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Whether lining a river bustling with rowing crews or sitting calmly at the edge of a lake, boathouses have a storied history and an inexplicable romance to match their unusual program. Designed for use as a training facility for elite rowers, a vacationer’s waterfront playground, shoreline retreat, or even as a historical preservation project, boathouses captivate the imagination as they transcend the limits of the land-form relationship on their site.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e36e/f197/cc7c/8200/01dd/newsletter/image22.jpg?1528423270)
Leaving land creates a number of challenges and opportunities for an architect, particularly in creating a stable base for a building on the edge of dry land. As seen in the following collection of contemporary boathouse projects, waterfront structures can tower over the water on piles, float on a buoyant platform, or perch comfortably on the coast and connect to the water with an extended boat ramp. The relationship between a waterfront building and its corresponding body of water encompasses every aspect of a project’s architecture—affecting climate, humidity, noise, light, and particularly the panoramic views out across the water from upper floors and elevated balconies.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e307/f197/cc4e/6100/00cb/newsletter/image14.jpg?1528423166)
To celebrate a summer of cooling off by the water, here’s a collection of 10 newly-constructed or renovated boathouses (and one bonus resort complex) that take amphibious architecture to a new level.
Het Bosch / JagerJanssen architecten + Dreissen Architecten
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e2e2/f197/cc7c/8200/01d9/newsletter/image2.jpg?1528423130)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e2ee/f197/cc4e/6100/00ca/newsletter/image23.jpg?1528423143)
WMS Boathouse at Clark Park / Studio Gang
Chicago, IL, USA
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e35f/f197/cc7c/8200/01dc/newsletter/image18.jpg?1528423255)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e352/f197/cc4e/6100/00ce/newsletter/image4.jpg?1528423243)
Community Rowing Boathouse / Anmahian Winton Architects
Boston, MA, USA
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e397/f197/cc7c/8200/01de/newsletter/image19.jpg?1528423314)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e38c/f197/cc4e/6100/00d1/newsletter/image1.jpg?1528423303)
Michael Baker Boathouse / Associated Architects
Worcester, United Kingdom
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e2d7/f197/cc4e/6100/00c9/newsletter/image20.jpg?1528423119)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e2ca/f197/cc7c/8200/01d8/newsletter/image12.jpg?1528423107)
Klostergarden Boathouse / Trodahl Arkitekter
Mosterøy, Rennesøy, Norway
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e400/f197/cc7c/8200/01e2/newsletter/image7.jpg?1528423414)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3f0/f197/cc7c/8200/01e1/medium_jpg/image25.jpg?1528423400)
Boathouse / Cibinel Architecture
Lake of the Woods, Canada
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3ba/f197/cc4e/6100/00d3/newsletter/image9.jpg?1528423346)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3c4/f197/cc7c/8200/01e0/newsletter/image10.jpg?1528423357)
Muskoka Boathouse / Christopher Simmonds Architect
Muskoka Lakes, Canada
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e338/f197/cc7c/8200/01db/medium_jpg/image15.jpg?1528423217)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e32c/f197/cc4e/6100/00cd/newsletter/image5.jpg?1528423207)
Modern Boathouse / Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited
Parry Sound District, ON, Canada
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3ad/f197/cc7c/8200/01df/newsletter/image13.jpg?1528423335)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3a3/f197/cc4e/6100/00d2/newsletter/image8.jpg?1528423324)
Boat’s House at Millstätter Lake / MHM architects
Seeboden, Austria
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e7c4/f197/cc7c/8200/01f2/newsletter/image14.jpg?1528424379)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e312/f197/cc7c/8200/01da/medium_jpg/image17.jpg?1528423179)
Sports Technification Centre For Rowing And Canoeing Orio / U.T.E. Atristain Begiristain
Orio, Basque Country, Spain
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e381/f197/cc4e/6100/00d0/newsletter/image11.jpg?1528423292)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e377/f197/cc4e/6100/00cf/medium_jpg/image16.jpg?1528423282)
Boat Rooms on the Fuchun River / The Design Institute of Landscape and Architecture China Academy of Art
Mei Cheng Da Dao, Jiande Shi, Hangzhou Shi, Zhejiang Sheng, China
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3d3/f197/cc4e/6100/00d4/newsletter/image6.jpg?1528423370)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b19/e3e2/f197/cc4e/6100/00d5/newsletter/image24.jpg?1528423385)
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