Papuan Stilt Houses

The Motuan people of the southern coastal area of Papua New Guinea have for generations built stilt houses over the sea. Other stilt houses in PNG are built on dry land, but still allow for occasional flooding.

Obviously, much can be learned from the design of such houses, especially in areas like the U.S. Gulf Coast, which was largely devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Modern, sturdily-built stilt houses can often survive such storm systems, and indeed some have.

And there are often many other advantages to building “off the ground” in addition to flood protection. A house with its main living quarters up off the ground can offer a sweeping view, and its higher windows catch more breezes. Of course, it also allows breezes to blow under the structure, further helping to keep the house cool in warm weather. In addition, it can offer shaded parking and other storage under the house.

Also, if your house is built over water, it should be cooler than one built over land, due to the fact that water itself generally radiates less heat than dry surfaces.

Perhaps a modern iteration could consist of a house with concrete walls and roof, built on concrete stilts. Such a house would not only hold up well in most storms and floods, but could also be quite fire-resistant. The only real remaining problem would be how to keep rainwater from being absorbed by the concrete walls (and causing mold problems) when propelled by hurricane- or tornado-force winds. But companies like Sherwin-Williams paint are working on that, too.

So, while not inexpensive to build (with its great mass), as opposed to the 20 or 30 year lifetime of a typical Papuan stilt house, a concrete stilt house of this type could last for generations, or even centuries.

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