University College Boathouse in Oxford, United Kingdom

February 21, 2011 Category: Education, Public Buildings

Located in Oxford, United Kingdom, University College Boathouse was designed by Belsize Architects were one of four architectural practices invited to submit a proposal to meet the college’s requirements for a building which would provide rowing, social and residential facilities. For Belsize Architects, the new boathouse did not need to be as traditional in appearance as its predecessor, but it still had to be able to support as much tradition and pride as was invested in the original building.

Creatively, the design concept for the new Boathouse draw upon two main principles, which are directly inspired by the sport of rowing: Firstly, the boats, the oars, the water, all exhibited unique characteristics, which were manifested in the copper roof. The goal was to achieve a sort of blade cutting the sky, as the scull cut the river that first day we visited the site. The roof, like the shell of that boat, stretches over the entire building to provide shelter over the rowers and spectators.

University College Boathouse design by Belsize Architects