Building with Water – Designing for Hurricane Zones
At Waterstudio, we’ve spent more than two decades designing with water. Not as something to fight, but as something to understand. To welcome. Still, the world is changing. In places like the Caribbean and along the Florida coast, water can become a threat in an instant. Calm one moment, destructive the next.
This doesn’t discourage us. It invites us to do better. To imagine new ways of living with water. To design spaces where safety, flexibility and beauty can truly belong together.
Arkup 75: from idea to icon
One project that holds this philosophy at its core is the Arkup 75. It began as a question. What if a floating home could not only exist off the grid, but also stand strong during a hurricane?
That idea became reality. The Arkup 75 is more than a home. It is a self-sustaining platform. It lifts itself above rising water with hydraulic legs. It runs entirely on solar energy. It collects and stores rainwater. It moves silently with electric propulsion. It protects the people inside, while respecting the environment around it.
The process of building it was something special. From the first sketches to the fine details of engineering and systems integration, every decision was carefully made. The result is a home of over 400 square meters. A place that rises above danger. A safe space in the middle of the storm.
Scaling resilience
But the story didn’t end there. What we learned shaped our next steps. The Arkup 50 takes the same principles and brings them to a smaller, more accessible scale. It is lighter, more compact, but just as smart and resilient.
Because we believe this kind of design should not be reserved for the few. It should be available, repeatable, and ready to meet the needs of different people and places. Resilience, after all, should not be a luxury.
A floating spa, calm and prepared
Another project close to our hearts is the Floating Spa in Turks and Caicos. It rests quietly in shallow turquoise waters, supported by slender stilts. It was designed to feel peaceful and grounded. Almost as if it had always been there.
But it is not fixed. The entire structure is buoyant and modular. When a storm approaches, it can be detached and moved to safety. That kind of quiet strength, to be still when possible and to move when necessary, reflects everything we believe in.
It is the same philosophy, expressed in a smaller, more tranquil way. A wellness space that knows how to adapt. That listens to the rhythm of the sea.
Why we build this way
We believe the future of architecture is floating. But that future must be thoughtful. It must respect nature, not overpower it. It must bring together beauty and intelligence, resilience and grace.
Whether we are designing a villa, a studio, or a spa, our approach begins in the same place. We build with water, not against it. And above all, we build for a world where change is constant, and adaptability is no longer a question. It is a promise.
Interested in the technical details? Stay tuned for our linkedin post series where we dive deeper into the design, challenges, and innovations behind the project.