Wiedemann Architects redesigned the boathouse, dock and boat shed, keeping their original footprints. Photo: Anice Hoachlander
Boathouses on the Chesapeake Bay are true treasures. Given environmental concerns, state law allows for the maintenance and reconstruction of existing structures but prohibits the building of new ones. The visionaries behind the following two boathouse resurrections share insights on the delicate dance of balancing
stewardship, history and function.
The owners of a 250-acre farm bordering the Miles River in Maryland’s Talbot County tapped Bethesda-based Wiedemann Architects to replace a ramshackle boathouse on the family compound that serves as their primary residence. For design inspiration, founder Gregory Wiedemann looked to the past. “It was our desire to respect the vernacular traditions,” he reveals. “We wanted to recall the simple gable form of the original. We also wanted to honor the craft of earlier boathouses by utilizing a heavy timber structure, left exposed on the gable ends and within the boathouse itself.”
Securing the necessary federal, state and local approvals proved a bit challenging.
Wiedemann succeeded with a plan that worked with what was already there. “The existing boat shed, connecting dock and boathouse, were rebuilt over their original footprints,” he explains.
Materials were selected to stand the test of time and survive the harsh elements. White-painted, tongue-and-groove cedar siding clads the boathouse’s exterior; a terne-coated, stainless-steel roof crowns the structure. The dockside sports navy-blue barn doors, an element repeated on many of the estate’s agrarian structures. “The boathouse was designed and built to withstand future floods,” the architect discloses, “while maintaining a coherence with the material palette of the entire farm.”
Throughout the reconstruction process, the goal was to minimize impact on the tidal water and surrounding land. Wiedemann asserts, “Respect for the environment was paramount, as evidenced by the living shoreline and care with which the boathouse was built.”
The completed, 1,000-square-foot structure with a 15-by-38-foot berth accommodates a single vessel. Wiedemann’s advice to others fortunate enough to be planning a similar reconstruction: “Honor the traditions of Eastern Shore boathouses.”
The owners of a sizable parcel situated on St. Leonard Creek in Maryland’s Calvert County enlisted Bethesda-based McInturff Architects to conjure a replacement for their crumbling shelter.
In his plan for a gable structure with exposed framing, architect Mark McInturff embraced convention along with a few updates. “Traditionally, boathouses are simple structures whose architecture comes from the visible carpentry of their making,” he explains. “We saw no reason to break from tradition here.”
Rather than leaving just one end open for a boat to enter, however, the architect added barn doors on the other end and both sides. “This is a much more open, convertible structure,” he notes. What’s more, a cupola brings in light from above and showcases the yellow-pine interior. “A boathouse can be gloomy and we didn’t want that,” McInturff reveals. “The cupola also lights up all the carpentry that went into the framing of the roof. If you do it carefully, as we did here, the framing can be beautiful.”
The exterior marries cedar shingles with fiber-cement board and batten, painted a dark-green hue. A copper roof offers staying power. “We wanted to use really long-lasting materials that would weather well,” states the architect. “I think this boathouse is evocative, inside and out. It looks like something that could’ve been built 100 years ago.”
McInturff suggests researching area boathouse regulations before starting any reconstruction project. In this case, the team’s due diligence clearly paid off. The thoughtful result is a 640-square-foot homage, built on the pilings of its predecessor. Outfitted with a motorized lift, it stores a center-console boat, which the owners enjoy taking out on weekends at their waterfront retreat.