Seaside Shelter: Bexhill-On-Sea

Four new seafront shelters and a kiosk will be a flagship element of East Sussex based Rother District Council's Next Wave project, a wider £5 million seafront regeneration programme that has received £1 million of funding from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). K2 architects were selected as one of ten finalists from 150 entries in an RIBA led design competition to explore nes ideas and forms for seaside architecture.

The shelter and the kiosk are designed to be read as an abstract representation of the British seaside holiday. The shelter references the elements of wind and rain, the canopy can be read as a representation of the constantly shifting clouds in the sky, upturned umbrellas, swimming under water or a raindrop splashing onto the promenade. It has a playful aspect as well, perhaps suggesting a memory of a rainy day spent in the house of mirrors in a seaside fun house. The seating for up to 24 people of all physical abilities describes a windbreak or deck chair blown by the wind or breaking waves in an ocean current. The twisting serpentine forms take its inspiration from the currents that form in wind and water known as eddies. When water or air passes over an obstruction, a shifting sweeping current is formed around the object and a zone of calmness naturally forms downstream of the object. The shelter and kiosk not only represent this principle but also use it in their design to create sheltered spaces of calm.