Located on Harbor Island directly across from downtown San Diego, is the premier bayfront dining destination, Coasterra restaurant. With stunning views of America’s finest city, the event float hosting private events recently underwent a cosmetic upgrade to match the restaurant’s upscale design aesthetic.
While a beautiful event facility once you’re on it, the view from the restaurant of the decades-old floating hopper barge wasn’t up to par with the view of San Diego’s pristine skyline. Due to the long-standing relationship between Bellingham Marine and the property owner, the owners reached out to BMI to figure out what could be done to breathe new life into the lackluster appearance of the event barge.
The owners and BMI collaborated to come up with a plan to design and build a façade that would cover the sides of the barge in a visually appealing way. Due to the age of the barge, one of the key parameters was developing a plan to create a façade without physically attaching to the steel barge, in order to preserve its floating integrity. BMI was able to produce a 3D rendering to supply a vision to the client which ultimately evolved into the end product. Another key element of the project was scheduling and completing the work to accommodate the restaurant’s event schedule, a task in which BMI is well versed.
Bellingham Marine designed and built a custom aluminum framework with standoffs that attach to the top deck of the barge to support vertical panels with horizontal IPE decking hung in an alternating offset pattern from the face of the barge to tie into the restaurant’s design. IPE is a resilient hardwood with properties similar to teak, commonly used in high-end outdoor furniture and decking. The IPE decking starts out a warm reddish hue, and will weather to a nice silvery grey color for many years to come.
While Bellingham Marine is most known for designing and building floating docks, this project was an extension of BMI’s design and building expertise. The custom façade added dimension and design interest to the restaurant’s existing harbor event float, enhancing this highly sought-after private event space.
