
So for her master's thesis, she created LIFT, or Low Income Flood-proof Technology, a unique way to offer struggling families sustainable, flood resilient housing. The houses she built float during a flood and return to ground as the water recedes. "Architecture has to adapt to nature in its most primitive form. Let the water run its course", she says.
Without buoyant housing, the Bangladeshi poor are often forced to flee their homes with each flood. Prosun's houses, however, are separated into two portions: the two floating units made from bamboo, and a sustainable brick and concrete services spine that holds rainwater and offers composting toilets and solar panels.
Currently, a family is living in one unit while the other unit is used for demonstration purposes. Prosun plans to continue work on the project even when she begins to practice architecture in Toronto. "The moment the first building floated during testing, it was all worth it," she says. "Now I can keep going."