Here is a news article about the Coastal Observatory from BBC News.
Back in 2006 as part of the original Bathing Beauties project a competition was run to design a new iconic building for the Lincolnshire coast. Initial funding came and went but four years later Lincolnshire County Council managed to scrape together the money to proceed with this exciting project. Architects Stuart Palmer (Surface+Light+Space Architects) & Paul Jones (from Northumbria University) have been commissioned to deliver the project. The building will now act as an observatory and visitor centre for the proposed coastal country park. It will also contain a lookout for the Coastwatch organisation, a cafe and an art gallery funded by the Arts Council.
The new building will sit on the seaward side of the existing dunes at the back edge of the terrace above the beach at Huttoft.
The building is intended to have a light touch on the landscape. The structure will be of a modular design, built primarily offsite and bolted down on to screw-piles, minimising its impact and the use of unsustainable foundation materials.
The building structure incorporates climate change proofing and sustainability features, including the ability to ‘unbolt’ the observatory from its foundation piles and move it to another location if needed in the future. The elevated building will continue to allow the movement of windblown sand to build and drift over the dunes and underneath the building.
The linking elevated walkways will allow light to penetrate these open structures and sustain any underlying vegetation. The proposed North Sea Observatory is part of the developing Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park proposal. This is intended to create a dynamic and extensive Coastal Country Park between Sandilands and Chapel St Leonards on the Lincolnshire Coast, which will provide high quality facilities for people, and better protection for wildlife. The park will cover an 8km stretch of coastline between Sandilands and Chapel St Leonards and includes the villages of Anderby, Anderby Creek, Huttoft, Mumby and Hogsthorpe, an area of approximate 35 km2.
The new building will sit on the seaward side of the existing dunes at the back edge of the terrace above the beach at Huttoft.
The building is intended to have a light touch on the landscape. The structure will be of a modular design, built primarily offsite and bolted down on to screw-piles, minimising its impact and the use of unsustainable foundation materials.
The building structure incorporates climate change proofing and sustainability features, including the ability to ‘unbolt’ the observatory from its foundation piles and move it to another location if needed in the future. The elevated building will continue to allow the movement of windblown sand to build and drift over the dunes and underneath the building.
The linking elevated walkways will allow light to penetrate these open structures and sustain any underlying vegetation. The proposed North Sea Observatory is part of the developing Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park proposal. This is intended to create a dynamic and extensive Coastal Country Park between Sandilands and Chapel St Leonards on the Lincolnshire Coast, which will provide high quality facilities for people, and better protection for wildlife. The park will cover an 8km stretch of coastline between Sandilands and Chapel St Leonards and includes the villages of Anderby, Anderby Creek, Huttoft, Mumby and Hogsthorpe, an area of approximate 35 km2.
Click below for proposed location plans for the Coastal Observatory.