The house, called Formosa, is situated 10 m (33 ft) from the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, UK, in an area is designated as Flood Zone 3b. Not only is this an area at high risk of flooding, but it is recognized as a functional floodplain where water must be allowed to flow or be stored at times of flooding. As such, any building must both remain operational during times of flooding and not impede the flow or storage of water.

Formosa was granted planning permission in 2012, and is designed to rise by up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in the event of a flood. Baca says that such a level would is well above the current and future predicted levels for the area and company director Richard Coutts told Gizmag at the time of planning approval that such a flood would be "a one in one-hundred year event."

Baca's other director, Robert Barker, tells Gizmag that, although the house is not the first amphibious one in the world, it is the first amphibious one in the UK. Not only is the site on an island, requiring materials to be transported by chain-ferry, the Environment Agency had also never heard of an amphibious house, meaning a huge amount of work had to be done for Baca to convince the agency of the project's viability.