Don?t confuse a “boathouse” with a “house boat”: this historically humble and practical structure may float on open water, but it?s designed to host watercraft rather than people. Boathouses have existed almost as long as boats themselves. For example, Scandinavian “nausts” date back to Viking times, when they were sometimes built to enormous proportions capable of concealing a full-sized vessel and protecting it from the elements. These days, they?re more typically found along waterways just down the shore from a residence, housing recreational watercraft and offering a relaxing place to sit and enjoy views of the water.

Traditional boathouses usually consist of little more than a roof and perhaps two or three walls raised above water level on stilts or pontoons. Sometimes, they?re modified to include living quarters, and many older boathouses have even been adapted to include restaurants, bars, and other leisure facilities. Regardless of whether they’re imbued with humility or enhanced with all the luxury trappings of an adjacent mansion, boathouses are rarely as stunning as this recent project in Canada, which was completed in 2016.
Located on Lake of the Woods in Manitoba, just across from the U.S. state of Minnesota, this 2,500-square-foot structure by Cibinel Architecture features an airy streamlined modern silhouette that contrasts with the rougher textures of the rocky coastline bristling with lush, vivid evergreen trees ...