ROWING NEWS MAGAZINE:
Harry Parker Boathouse Wins Architects’ Award
THURSDAY, 07 JANUARY 2010 09:30
Photo by Peter Spurrier
The Boston Society of Architects has named the newly built Harry Parker Boathouse the “most beautiful” new building in the city. The boathouse, one of ten that lines the Charles River, was designed by Cambridge architects Alex Anmahian and Nick Winton for Community Rowing Inc. The pair told the Boston Globe that they felt very lucky to design the boathouse. “They don’t get built very frequently and they’re always in sensitive paces-on a river,” said Anmahian.
When designing the boathouse, Winton and Anmahian did not look at other boathouses for inspiration. Instead they looked at barns, specifically tobacco barns. They felt that the intention was similar for both buildings-both are storage sheds that contain objects that need to stay dried out.
The Harry Parker Boathouse, which is surfaced in wood, houses up to 200 eights. A smaller building, the Ruth W. Somerville Sculling Pavilion, sits next to it made of glass, which stores the single sculls. Anmahian and Winton both felt that the boathouses should also accommodate a public walkway along the river. For that reason, both buildings sit farther from the river than most boathouses on the Charles, allowing walkers, joggers and bikers to continue their trek along the river. When a crew goes to launch their shell, they simply cross the path and lower the boat from any part of the 420 foot dock.
The architects thought of everything. The outer wooden walls are not solid surfaces as they appear. A mixture of glass and wood, everything is mechanically operated. With a flip of a switch, the walls open, similar to Venetian blinds, to allow air to circulate the interior and help dry the boats. The design also allows for the building to cool very easily so air conditioning is rarely needed.
The moving walls was an idea taken from the tobacco barns, where the walls are often made of wooden planks that can be opened easy to let air in. Not only is it a practical, it allows for the colorful shells to be seen from the outside. Similarly, the glass Somerville Pavilion acts as a showcase of the sculls.
Anmahian and Winton’s design now houses CRI’s non-profit organization, “dedicated to the belief that the sport of rowing provides unique abilities to promote personal and community growth through teamwork, discipline, and physical fitness,” states their website. The boathouse is being used for numerous rowing and fitness programs as well as events and weddings.
By Liz Bernal
