Six buildings were shortlisted for the coveted 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building. Now in its 22nd year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize.
Hastings Pier by dRMM - the vibrant community-led restored pier on the East Sussex coast - scoops the biggest award in British architecture: the RIBA Stirling Prize.

The pier also received the RIBA People’s Vote, and was named 2017 Pier of the Year by the National Piers Society.

Reinventing traditional pier design, Hastings Pier provides an open space, able to support a variety of events and uses from circuses to music events, fishing to markets.

"Hastings Pier is a masterpiece in regeneration and inspiration. The architects and local community have transformed a neglected wreck into a stunning, flexible new pier to delight and inspire visitors and local people alike," says RIBA President Ben Derbyshire, who chaired the RIBA Stirling Prize jury.

‘In homage to conceptualist Cedric Price, users bring their own architecture to plug in and play.’

"There was no sense in trying to reconstruct it as a 19th century pier – that typology had gone with the fire. There was an opportunity to reuse and reinvent the pier and give it a new future," says Alex de Rijke, dRMM Founding Director.

The decision not to place any building at the end of the pier, which is possibly the obvious position to site a building, is an extremely powerful move. The large open space provides a sense of calmness and delight, with a strong connection to the sea and the seafront. The experience of free space and ‘walking on water’ is heightened by the optics of a very beautiful, louvred balustrade design and quality timber deck.

Hastings Pier can chart its history from 1872. For many years it was a popular pleasure pier famous for musical acts, but its recent past has been much more precarious. Neglected for years, it closed in 2008 following storm damage, and in 2010 faced destruction when a fire ravaged the entire structure.
 

Description of project by drmm
 

The 2010 destruction of Hastings Pier by fire was an opportunity to redefine what a pier could be in the 21st century; moving away from the accumulation of commercial booths of poor quality construction. The fire cleared the way for a new approach to creating a generous amenity space for Hastings & St. Leonards residents, and visitors from the UK and overseas. After consultation with locals and stakeholders the conclusion was that the Pier would have to support many different scenarios.

The Heritage Lottery Fund enabled the repairs to the damage below deck – a combined result of destruction from fire, sea erosion and storm damage. A small portion of the grant was used to convert the single remaining derelict Victorian Pavilion on the pier into a revitalised, open plan, fully glazed and extended version of the past.

dRMM’s conceptual basis for the re-design of the pier was not to create the predictable unnecessary hero building at the end, but instead providing open space to allow universal access. The focus was on creating a well-serviced, strong platform that could support a variety of events and uses from circuses to music events, fishing to markets. Different users can bring their own architecture to plug in. Small local trading stalls in the form of classic beach huts have already arrived, setting the example for an endless range of future possibilities.

Creative use of timber is at the heart of the transformed Pier design. The new visitor centre is a 100% cross-laminated timber structure, clad in the limited timber decking that survived the 2010 fire. This reclaimed timber was also used to make the furniture on the deck, designed by dRMM and Hastings & Bexhill Wood Recycling Ltd as part of a local employment initiative. The visitor centre has been designed as an adaptable space for indoor events, exhibitions and educational activities, with an elevated belvedere on top. A glass walled, open-air ‘room’ looks out to the vast views over the Pier and beyond toward Europe, then back to the town and coast.

The Pier is an extension of the Promenade from which it projects – a public, open space. The experience of being surrounded by sea and ‘walking on water’ is heightened by the optical game set up by the louvered balustrade design and the quality of the timber deck. This is the first phase for the regeneration of Hastings Pier. Future phases include plans for a large, mobile, timber canopy that traverses the entire length of the 280m pier. In its current format, the new Pier is a catalyst for urban regeneration. It offers flexibility, material and functional sustainability, and an uninterrupted vista of the natural and built surroundings of the special seaside town of Hastings.

 


RIBA Stirling Prize Jurado 2017
- Ben Derbyshire - RIBA President, RIBA Stirling Prize 2017 Jury Chair
- Anupama Kundoo - Anupama Kundoo Architects
- Peter St John - Caruso St John Architects
- Evan Davis - Journalist & BBC Presenter
- Jane Hall - Founding member of Assemble
 

Description of project by RIBA

It has taken a seven-year heroic collaboration to turn a smoldering pier in disrepair and decline into a vibrant public space with a palpable sense of ownership. This collaboration has been between the community, the Council, the engineers, and the architect and it is the architect’s vision that has been vital throughout to steer the process. After extensive stakeholder consultation, it was clear to dRMM that the pier would be expected to host many different populist scenarios.

