The design of the Henley Rowing Centre demonstrates how simple, elemental and respectful design can deliver shelter, amenity, and a broad spectrum of uses, while achieving both Net-Zero Energy and Zero-Carbon Emission benchmarks and pursuing Living Building and Net Zero Certification.
This 5,700 square foot building provides year-round fitness and rowing training for Canadian athletes. As the social and performative heart of the Henley Island rowing community, it continues a lengthy history of competitive rowing on the site. The building has been configured to provide a shade amenity on an otherwise open site, gently define an active court with the existing storage buildings, and make a strong connection to the site and water for athletes and spectators.
To maximize inclusivity, the facility contains both universal and all-gender areas and washrooms. The form of the building is generated by the roof, designed with an innovative mass timber system utilizing Canadian glue-laminated and cross-laminated timber products, held aloft by a light steel column structure and a centralized service core. The roof supports both the Photovoltaic system above and creates the protected indoor and outdoor spaces below. A simple robust material palette supports a high-performance building envelope, and incorporates passive sun control and low-energy mechanical and electrical systems, in order to achieve both a high level of environmental sustainability and to reduce ongoing operating and maintenance costs.
The building design continues the tradition of the ‘glass house’ reimagined as a useful socially amenity and undergirded with a responsible environmental approach.
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