Design process

The design of the café is complex and the budget was small – as a result the Heatherwick Studio loaded the construction towards primary structural and waterproofing elements – the steel skin of the building. This was prefabricated off site in order to allow demolition and site work to be carried out simultaneously. In the event the steel fabrication took longer than envisaged and the site preparatory work was completed several months earlier than was necessary.

The public consultation exercise was helped by the fact that the existing kiosk provided the ideal venue for communicating the proposed changes to the widest audience. Everyone who dropped by for a cup of tea could discuss the proposals and have their say. The designer’s charismatic presentation to residents and councillors on the beach adjacent to the site gave locals some foretastes of the excitements in store.

The steelwork was delivered in three main sections and welded together on site; the steel was allowed to rust to a deep brown and then coated with a sealing oil to protect it from further rusting. The same type of oil had been proven as a stabiliser of rusting steel when it was used to protect the remains of army tanks destroyed during the Normandy landings in 1944.

Project management was undertaken by Jane Wood, structural engineering by Adams Kara Taylor, the majority of steel construction was by Littlehampton Welding and contractor for the foundations, interiors and external works was Bill Langridge.