The Boat House | Maguire + Devine Architects

Designed for a writer and her Husband, the boathouse sits perched on the banks of the River Derwent in Southern Tasmania. It is a small (ancillary) dwelling, dovetailed into the lush garden of their midcentury Myrtle clad family home. It celebrates the experience of living on the waters edge, offering sanctuary and protection from the wild weather that blows in from the sea.

In this edge condition the boathouse offers prospect and refuge while carefully orchestrating levels of privacy from the northern approach and public walkway to the south. Clearly visible from all sides the building was conceived as a sculpted object in the landscape; an envelope formed to create a sequence of crafted experiential moments, moulded to the specific contextual and climatic conditions of its place.

A large facade presents its self to north, catching sun over the hilltops and drawing it deep into the plan. The scale and presence of this timber clad elevation extends a warm welcome as it invites you down into the site.

A gabled elevation sits perpendicular to the waterfront, balanced over the public walking track below. It recalls the heritage listed boathouses of Cornelian Bay across the River. Extruded back into the site, the gable forms a dramatic central living space with clean lines of perspective terminating unobstructed at glass, drawing the occupants gaze out into the view.

The protective standing seam metal cladding is dark and visually recessive. Low sides of the gable further reduce the perceived scale, yet the form is not apologetic, rather it is strong and confident in this exposed prominent location.

Internally, Tasmanian Oak lines the floor, ceiling and walls, contrasting against the dramatic tones of the river, offering warmth and protection from what is beyond. Dark stained timber joinery houses services such as the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms.
Once within the wet areas, spaces are colourful and intimate, accentuating a sense of interiority and privacy while framing water views through small punch hole apertures.

Decks to both the east and west extend like jetties out into the garden affording water views to south while being bathed in northern sun. Bi-fold doors seamlessly connect each deck through the living space to create a podium, a place of outlook nestled into the bank. Decks are low to the ground, omitting the need for balustrades, thus enhancing the relationship between building, garden and river.

At 60m2 the footprint of the ancillary dwelling was limited in size by council regulations yet boasts generosity through its dramatic high ceilings and warm, cosy interior. The Boathouse creates a sense of both intimacy and grandeur, celebrating the experience of being right on the water.

Photography: Adam Gibson, adamgibson.com.au