The Boathouse

However, it is in a prominent location, seen by ~1000 people per day – pedestrians, cyclists, and rowers. It had to be both beautiful and have a low environmental impact. It is entirely British larch, approximately one tree’s worth. Except for the roof and sub-structure (see below) not a single screw or metal bracket has been used. The primary frames uses Japanese timber joints and the floorboards and sarking boards are fixed using wooden nails. The larch is rough sawn and un-dried, reducing the energy used to prepare it. The untreated copper used for the roof is made from 100% recycled copper (KME Tecu). It has a lifetime that should allow the building to become an established part of the river scene of Cambridge, much like the bridge from which it is prominently seen. At the end of its life the copper is simple to remove and recycle. The sub structure provided a challenge to the environmental aim. The location on the water course needs a material that won’t move when wet – i.e. steel or concrete. Both of which have a high embodied carbon and environmental impact. End of life scaffold poles were used to address this. They were hand driven and jointed to give the required depth and strength. A fixed based screw jack turned upside down was screwed onto end of the poles. Upon which we could sit a timber ring beam with the facility to adjust them to make everything level. No concrete was been used, the roof is 100% recycled and recyclable, the substructure was intercepted on its way to the scrap pile and the un-dried larch all came from a short drive away.