VIEW MORE PHOTOS : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Three Rivers Rowing Association - Millvale Boathouse & Training Center   Millvale, PA

Founded in 1984, Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Rowing Association (TRRA) has seen continual growth in its programs and membership. In 2001, TRRA moved forward with plans to build a second rowing complex along the banks of the Allegheny River. Located across the river’s back channel from TRRA’s original boathouse on Washington’s Landing, the new rowing complex is the cornerstone of a new riverfront park being developed by the Borough of Millvale. Built on the site of an abandoned railroad-switching yard, the development includes new boat ramps and docks and may soon be linked to the existing boathouse by extending a bike trail across an abandoned railroad bridge adjacent to the new buildings.

The Millvale Boathouse and Training Center complex consists of two buildings: a two-story, 13,300 square foot, Training Center and a one-story, 9,200 square foot, Boat Storage Building. The Training Center was designed with low maintenance, durability, and vandal-resistance in mind. The form of the building recalls the classic images of rowing clubs and their boathouses, combined with an industrial aesthetic that reflects the former use of the site as a railroad-switching yard. The second floor lounge at the corner of the main entrance side of the building recalls the railroad switching towers that can still be found along the region’s riverbanks. Subtle nautical references are evident in the shape of the windows in the Lounge and Tank Room, as well as the design of the second floor deck railing, which incorporates interchangeable oars as ornament - a means for the various crews to “stake their claim” on the building (the red, white, and blue color scheme of both buildings is inspired by the color scheme of TRRA’s distinctive oar design).

At the heart of the Training Center’s lower level are twin indoor rowing tanks ­ full-scale mock-ups of 8-person shells, complete with moving seats and oars. With a large pool of water on either side of each rowing unit, the tanks provide a realistic indoor rowing experience, allowing crews to practice under the scrutiny of their coaches year-round.

The second floor of the Training Center provides spaces for meeting, training, changing and administration. The main room is a combination Meeting Room/Lounge that features extensive vision and clerestory glazing, maximizing daylighting and river views. The Lounge opens onto a deck that extends over the bike trail and into the treetops overlooking the river. Adjacent to the Lounge is an Exercise/Community Room, which serves double duty as both a space for rowing machines and a large social room, which can be created by rolling the machines away and opening the room up to the Lounge via large, sliding glass doors . Alongside this room, also overlooking the river, is a large Weight Room.

The second floor also contains a Training Room, a kitchenette, locker rooms, showers, restrooms and office space for the Executive Director and the coaches that overlook the activities of the boat staging yard and docks.

The Boat Storage Building (or Boathouse) is a straightforward, pre-engineered metal building used exclusively for the storage of rowing shells, oars, and equipment. The custom column spacing of the exterior walls was designed to accommodate integrally welded boat rack arms, spaced according to the design of standard rowing shells. This system allows the flexible accommodation of different sized boats along the perimeter, while eliminating the need to provide a freestanding rack system. In order to break up the monotony of its very simple, windowless walls, the sides of the Boat Storage Building feature a supergraphic representation of the TRRA oar design, along with the name of the association, in a color scheme that ties it to the Training Building. Barely visible from behind the dense riverfront foliage in the summer, the combination of the two brightly painted buildings behind the bare trees provides a dash of color along the back channel during the cold Pittsburgh winter.

Back to the Top