This is a prototype for a house that could resist a tsunami such as that of December 2004. The designer, a pilot, used the idea of laminar flow to produce a building with a pear-shaped layout and sloped sides that would withstand a surge of water. At the same time, an integral water cistern at ground level creates incompressibility and mass to prevent movement, while providing treatable water for up to three months. Built with the help of local artisans, the building uses concrete at ground level with local fired mud-brick and timber for the living areas above, linked by concrete stairs cast on site.

Source:

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2011.