the concept of embracing a fluid terrain for the Kurilpa Point to QPAC river frontage and also addresses the issue of stormwater flooding in the low lying streets behind. In this summary of a larger proposal, the dynamics of mound formation, planting and appearance are explored in greater detail. Some

Through community art installations in our communities and suburbs we can all help to inform each other and new residents to the area of the impact of floods. What is your idea for a community art project?

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

Another low smaller dam below Wivenhoe is needed. LEGISLATED SO THAT IT IS ONLY FOR FLOOD MITIGATION, not quietly left full for population growth or drought. This would be cost effective, could be used for grazing at all other times. High enough to hold flood releases only, and emptied in a contolled manner after flooding possibilities ease. Like they have in the deserts of Arizona! Could be an ea

This picture is of an inflatable house with the two gods of the water (Poseidon in the bottom left hand door), one a Demi god (Percy in the top right hand corner) and a Saytar (Grover in the right hand window). These people are in the house because they can protect and control the floods saving everyone from dying. The inflatable house idea was because it won’t get blown to bits and it will floa

House Layout and Description About 60% of the ground floor area is open but at the same time secure. The screening, both metal and timber, allows for potential flood water to pass through with relative ease. The laundry cabinetry and washing machine are constructed on a pulley system and platform that allows it to be elevated and secured when flood levels rise. Positioning of plumbing caters fo

SKIP-HOUSE is designed to provide temporary accommodation for flood displaced residents. The concept is simple, REDUCE the amount of embodied energy and processing in creating a 1 in 30 year product by RE-USING an existing implementation system, materials and existing community amenities, and RECYCLE the whole lot. SKIP-HOUSE is delivered in a skip bin at the flood alert stage (rather than just

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.

Create a place to record, share and remember the floods - provide the opportunity for the community to share their stories and ideas.

If building move onto higher ground

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

My idea is a rubbish machine. It cleans up the rubbish by using a blower. First it goes to a house. Then it uses the blower and sucks up the rubbish and water. Then the blower connects to the bins so when the rubbish is in the blower it falls into the bin. After that they tip the rubbish in the rubbish dump. The Rubbish Machine helps people by cleaning rubbish that the floods have made. it

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.

Knock down old low density areas on badly affected floodplains. Replace with self-funding high-rise residential towers scattered on floodplain and accessed by flood proof tunnels. Increase flood conveyance of the floodplain around the scattered residential towers.

It is proposed that new buildings located in flood prone areas are to be constructed as light weight structures able to float as water rises beneath them. The building will be placed on telescopic columns able to withstand hydraulic pressure to displacement and also will have tanks spread over the under croft. The tanks could store rain water and be emptied to retain air becoming a floatatio

1. The idea proposed by Philip Kirsch to put flood lines on power poles. 2. Dont build affordable housing in flood plains

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.

I don’t think we can flood proof Queensland because we cant control the rain. I think we can just stop the damage floods cause. So, we need to build our houses on a big block of cement. This will make the houses very strong and high so that the water can’t get into the houses, or wash them away.

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.

I would suggest a network of canals and reservoirs  all across our country. The reservoirs can be away from cities in central Queensland/NSW/NT/WA regions. Our coastal area gets too much rainfall /cyclones etc and central Australia is dry. So whenever too much rainfall is in one area, water can be discharged into canals to take the water to any of the reservoirs and the water can be used later on

Dams that have our water supply that go off into pipes should have ways to activate release (eg. holes all along it that can slide open) that way we can disperse the excess water in emergency.

Floating vegetable produce gardens attached to the river/creek banks (the idea comes from indigenous tribes-people in the Amazon basin)

Stone or concrete markers should be placed in flood zones showing the height of historical floods. This makes people more aware of which areas are prone to flooding and how high floods could possibly go. I know these probably exist already but there should be at least one in every street. This is a low cost way of maintaining public awareness. (Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/je

This is a site that evolves and adapts to the changing patterns and flows of the Brisbane River delta system. Islands of rock and silt evolve as material, over time, is deposited and eroded. The architecture on the site exists within this process of territorial construction and decay; the buildings standing on concrete piers like wading birds in a muddy lagoon. Periodic flooding may move, or even

Good news stories for relationships that were forged out of connections that only made because of the floods eg. new neighbors who had previously been strangers ect.

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

More dams.

