When you can arrive at your home by boat or seaplane, the boathouse becomes the major threshold to the property, ushering you from sea to shore to shelter. PBW’s Boathouse in coastal Washington replaces a rotting wooden structure and attempts to restore its deteriorating shoreline connection as well—all while creating more “outside than inside” for the clients to enjoy.
The highly flexible building can open up for a summertime crab feast or hunker down for a soothing cup of tea by the fire on a blustery winter’s day. In a pinch, it makes a fine guest house for a short stay. Yet for all that utility, it “sits so lightly on the landscape,” said our judges. “It seems so weightless. It’s kind of like a dock or a pier that got made into a building.”
And that was the core concept, says Dan Wickline. “Our goal was to make the structure as light as possible. In fact, the entire volume is smaller than what was there before. We had quite a few meetings to go over that—how much space do we want outside our inside? There was never a need to maximize the interior volume. The intent was to stay modest and build only what was really needed.”
Citation
Custom Accessory or Outbuilding
PBW Architects
Boathouse
Coastal Washington
Project Credits
Architect: Dan Wickline, principal architect; Philip Burkhardt, project architect; Kelby Riegsecker, architect, PBW Architects, Seattle, Washington
Builder: Dalgarno Construction, Eastsound, Washington
Interior Designer: LeeAnn Baker, LeeAnn Baker Interiors, Seattle
Landscape Architect: Green Man Landscape & Design, Friday Harbor, Washington
Project Size: 634 square feet
Site Size: 5 acres
construction cost: Withheld
Photography: Andrew Pogue Photography; Taj Howe Photography
Key Products
Cladding: Stained tight knot cedar
Cabinet Hardware: Sugatsune
Countertops: Caesarstone, concrete
Dishwasher: Bosch
Doors/Windows/Window Walls: Dynamic Fenestration
Engineered Lumber: Weyerhaeuser
Faucets: Grohe; Hansgrohe
Fireplace: Element4
Flooring: Carlisle
Insulation/Housewrap: Henry Blueskin
Lighting: Rich Brilliant Willing; Juniper Design
Millwork/Moulding/Trim: Thermory USA
Refrigerator: Sub-Zero
Roofing: Taylor Metal Products
Sinks: Duravit; Elkay
Toilet: TOTO