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Mock the Apocalypse From a Stylish New Houseboat

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Worried about melting ice caps and encroaching oceans? Take a nod from Noah and ride out the deluge in a floating home. In the Netherlands, where a quarter of the land is below sea level, the Dutch know that keeping your carpets above high tide requires three basic things: a buoyant foundation, flexible utility pipes, and a leash to tether the house to its property line. Beyond that, houseboats can be just as ambitious as any earthbound structure. Here's a look at our favorite modern-day arks.

Piet Boon House (above)
Noorderplassen, Netherlands
Designer: Piet Boon/De Peyler

This three-story home uses a heat pump to pull warmth from icy canals. How's that? Glycol-filled coils below the foundation tap the relative warmth of flowing water — even at 32 degrees, it's often warmer than the winter air. The glycol then undergoes heat-intensifying compression before warming the bungalow's underfloor radiant heating system.
kushan

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