Floodproof on a Floodplain

In Chicago’s North Shore along an historic road lined with custom homes, is a prime piece of land bordered by a forest preserve and natural waterway. Until recently, the lot remained empty—not for lack of interest, but because it was an engineering nightmare.

Located on a 100-year floodplain, partially in a floodway, and encompassing wetlands, the parcel posed multiple regulatory and structural challenges.

That is, until Michael Freiburger, owner of NewLook Design | Build + Development, took up the mantle with the vision to outthink the problem rather than avoid it, turning a challenge into an opportunity to do something special.

The result is the NewLook Experience, the latest in a series of Idea Homes produced by Pro Builder slated for a completion early next year.

The site came with a host of requirements, special permits, approvals, and strict building guidelines from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Namely, the house had to be elevated, with its lowest floor and all utility access points set above the area’s base flood elevation. The foundation also had to allow water to flow underneath it. Freiburger found his solution in helical piers, a system of 278 giant metal screws drilled into the ground that serve as the base for concrete pillars supporting the elevated steel beams and the house itself (see photo below). 

Because of the intense weight of the home’s structure, his foundation design incorporates redundancies, including double- and triple-helix helical piers in particularly challenging areas.

The system leaves a large cavity beneath the structure that allows both the free flow of flood water and water storage—a 60-foot-wide, 157-foot-long retention pond that can hold about four feet of water.

In a worst-case flood scenario, the home would stand as something of a floating island. “Sitting above it all until the water goes away,” Freiburger says.