Bicheno Surf Life Saving Club + Boathouse – Birrelli Art + Design + Architecture
Project summary
A little boathouse, a historical beacon; the boathouse blends with nature in a sculptural way, and evokes associations with land art and the influences of De Stijl, cubism and minimalism. The reduced palette of materials – untreated wood, steel and masonry – offers maximum simplicity and sets out to preserve the landscape and social life of the site. The building does not isolate itself from the natural environment. The pure wooden geometry of the boathouse is carefully set within the beach setting, providing an intimate relationship between building and nature. Simple, distinctive and sensitive elements animate the building’s dialogue with the site. The weathered, timber-skinned boathouse takes cues from the last five remaining commercial cray boats that still operate out of Bicheno. Timber battens are expressed horizontally in a crafted pattern of alternating sizes with finger-jointed ends at each corner, and directly interpret the Tasmanian cray pot. The cray pot is a beautiful, handcrafted object, using traditional techniques, weaving steel and timber into a purely functional form. It is a vessel of symbolic significance to Bicheno … and like the timber boathouse, both are powerful, tactile semaphores, lending themselves to create a sense of place that serves and defines the community of Bicheno.
Construction
Rosier Constructions – builder
Consultants
Frank Brierley Engineering – structural consultant