Stilt Houses Designs. Why Choose to Build In The Air

by Laura Mitran · July 12, 2017

Stilt houses date to prehistoric times and can be seen in a variety of forms worldwide, but especially in coastal regions and subtropical climates, as they protect against floods. They also maximize views, allow homeowners to build on rocky, steep or unstable land, keep out animals and vermin, and provide ventilation on every side of the house. Not being in contact with the soil can be very beneficial in terms of temperature and humidity. Here are some stilt houses designs from all over the world, on water or other surfaces.

The value of these dwellings made Gerans dedicate them a whole museum. Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen (German for ‘Stilt house museum’) is an archaeological open-air museum on Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Unteruhldingen, Germany, consisting of reconstructions of stilt houses or lake dwellings from the Neolithic Stone Age and Bronze Age.

Stilt Houses Designs in Asia

Houses like these still make up entire villages in Southeast Asia. Here are just some examples.

The traditional houses in Inle Lake, Shan state, Myanmar, provide some good examples of how people live with water.

The Bahnar, Giarai, and Ede are 3 ethnic groups who live in the central highlands of Vietnam, and their houses are extraordinary examples of native architecture. The Bahnar and Giarai build strikingly tall houses called “Rong,” to show off the status of the village, while the Ede build very long houses which serve extended families.

The distinctive point of these “stilt houses” in Indonesia is not stilts, but rather their unique roof shape, which originated in an ancient royal Chinese boat design. The Tongkonan custom house has been listed as a UNESCO world cultural heritage site since 2010.

Stilt villas in the Maldives

Like many of the luxury resorts in the Maldives, Soneva Gili features stunning stilt houses for accommodation. The spacious over-sized villas provide spectacular water views of the ocean from every room.

Stilt houses designs in Australia and the Americas

This neat one-bedroom studio in Brisbane, Australia, is raised above the ground on a sloped suburban hillside, in a rainy region.

In Scottsdale, Arizona, this minimalist, modernist house hovers above the desert floor. The steel column stilts are subtle, but in varying heights, they allow for the natural undulations of the land and the local flora to remain untouched.

Inspired by Japanese architecture and its emphasis on integration with nature, this house in Maine engages both the land and water elements of its lakeside location.

On the coast of South America, this stilt house navigates rocky and steep hillside terrain, leaving the land untouched. Its stone facade and timber structure blend beautifully with the coastal landscape, while its curved walls mimic the slope of the hillside.