LAS FLORES DE LA PARGUERA

La Parguera is a small town in southeastern Puerto Rico, quite popular among tourists and known for its beautiful waters. Houseboats, known as “casetas”, are common here, used as vacation homes and technically qualify as illegal construction that the locals tend to dislike. But what if, instead of abolishing this phenomenon, we expound upon it? Thus, the idea of a “houseboat community” became the basis for this project. This iteration relies heavily on iconographic imagery, used as the inspiration for the design and features throughout the site. Each houseboat docks at a small, amphibious hub that is then connected to a central community hub. Thus, while individuals are free to disembark on their own journey, they have a stable place to return to, allowing a perfect mix of community and freedom.

This project, while fantastical, delves into conceptual ideas of community organization and purpose, simultaneously considering methodologies for maintenance and movement of each modular piece. 

The conceptual complex is made up of modular elements - the large, central hub, smaller communal hubs, and the houseboats themselves. To prevent flooding and optimize organization, an amphibious system is employed with the communal hubs. The amphibious system refers to the house's ability to move up and down with the rising tide. The hub base itself is filled with pontoons to ensure that it floats, while telescoping pilotis keep it solidly rooted to the seabed.

The large hub is immovable and acts as the power generator for the entire complex. It supplies electricity to the smaller hubs with its large solar panels and receives water/sends waste to the mainland by channeling it through its base, rooted to the seabed.

Finally, houseboats are pushed up to meet the hub by a steel platform. When activated by the houseboat’s owner, the platform will lift the boat out of the water, thus reducing corrosion and giving the house stability in the event of a storm or hurricane.