Bexhill Seaside Pavilions – John Pardey Architects
To make something as ubiquitous as a seaside pavilion stand out from the crowd, you need to take inspiration from the unique. Over at John Pardey Architects they did just this for the Bexhill ‘New Wave’ Design Competition. The concept was one designed to deliver comfort as well as aethetics, and it was hoped the design of the shelter would help users to not only stay dry, but also out of the wind.
Unfortunately, the design didn’t win the competition, despite its dynamic appearance. The ideas of motion, with at least a cursory link to bird flight is inspired, and a very gentle nod to a seaside stalwart; the seagull.
The whale’s ‘Venetian blinds’ – or baleen – inspired an idea of making the four beach front shelters from a regular grid of fins that could filter out the wind and rain and make a delicate, yet assertive addition to Bexhill’s seafront architecture.
To make these structures affordable and efficient, we engineered the concept of a kit of standardised Corten and plywood components – materials that have a natural affinity to seaside structures such as groins and rusty sheet piling.
The project was Finalist in the RIBA/ Bexhill ‘New Wave’ Design Competition in 2010, John Pardey Architects
