The East Beach Café was built to replace a seafront
kiosk in Littlehampton, a traditional seaside town on
England’s south coast. Anxious to avoid using flat
façades, which would only act to enforce the building’s
long, thin footprint, Heatherwick Studio sliced the
building diagonally into ribbons which wrap up and
over the building. This shell provides both the building’s
skin and its structure, forming a layered protective
shell, open to the sea in front. Rather than use a
traditional structural method in which one part rests
on another, the primary structure of the building is a
‘monocoque’ steel shell in which all parts act together,
similar to the hull of a ship. Heatherwick Studio opted
for naturally finished materials that respond well to the
local environment. The mild steel shell that forms the
outer skin will rust and gain character as it ages, while
an oil-based coating applied after the surface has
‘weathered’ will help to prolong the life of the building.