Faced with worsening floods and a shortage of housing, the Netherlands is seeing growing interest in floating homes. These floating communities are inspiring more ambitious Dutch-led projects in flood-prone nations, from French Polynesia to the Maldives.

When a heavy storm hit in October 2022, residents of the floating community of Schoonschip in Amsterdam had little doubt they could ride it out. They tied up their bikes and outdoor benches, checked in with neighbours to ensure everyone had enough food and water, and hunkered down as their neighborhood slid up and down its steel foundational pillars, rising along with the water and descending to its original position after the rain subsided.

"We feel safer in a storm because we are floating," says Siti Boelen, a Dutch television producer who moved into Schoonschip two years ago. "I think it's kind of strange that building on water is not a priority worldwide."

As sea levels rise and supercharged storms cause waters to swell, floating neighbourhoods offer an experiment in flood defence that could allow coastal communities to better withstand climate change. In the land-scarce but densely populated Netherlands, demand for such homes is growing. And, as more people look to build on the water there, officials are working to update zoning laws to make the construction of floating homes easier.

"The municipality wants to expand the concept of floating because it is multifunctional use of space for housing, and because the sustainable way is the way forward," says Nienke van Renssen, an Amsterdam city councillor from the GreenLeft party.

The floating communities in the Netherlands, which emerged in the past decade, have served as proof of concept for larger-scale projects now being spearheaded by Dutch engineers. These are not just in European countries such as Britain, France and Norway, but also French Polynesia and the Maldives, where sea level rise in the Indian Ocean nation now poses an existential threat. There is even a proposal for floating islands in the Baltic Sea on which small cities would be built.

A floating house can be constructed on any shoreline and is able to cope with rising seas or rain-induced floods by remaining atop the water's surface. Unlike houseboats, which can easily be unmoored and relocated, floating homes are fixed to the shore, often resting on steel poles, and are usually connected to the local sewer system and power grid. They are structurally similar to houses built on land, but instead of a basement, they have a concrete hull that acts as a counterweight, allowing them to remain stable in the water. In the Netherlands, they are often prefabricated, square-shaped, three-storey townhouses built offsite with conventional materials such as timber, steel and glass. For cities facing worsening floods and a shortage of land for housing, floating homes are one potential blueprint to expand urban housing in the age of climate change.

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Koen Olthuis, who in 2003 founded Waterstudio, a Dutch architectural firm focused exclusively on floating buildings, says the relatively lo-tech nature of floating homes is potentially their biggest advantage. The homes he designs are stabilised by poles dug roughly 65m (210ft) into the ground and outfitted with shock-absorbent materials to reduce the feeling of movement from nearby waves. The houses ascend when waters rise and descend when waters recede. But despite their apparent simplicity, Olthuis contends they have the potential to transform cities in ways not seen since the introduction of the elevator, which pushed skylines upward.

"We now have the tech, the possibility to build on water," says Olthuis, who has designed 300 floating homes, offices, schools and health care centres. He added he and his colleagues "don't see ourselves as architects, but as city doctors, and we see water as a medicine".

In the Netherlands, a country which is largely........

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