From a concrete spyglass to a transparent box, the beach huts of the future are unlikely to be simple wood structures if this design competition is anything to go by.
These eye-catching structures made from unusual materials are the winners in the international Eastbourne beach hut design competition in the UK announced on March 20 this year.
The competition, which is part of the local council’s regeneration project, attracted over 50 entries for new huts to be built on the English shore at Eastbourne’s famous pebble beach.
There are currently 87 existing huts and 69 brick shacks on that beach, with the local council planning to build another 20 to the east of the pier.
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Some of the winning designs will become seaside kiosks while others will be rented out to the public. Currently, beachgoers can pay £800 a year to rent a beach hut and residents pay up to £3,000 to build brick chalets, according to the BBC.
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Ewen Miller and Kim Smith from Calder Peel designed the Eastbourne Reborn kiosk. Picture: thehuts-eastbourne.co.uk
Far from the humble beach hut
Beach huts were designed during the Victorian era as a place where one could modestly change into a bathing suit and these huts reflect how much things have changed, according to Melbourne University’s Paul Loh.
Beach huts were “never meant to be elaborate”.
“They were generally simple because of the nature of how they were used,” says the lecturer in Digital Architecture Design.
“It’s a Victorian kind of invention. It was the culture of going to the seaside and bathing in sea water.”
Once used to protect our modesty, beach huts are “now a status symbol”, he says.
These huts ,which use laser cut materials, geometric shapes and digital design, will challenge how the public views these leisure structures.
“Some of these designs really challenge the enclosed nature of beach huts,” Loh says.
Loh says Australia’s “much better beaches” with miles of sand are more communal than English ones and he thinks the community aspect of designs such as the Calder’s Peel Eastbourne Reborn kiosk would work well here.
“It’s a way of allowing the community into the space and engaging with the community,” he says.
Powerful designs
His favourite design out of the four winners, is the Star Gazer’s Cabin.
George King principal from Melbourne-based George King Architects designed the Star Gazer’s Cabin. Picture: thehuts-eastbourne.co.uk
“To me it has to be the star gazer’s cabin. It’s incredibly beautiful. It has a strong silhouette to it and it has a silhouette against the sea which is incredibly powerful,” says Loh.
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Loh is also a big fan of Stephen Foley’s What Unearthed? from Dublin-based firm SFA.
“It’s almost the opposite of the star gazer as it’s a transparent envelope which is really beautiful,” he says.
Loh says competitions like the Eastbourne Hut one are important as they open up public debate about design.
“It’s about a dialogue between the public and architectural design,” he says.
He’d like to see fresh designs like these ones in Australia and thinks Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay would be an ideal location.
“To have more of these types of designs there would be fantastic,” he says.