Historic & Civic

Project: Marion Harbormaster Building

Design Overview:

A new harbormaster facility positioned on Sippican Harbor in Historic Marion Center. The harbormaster & maritime center overlooks a public beach, docks & moorings, and the Town Wharf. The facility contains harbormaster offices, public reception space, and a training/ meeting room.  The new facility is properly sized to adequately support harbormaster operations with necessary staff throughout the year. A wrap around observation deck provides the harbormaster with exceptional visibility  over adjacent docks, moorings, and Sippican Harbor. The building was positioned to open  up views and accessibility of the waterfront for residents and visitors. The building’s aesthetics are intended to blend with the historic Marion waterfront.

Design & Site Considerations:

Located within a FEMA Velocity flood zone EL-19 with an existing grade elevation of 6’ the primary occupiable floor needed to be an elevation approximately 16’ above grade. This was accomplished via concrete piles which served to allow flood waters to pass below the building but also provided an unobstructed understory to be used for parking and storage. The extreme height of the building was masked by screening the understory to make it appear as a two-story structure rather than a building on stilts.  Full accessibility to the elevated facility was accomplished via a handicap lift and 2 sets of exterior stairs.

2025 BRICC Awards Gold Medal Winner for Outstanding Engineering Project from the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod.