Capturing the rhythm of rowing in its exuberant roofline, this boathouse by Studio Gang symbolizes the Chicago River’s evolution into the city’s next recreational frontier. The 2,100-square-metre facility’s zinc-clad volumes are dually oriented, toward each other and toward the river, and their slate-shingled peaks incorporate glazed clerestories. In the interior, finished in warm Douglas fir plywood and black locust wood, one room is entirely devoted to indoor training tanks. Yet this new Chicago icon, with its 4,043-metre-long launch dock, is for everyone, as seen in its generous camp and community programming. studiogang.net