Boathouse
Carbon Challenge’s Boathouse is a laboratory of ideas and a permanent exhibition of “Cool Thinking” in action.
As the Carbon Challenge Academy teaches, the biggest negative drag on most companies’ carbon footprint is caused by the construction and operation of their business premises.
The Carbon Challenge Boathouse is a best practice model in construction and refurbishment for any company with carbon-reduction aspirations. It contains ideas that can be applied to existing buildings and incorporated into new building projects to make an immediate impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The Boathouse aims to become one of the world’s prominent zero-net-energy buildings. Every detail of the Boathouse is being developed with maximum carbon reduction and energy efficiency in mind, while maintaining the vision of state-of-the-art design.
Introducing the Project Group
The project group to conceptualize, plan, build and operate the Boathouse is led by Carbon Challenge’s Boathouse Project Manager, architect Bill Bouldin. The project group’s members include David Chipperfield Architects, ARUP engineers and the Design Faculty of the University of Applied Science and Arts in Dortmund/Germany, headed by Prof. Martin Middlehauve.
The Energy Efficiency in Buildings Group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development is sharing knowledge and experience gained in the EEB project with our project group and makes information gathered and developed in the EEB project available to the Boathouse team.
Following finalisation of the brief for the functions of the Boathouse in January 2008, the project group is currently analysing the potential impact of the Boathouse and its operation on the environment to ensure the lowest possible carbon emissions in the construction, operation, maintenance and dismantling of the Boathouse.
The Blueprint
The foundation stones of the Boathouse will be modular components, a requirement necessary to take the Boathouse around the world alongside the Carbon Challenge sailing team, when participating in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09.
| Stopover Port | Beginning | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| Alicante*, Spain | 19 September 2008 | 11 October 2008 |
| Cape Town, South Africa | 3 November 2008 | 15 November 2008 |
| Kochi, India | 3 December 2008 | 13 December 2008 |
| Singapore* | 23 December 2008 | 18 January 2009 |
| Qingdao*, China | 30 January 2009 | 14 February 2009 |
| Rio de Janeiro*, Brazil | 20 March 2009 | 11 April 2009 |
| Boston*, MA., USA | 27 April 2009 | 16 May 2009 |
| Galway*, Ireland | 23 May 2009 | 6 June 2009 |
| Gothenburg, Sweden | 10 June 2009 | 14 June 2009 |
| Stockholm*, Sweden | 16 June 2009 | 25 June 2009 |
| St. Petersburg, Russia | 27 June 2009 |
*indicates stopover port featuring in-port racing.
Due to the short stopover times in Volvo Ocean Race ports Carbon Challenge will produce two identical buildings to leapfrog ports. Both Boathouse segments will then be united to become the final Boathouse building and location of the Carbon Challenge Academy at its final destination.
Besides being fully mobile, the Boathouse must also fulfil traditional requirements in terms of life-span and suitability for hot summers and cold winters at a seaside location.
The need for mobility, i.e. simple and fast set-up and take-down of the building, is obviously not a function needed in normal buildings. However, we believe that industrial pre-fabrication of buildings or building elements at sites where efficient fabrication is possible, and shipping it to its final destination will gain importance in the very near future.
This concept could be especially applicable for regions where energy efficiency technologies are not available in acceptable delivery times. Action on climate change is, after all, urgently required.
Alternately with the possibility of rising energy costs and a more severe regulatory environment impacting on new construction, the availability of affordable and mobile zero-net-energy office- or industrial park buildings could be part of the solution to respond to the immediate and growing demand for energy efficient buildings.
The Boathouse is certain to contribute to the debate on energy efficiency in buildings, being set up in ten important cities on four continents over a period of nine months.
Balancing Out
Unfortunately the downside of mobility is the production of carbon emissions caused by shipping the building. Being aware of this, we are convinced that, long term, the positive effects of promoting energy efficiency in buildings with this Boathouse showcase will by far outweigh the carbon emissions produced by shipping the building.
The short term effects of carbon emissions created by shipping the Boathouse will be neutralized by Carbon Challenge’s commitment to offset all its emissions.
However the Boathouse is envisaged to be much more than a tour-de-force of energy efficiency over nine months. Following the completion of the Volvo Ocean Race in June 2009 the Boathouse (and, with it, the Carbon Challenge Academy) will be relocated to its permanent location.
An international tender will commence soon, which will, by December 2008, determine the Boathouse’s final permanent location. Targeted at the regions or cities engaged in the mitigation of global warming, the Boathouse will, together its international reputation and business training function, provide a valuable asset in the establishment of renewable energy zones.
In the coming weeks and months visitors to these pages can follow the “work in progress” of the Boathouse project. We will regularly post new developments and milestones around the Boathouse in this section.
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