Pulling together: the roof of this little boathouse is derived from the repetition and rotation of a basic truss to form a supple curve that echoes the elegant dynamism of rowing.

The work of Vincent James fuses the industrial spirit of his native Midwest with a Scandinavian affinity for simple forms and materials that change with the passage of time and the patina of age. His modest, undemonstrative architecture is well suited to the harsh climate of America's Upper Midwest, with its notoriously frigid winters, and draws on the vernacular traditions generated by such inhospitable surroundings.

Another theme of his work is rhythm and motion, which underscores this little project for a boathouse for the Minneapolis Rowing Club. The original boathouse was burnt down by arsonists in 1997 and its loss was acutely felt, as it had been built by members and become the physical embodiment of the club. James was commissioned to design a replacement on a site at the foot of Lake Street Bridge on the Mississippi River. The initial brief was for 6500sq ft of boat storage with a further 3500sq ft for training, locker rooms and meeting rooms to be added in a later phase.

The new boathouse is essentially a big, barn-like structure covered in thin horizontal strips of timber stained black. Copper panels, designed to age and patinate over time, clad the big sliding doors, fractionally animating the austere composition of taut, sealed planes. Inside, walls are lined with functional plywood skin and wedges of clerestorey glazing bring light into the double-height space. The roof is more complex, its hyperbolic paraboloid form derived from a Muybridge-like analysis of the movement of an oar. As in the rhythm of rowing, the repetition of a simple architectural element has the potential to create a sense of movement and generate form.

James studied the work of photographers such as Edward Muybridge and E. J. Marey who used the isolated frame to visualize and record the space of movement. Here, the repetition and rotation of a basic truss creates the fluid paraboloid form of the roof. Varying only in position and the orientation of its vertical support, each truss is identical, for economy. The composite glulam timber and steel V-truss beams are each set at a slightly different angle to map out the supple curve of the roof. Like its predecessor, the building was constructed by member volunteers from the rowing club and designed to a tight budget, so the roof components were factory-made, ready to be simply slotted into place on site. Hovering over the static, box-like base, the curved roof is a light, dynamic volume that subtly embodies the power and grace of rowing.

Architect

Vincent James Associates, Minneapolis

Project team

Vincent James, Andrew Dull, Jay Lane, Jennifer Yoos, Paul Yaggie, Steven Philippi, Nathan Knutson, Robert Loken, Scott Mueliner, Taavo Somer

Structural engineers

Carroll, Francic & Associates Becker & Associates

Landscape architect

Cons + Stumpf + Associates

Photographs

Mary Ludington