Location: Lower River Terrace - Kangaroo Point Strategy Equilibrium is a concept that celebrates and embraces the dynamic nature of a fluid terrain. It responds to the landscape as an ephemeral, ever changing entity that is constantly shifting and evolving through time. Equilibrium is a strategy that allows natures balance to co-exist along side human flows and built infrastructure. It heig

Wivenhoe Dam stands as Brisbane’s main defence against flooding. During the 2011 Queensland floods water from the Wivenhoe catchment area spilt into the Brisbane Valley flooding the city and surrounding areas. The water had nowhere else to go. A series of dedicated catchment basins combined with levees could have slowed the flow of water into the city and protected against the rising waters.

It is proposed that new buildings located on flood-able areas are to be constructed as light weight structures and are able to be lifted to safe elevation levels as water rise beneath them. The building will be placed on telescopic columns, able to withstand hydraulic pressure to displacement.  The foundations will be designed to fit lifting devices on which the structures will rest on above f

Better planning and development controls - legally enforced Dont permit development on flood plains.

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.

The Crown Ecology House was designed over 10 years ago by an innovative Australian Engineer. The house is highly engineered, easy to erect, endorsed by CSRIO and tested to withstand cyclones and earthquakes. This house is ideally suited for flood-prone areas and can be easily erected and constructed. I met the man who designed the house earlier this year and I think it is ideal solution to h

Post flood relief worked best in highly organised, connected and skilled communities - as was the case for the highly effective Graceville Community Relief group. Massive post-disaster relief should not rely on ad hoc community responses but instead be able to draw on simple, disaster-specific information that has had prior expert input: emergency services, health experts, disaster relief experts

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

Statewide flood modelling will assist with land use planning in Queensland. All new land developments must be required to demonstrate how they will achieve necessary freeboard for major flood events. A state planning framework for better urban water management would be useful. This would provide a mechanism for ensuring all new developments are outside of the floodway and that development on flood

Everybody drink more water (8 glasses a day)

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

Less Water More T-Rex

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

“The Urban Jungle” The current site nestled in between the Go Between bridge and the Goodwill Bridge has proved that the linear systems are offering low resistance. During flooding the disturbance exceeded the systems critical threshold level and the system tipped into a state where it was not resilient to the disturbance. In response…The riverside boardwalk has been extended from William J

Canterlever Kitchen and bathrooms to raise items above flood waters.

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

Prompted by the Brisbane Floods 2011, master plan has been designed and developed in response to the event. The scenario that the masterplan is based on is a flooding/hightides as a normalised event. This design piece is a section of the whole masterplan, it is the section of the Southbank beach and the adjacent Brisbane River. Lisa Diedrich’s theory landscape oriented urbanism ‘where the e

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

International Ideas Competition For Low Impact Town Environments in Sub-tropical Areas Every man, and yes, his dog wants a piece of the flood rehabilitation pie. The locals and the well-connected have it sorted already. But this is an Australian pie and in fact there are global applications to be found for environmental disaster relief. Why not petition our elected representatives to take th

The Hulking Reminder is not intended to prevent flooding or directly protect property from flood damage. Instead a large scuttled ship will act as a dominant visual reminder of the Rivers presence and its history as a maritime transport corridor. The intention is that the ship will help encourage the city to not forget and be less complacent about the destructive behavior of such a large Australia

This idea is to move houses for the hills and make the plains for the people. It helps deliver on higher urban density, greater urban greenspace, fewer foodmiles (the plains are for community agriculture), reduced stormwater pollution (it is harvested and used for irrigation)

This significant piece of hydraulic infrastructure that would reside close to the existing river system and target low lying suburbs that suffer flood water inundation. The network would relieve the flood water as it occurred by eventual channeling of the water back to the open ocean/bay and effectively bypassing the already flooded river during a flood event.The canal would take the form of both

Generate hydro electricity to power pumps on high ground.

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

Milton, Rosalie and Auchenflower were three of the most photographed suburbs that went under in the Brisbane flood. Floodwaters that inundated the shops, school and hundreds of residences, came up from the river along the floodpath of the former Western Creek. This much abused watercourse connects to the Brisbane River through a small culvert under the John Oxley Centre, beside the ill-fated Drif

They should release water from the dams during the wet season so that if we do get a lot of rain like we did last year it would be okay. But only release enough water so that we still have enough water if it doesnt rain like it did.

Evacuate to the moon

Water regeneration, permeable pavements that allow water to enter the groundwater and slowly enter the river system. Concrete pushes water directly into the water ways.

