§ 01 — THE CABANA
One Slip, All Entertainment — The Swim Boathouse
The Indian River project has two boathouses. They do different things. The first — a single-slip structure on this side of the property — we’re calling the cabana. It’s the swim boathouse, the hangout boathouse, the one where you come off the water and stay. Not a boat storage building. An entertainment zone with one slip as the anchor.
On Indian River, visibility is high. This is a busy stretch of water, and the design responded to that: the side facing the river is solid, keeping the activity facing inward toward the property. A few windows let light through. Privacy was part of the program from the start.
§ 02 — THE BUSINESS
Two Slips, a Second Floor, and a Bar That Opens to the Dock
Across the property, the second boathouse does the boat work. Two slips, second-floor living accommodations — a bedroom, bathroom, a bar area, and a rooftop deck. This is where the boats live. The bar is long, with a garage door opening directly out to the dock space, so interior and exterior run together. From the rooftop, you’re high enough to be out of the river traffic while still being completely on the water.
The two boathouses form a complete system — one for hanging out, one for the boats — and together they let the clients use the whole waterfront in different ways at the same time.
§ 03 · THE TOUR
Walk Both Boathouses on Indian River
A site walkthrough of both structures from slip level through the rooftop deck. About five minutes.
§ 04 — THE STEEL
A Transfer Frame, a Dropped Ceiling, and Getting the Loads Where They Need To Go
In a boathouse with a second floor, the upper framing almost never lines up directly over ideal column locations down at dock level. The solution is a steel transfer structure at the floor level — a heavy frame that redirects loads from wherever the structure above needs to bear down to wherever a column can actually land. On the business boathouse, that transfer frame also creates a zone between the floor and the ceiling below that’s perfect for routing mechanical, plumbing, and electrical out of sight, properly insulated, and accessible if needed.
The dropped ceiling in that middle zone is one of those details that looks like a trade-off but is actually an asset — it clears the structure, routes the services, and keeps the space functional off-season.
§ 05 — THE THROUGH-LINE
Two Boathouses, One Strategy: Be on the Water
Every decision on the Indian River project pointed in the same direction — toward the water. One boathouse for being there. One for storing what lets you get there. A bar between them. Rooftop deck above. Privacy from the river on one side, openness to the property on the other. The client gets two buildings that don’t compete because they were designed to do entirely different things.
