11 May 2026

By Stephan Ploke

As many of you HTBS readers know, Stephan Ploke, of Akademischer Ruderverbindung Westfalen, has been working for several years on a book dedicated to rowing boathouses worldwide.

The project has now entered its final stage: all site visits to more than a hundred boathouses have been completed, and a renowned German publisher – internationally recognised for its high-end illustrated books on architecture, lifestyle, and arts – has been secured. The production process is expected to take around a year, with publication scheduled for spring 2027.

Spanning more than 300 large-format pages (33×25 cm), the volume will present approximately one hundred outstanding rowing boathouses from 25 countries across the globe, from England to the United States, from Norway to Argentina, and from Italy and Romania to India and China. Conceived both as a visual celebration of our beloved sport and as a work of reference, the book documents the diversity of rowing clubs and their boathouses, in both exterior and interior design: from grand riverside palaces and high-class contemporary architecture to historic landmarks and remote outposts on distant waters, and from member-designed structures to works by internationally renowned architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Peter Behrens, Le Corbusier, Basil Spence, and Jeanne Gang.

More than a study of architecture, the book also aims at exploring the history, traditions, and personalities of the clubs behind these buildings. Stories of Olympic champions, eccentric benefactors, devastating fires, lavish parties, fierce student rivalries, and legendary regattas all form part of a rich and often surprising narrative. With extensive contemporary photography and historical archival material, the publication seeks to combine architectural insight with rowing history and a wealth of engaging anecdotes. In combination with an introductory chapter on the history and forms of rowing, the individual chapters are also intended to come together to form a wider history of world rowing – all in English for the international rowing community.

Special thanks are already due to the many members of the global rowing fraternity who so generously welcomed me into their boathouses and shared their knowledge, stories, and archives, often accompanied by much-appreciated hospitality and hopped refreshments. It has been an incredibly enriching and enjoyable journey to experience such diverse expressions of rowing culture!