THE HYDROFOIL: BOATHOUSE
Computational Design Studio, 2012
To survive the flood, don’t resist it.
Boat Storage looking toward Boat Repair and upper level Exercise Room
Situated on a flood plain, the most urgent performative criteria of the facade is to aid the boathouse in surviving destructive flood waters.
Tear-drop form parametrically developed based upon flood levels and hydrodynamic research.
The movement of water (in)forms the skin, massing, and organization of the hydrofoil. The triangulated skin was parametrically developed to break up the growth of eddies, reducing drag in a similar way to shark skin. Further hydrodynamic research from texts on fluid dynamics inspired the angled openings in the facade, which allow flood water to flow through the lower level of the boathouse, reducing drag and increasing chance of the structure surviving.
Final steel skin prototype: structurally-integrated panels cut by plasma-cutter robotic arm.
The overall tear-drop shape is also meant to reduce drag, and the alternating bumping in-and-out of the facade is inspired by techniques from ship design which again break up the growth of drag-inducing eddies. The organization is based upon flood levels:
0-9 ft.: average seasonal variation of river height – docks.
9-24 ft.: severe flood range – boat storage floods in severe conditions.
24+ ft.: safe from floods – training room and support spaces.
Upper and Lower Plans; Transverse Section
Detail of Prototype by Candlelight – Exterior Allowed to Weather
Copyright © 2014 Alexandre Kinney
Alexandre Kinney 