- Area: 30,000 ft2.
- Year: 2008.
- Location: Boston, MA, United States.
- Product: Cladding.
- Finish: Pale.
- Architectural solutions: Architectural panels, Bespoke façades, Louver systems, Special machining.
- Project type: Cultural, Social, Sports.
- Awards: 2014 Institute Honor Award For Architecture By Aia;Citation, R+D Awards, 2010 ; Honor Award For Design Excellence, 2009 Boston Society Of Architects; Harleston Parker Award, 2009 Boston Society Of Architects; American Architecture Award, 2008 Chicago Athenaeum; Progressive Architecture Award, 2008 Architect Magazine.
- Photography: Pygmalion Karatzas, Peter Vanderwarker.
The Community Rowing Boathouse has reinvigorated a neglected stretch of the Charles River in Boston, USA. The boathouse’s innovative and sustainable design meant that it won the Harleston Parker Medal in its first year of eligibility.
The project comprises two buildings. The smaller of the two is a glass pavilion used for storing boats and equipment. The exterior of the main building is clad with NATURCLAD-W maintenance-free wood panels cut and custom machined to fit the operable system of bifold louvers and vents which provide natural light and efficiently reduce energy consumption.
The PARKLEX PRODEMA façade is functional but also evokes the aesthetics of the surrounding area. The natural wooden look resembles the traditional covered bridges and tobacco barns of New England, whilst the building’s surfaces transform according to the movements of the sun and of the user around the boathouse. Fittingly, these movements reflect those of a rower travelling down the neighboring Charles River.
