056 FOCUS


On the beach While


everyone loves to be beside the seaside, the environment can be


challenging for


buildings. Kay Hill looks at some


interesting responses to the location


JOHN MASEFIELD captured perfectly the challenge of the seaside environment when he wrote Sea-Fever – because alongside the pleasure of warm sand and blue sky, comes ‘the flung spray and the blown spume… Where the wind’s like a whetted knife’.


Even the most peaceful cove or sun-drenched promenade can become a windswept wilderness on a stormy day, bringing risks of wind damage and tidal surges, not to mention the damp drizzle that can permeate many building materials with ease. Any building on the


coast will have to be built to withstand the weather, with added consideration given to the potential for erosion and even rising sea levels.


Coastal properties require resilient materials – in English seaside resorts there’s a reason why balconies crumble to rust and rendering is forced open by salt crystals; when the wind not only blows hard but comes laden with salty water, durability is vital. On the other hand, just throwing up something robustly overengineered but dull is never going to be the


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