Falcon Rowing & Canoeing Club, Oxford
New Clubhouse

The proposal replaces the existing clubhouse, a tired but much loved and well-used 75-year-old single storey double bay timber shed. The client is a community boat club with a vibrant membership of over 400 people, serving community and charitable groups as well as its members.

The new building references the traditional riverside boathouse typology and reinterprets it in a contemporary language. It employs short sharp zig/zag roof gables facing the river typical in the boatshed typology. The design echoes the previous boat shed which has become an iconic reference for the club when compared with other club and boathouses on the river. Small pitched repetitive gables offer a dynamic and animated building presence to the river. The building mass is split with an obvious material change. Reflecting the different uses between the two levels, the base is solid and robust with a blockwork plinth and the upper level is a prefinished cladding. The cladding is crisply detailed, providing a robust, low maintenance material which will retain the quality of its appearance for many years.

The build started in summer 2020 and is due for completion in mid 2022.