projects > public > bathing beauties competition
This proposal is for a new beach-side restaurant and boat house incorporating training facilities and a lookout for the Royal Lifesaving Society. The site is on the beach at Chapel St Leonards on the Lincolnshire coast, UK. The building has been proposed as a strong horizontal element in the landscape anchored to and providing a clean edge to the sand dune. The building provides shelter within it, a verandah to the east, a protected garden to the west and a viewing platform on the roof terrace.
Along the length of the restaurant runs a 'sun scoop', where the roof folds up towards the west to allow the light of the setting sun to penetrate the restaurant space. By doing this we hope to enhance the langour of the long, soft summer twilight. The night time view of the building will show a slatted box glowing from within, like a lantern and making visual links to other maritime features such as beacons and lighthouses.
The chosen materials are pre-cast concrete and timber. The proposed construction is of a delicate pre cast concrete skeleton wrapped in a timber skin. An exposed floating concrete slab anchors the building at the foot of the dune. Both timber and concrete are ideally suited to a saline environment and require little or no maintenance and have a low embodied energy.
The building is to be wrapped or clothed in two layers. The external skin or veil is of horizontal hardwood slats profiled to shed water. The second, internal skin will be timber framed glazed panels.
The hardwood will require no finish to be applied and will silver off over time. Like a piece of drift wood or beach glass the external form of the building will slowly be softened, the hardwood will develop a patina specific to its orientation and level of contact with the users of the building. The external skin will protect the timber framed glazed panels and ensure that they can retain their lustre and provide a refined and simple enclosure.
The building can be opened and closed down according to seasonal demand. The two skins of the building provide a range of possibilities, just as, when dressing for variable weather we wear layers which can be removed or added as necessary. When totally closed down only the boat house remains accessible. During periods of low demand the undercroft can be opened up and the bar can serve refreshments over the counter and the garden can be used. During periods of fine weather it is possible to completely open the restaurant to the beach. Both the East and West slatted facades can be opened and the glazed panels can be slid back. During periods of inclement weather the slatted facades can remain closed to protect the diners whilst still allowing views of the beach and the weather coming in from the sea.
Any variation in between is possible and the configuration may change through the course of one day, depending on winds, temperature, sun angle, season and the whim of the clientele and managing staff.
The possibility for adaptation provides not only pragmatic solutions, but poetic and cultural responses to the site and brief. We wanted to highlight the changeable nature of the sea and the weather and the possibility for drama that it provides. We also want to show admiration for the Royal Life Saving Society, where a fast and well trained response and a respect for the sea is at the heart of their success. In this way the building should mimic it's users, by being flexible, strong, sheltering and responsive.