One of the most interesting parts about the seaside shelters when looking across the those in the southwest alone, is the distinctiveness between each one. There are obvious similarities between some, most obviously the materials and design for those created in the Victorian period. However, as Will Scott pointed out during his photographic research, the shelters were often individual pieces of architecture, often with no link to the ‘rest of the town’s aesthetic’. I’d like to explore this further; part of this project is to link the proposal to the local area and I would consider this as being quite important.
According to Scott however, one exception was Hastings, where Sidney Little – known as ‘The Concrete King’ – was Borough Planning Officer from 1926. He built many structures within the town including the seafront shelters therefore making Hastings is one of the more ‘visually harmonious seaside towns today’ which I’ll look into in a separate post. https://amuse.vice.com/en_us/article/d3qeqk/forgotten-seaside-shelters
Fig 6 - Hastings ‘Bottle Alley’ Shelter (Google Maps, 2022)
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