Recent marina projects with floating buildings demonstrate the evolution of the engineering used to design and build them. While small, lightweight harbormaster offices are often seen at the end of docks to greet visitors, today’s floating buildings encompass significantly greater area, weight and windage, and can be used for anything under the sun.

The Boathouse at Loyola Marymount

One of the largest is the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Boathouse located in Marina del Rey, California. The 15.2m by 22.9m (50 ft. by 75 ft.) float was designed and built by Bellingham Marine in 2000 and supports a large wood frame boat house used for the university’s rowing activities. The LMU Boathouse has a bathroom inside, a good idea if one is about to step into a rowing shell. A waste tank was embedded inside the core of a float module, and sewage is pumped to land as the tank is filled.

Bellingham’s Manager of Project Development for the Southwest Division, Eric Noegel, has been involved in several projects with floating buildings. “The key criteria are strength and stiffness,” said Noegel. “Just as any building on land requires a stable foundation, a float under a building must act as one piece as a wave passes underneath. The float under the LMU Boathouse does just that.”

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MAGAZINE: Marina World
ISSUE: March/April 2008