Its pretty simple - dont build in flood prone areas in the first place. If you do/have/too late then think seriously about raising the floor height above the flood limit. This was done a lot in Brizzy after 74, and has been done in my rural, river-focused, flood-prone shire. Theres not much anyone can do about flash flooding in areas that dont normally flood, like Grantham, but Council/State could

Description of ideas: The image we have gone with is called Ikeas Ark because In 100 years time there will be a flood. This Ikeas Ark will be very useful as it will not only save people’s lives, pets and belongings, but also their houses. Because in 100 years, IKEA will be selling flat pack houses which can be set up and packed away in an hour. Ikeas Ark will be a luxury cruise boat, with 500

Buildings that float

More and bigger storm water drains

All neighborhoods should have flood evacuation areas.

NEW.FARM is a hypothetical scheme for Brisbane’s river suburbs that retrofits a response to the landscape into the existing city fabric. It is a rearrangement more than a re-design, building on the opportunities presented by the adaptable ‘Queenslander’ house type. NEW.FARM makes a distinction between ‘flood plain’ and ‘high ground,’ and presents a strategy for each. Dwellings on

Urban Wells is a concept for capturing flood water once flows break river banks. The result will be a reduction of peak flood levels and therefore a limitation of flood inundation and damage. Future economic savings through limitation of flood damage and its knock on economic effects helps to justify construction costs. Urban Wells are essentially an alternative response to urban infill develop

Brisbane River is the major element which has shaped Brisbane city. All the residential blocks, including houses and units with the river view, have always been the most desirable living places in this beautiful city. But the recent flooding in Brisbane has affected these residential areas and at the moment the main concern for buying a house in Brisbane is the flood level. Here is an idea for de

F=Flood=Flexible Fixed+Flood=Failure

Build more community centres higher off the ground so people can go there and not be afraid of more flooding.

The design here is based primarily around ideas of fluid terrain, flood resilience, the tidal nature and natural systems. Tidal influences relate to the reintroduction of the New Farm Creek so that any water levels above the standard high tide level will flood the lower walkway. This creates an outside influence that will affect and interact with users on a regular basis. By doing this it will

During flood events the houses become an empty shell. The shell is made of strong, resistant materials to withstand the flood waters. After the water has evaporated the shell can be hosed out and the structure can be cleaned with ease. Design and image by Daniel Smith.

Simply people need to have a plan - and not be complacent. Build canals to drain flood water to sea.

I believe preparation for future floods is essential. Educate people about floods, food supply, education centres before the event happens.

Stop putting carbon into the atmosphere to limit sea level rise.

Construct a flood canal from the Bremer River across Oxley Creek and along the Logan Motorway to the Bay. Put flood gates on the Bremer River and Oxley Creek to divert that water along the flood canal. Saving the Brisbane River with trying to carry the extra flood water and saving areas like Rocklea etc. from inundation from the Oxley Creek. The Logan Motorway could even be rebuilt over the top

Nature in its simplest form uses the sun to create a cycle. When rain falls on an undeveloped site, it is softened by the trees, some is absorbed by leaves and then the rain falls on the undergrowth where the flow of water is slowed by the plants. Water uses the plant to infiltrate into the earth with a small percentage running off to creeks then rivers. The plant then transpires water back into

Dredge Wivenhoe to maintain maximum capacity

To flood-proof our houses we could build boat bottoms on all our houses so that if it floods, the houses will just float.

Portable flood barriers using pallets. They are easily transportable and a simple metal clip in the corners with a plastic sheet will allow fast flood barriers to protect homes and business. You can fit around 300 pallets on a truck.

We can’t stop Queensland flooding because we can’t control the rain. Also, it floods because there are things such as buildings and so on which get in the way. So,we need to grow more paperbark trees because these trees soak up lots of water. We also need to build our houses and buildings underground so that when it floods, they don’t get damaged. These underground houses will need a very lo

My idea is to measure the water around flooded houses every day. It is a water sucker and a measure stick. The stick measures the water going up and down and if the stick goes under water the water sucker starts to work. It sucks up the water and some rubbish, but not a lot of rubbish. There is a camera that sees rubbish in the water and a rubbish pickerupper can get it. The water sucker puts

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

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

Install hydraulic struts to lift the house from resting level during flood events. Inbuilt winch systems to lift valuable items off ground. Design and image by Daniel Smith.

Multifunctional Parks proposes the meaningful and safe integration of flood detention and stormwater quality measures into parkland. This can lead to higher quality parks, more efficient land use, a reduction in development costs and a reduction in park maintenance costs. These parks can have quick drying active recreational areas (so kids can play sport soon after it stops raining) and functi

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.

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

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

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

Houses are to float on pontoons. If flood gets high enough houses float until flood goes down.

Free up flood data/information. Get over the legal fears/issues.