Bexhill Seafront Project Moving Forward

The 'New Wave' seafront project is now seeking designers through an internation competition.

A Competition has been launched for the design of a series of shelters as part of a £5million seafront regeneration scheme.

Architects from the UK and abroad are being asked to submit plans for the shelters which will form part of Rother District Council’s ‘Next Wave’ project in Bexhill.

They will also be tasked with providing designs for a new seafront kiosk on West Parade.

The shelters are a flagship element of the scheme, which has received £1 million of funding from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) under the SeaChange programme.

The competition is being organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on behalf of the Council and is open to fully qualified and registered architects.

A jury panel will decide a shortlist of designs for the second stage of the competition before choosing the winning entry.

The public will be able to view the shortlisted designs and submit their comments for the jury to consider in their deliberations.

Panel members will include leading architect Niall McLaughlin, an artist, the director of the De La Warr Pavilion, Rother councillors and officers.

The successful design should, ‘lift the spirits, help define Bexhill’s unique identity, and be something of which the town can be truly proud’. 

A design brief for the shelters has been created following a consultation with seafront user groups at the recent ‘Spaceshaper’ workshop.

They will replace the existing late-twentieth century structures on West Parade.

The Edwardian shelters on the Eastern part of the seafront do not form part of the work programme and will remain in place.

Cllr Christopher Starnes, Next Wave project sponsor, said:  “We want designs for the shelters to be of the highest possible standard, which is why we decided to use a RIBA organised competition.

“The panel is looking forward to seeing the submissions.  Through using the expertise available to us, and the feedback from the public, we will choose shelters worthy of a place on Bexhill’s seafront.”

Niall McLaughlin said:  “The Bexhill competition offers practices the opportunity to make innovative architecture in a special seafront setting. The relationship to the sea and the long promenade is very interesting. The proximity of the De La Warr Pavilion gives the project a special importance. Our bandstand was an RIBA Competition winner ten years ago and, although tiny, it allowed us to think experimentally about architecture in a way not always afforded by bigger projects.”

The winning entry will be announced in December 2009.