Predictably enough, it transpired that it had to be everything to everybody, with an absent owner not responding to the increasingly Dangerous Structure repair requirements, and no rebuild budget available in a run-down seaside town. Lateral thinking was required to make a structurally and socially sustainable project actually happen. The architects had to write the brief and help raise the budget before redesigning the pier.

Their ‘master-move’ and response to this brief was to design a strong, community-led/owned serviced platform that could accommodate a whole host of uses, from music concerts to international markets. ‘In homage to conceptualist Cedric Price, users bring their own architecture to plug in and play.’ This concept is really working in practice and should be commended.

The decision not to place any building at the end of the pier, which is possibly the obvious position to site a building, is an extremely powerful move. The large open space provides a sense of calmness and delight, with a strong connection to the sea and the seafront. The experience of free space and ‘walking on water’ is heightened by the optics of a very beautiful, louvered balustrade design and quality timber deck.

The new visitor center replacing the weakest section of the damaged pier is a relatively simple CLT structure clad in reclaimed timber which was salvaged from the original fire-damaged pier. This helps to create a strong feeling of place and belonging. It boasts an elevated, rooftop belvedere where locals go for a coffee or cup of soup. It offers adaptable space for events, exhibitions, and education. Reclaimed timber deck furniture was designed by dRMM and Hastings & Bexhill Wood Recycling as part of a local employment initiative.

The new pier is not a lonely pier: rather, it is extremely welcoming in its design, with free, open entry to the public. It offers flexibility, material and functional sustainability, and an uninterrupted vista of the natural and built surroundings. This is a Heritage Lottery Funded project and it has become a catalyst for urban regeneration.

From a conservation perspective, this project has reinvigorated a fire-damaged historic structure and facilitated a contemporary and appropriate new 21st-century use. The project has been mindful to integrate material from the original pier in the new design, and the process of restoration was used to help train a new generation of craft specialists.

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Architects
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Alex de Rijke, dRMM Founding Director
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Collaborators
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Structural Engineer.- Ramboll UK. Environmental / M&E Engineer.- Ramboll UK. Quantity Surveyor / Cost Consultant PT Projects.- Marine Engineers Ramboll UK
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Contractor
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Hastings Pier Charity
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Area
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Internal area.- 11,720.00 m²
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dRMM Architects. Alex de Rijke. Director. BA, MA (RCA), Dip Arch. UK/NL. Alex de Rijke is a founding Director of dRMM, having established the practice in 1995 with Philip Marsh and Sadie Morgan. He is a design champion at dRMM, responsible for the concept, construction and delivery of our timber projects. These include such diverse projects as Sliding House, Kingsdale School, Charlton WorkStack, Tower of Love, Endless Stair, Hastings Pier, WoodBlock House and Maggie’s Oldham.

Alex conducts ongoing research into contemporary materials, technologies and methods of construction. In 2006 he wrote, ‘Timber is the new Concrete’, and introduced cross-laminated timber to the UK with groundbreaking prefabricated buildings, Kingsdale School Sports Hall in London, and the Naked House prototype exhibited in Oslo. Through Alex’s leadership, dRMM has become recognised as a pioneer and authority on engineered timber design and construction, especially CLT (cross-laminated timber).

In 2013 de Rijke, alongside AHEC and ARUP, invented the first cross-laminated timber made from a hardwood and in the form of Endless Stair demonstrated its incomparable beauty, strength and sustainability in the LDF 2013 installation at Tate Modern. In summer 2017, construction will complete on dRMM’s Maggie’s cancer care centre in Oldham. A building that demonstrates a synthesis of concept, construction and user well-being; it is made entirely from tulipwood CLT and glass. The project reveals Alex’s total design ethos in its integration of landscape, architecture, furniture and art.

Prof.de Rijke advocates learning through experimentation and making, and his extensive experience includes teaching, lecturing and examining at many european schools of Architecture. From 2011-2015 he was Professor of the Masters programme and Dean of Architecture at the Royal College of Art. Alex is currently an External Examiner to the Design & Make timber programme at the Architectural Association, and a Visiting Professor to the Royal College of Art, London. He lectures internationally, presenting dRMM’s work from Scandinavia and Europe to Asia and Australasia. He has given conference papers on a range of themes including: engineered timber architecture and construction; prefabricated and mobile architecture; and the relationship between architecture and health.

Under Richard Roger’s former chairmanship, Alex de Rijke was a member of the Design for London Advisory Panel, and continues to contribute to design discussions at institutions such as the RIBA, ARCAM (Architecture Centre Amsterdam) and the Milan Salone del Mobile. Alex represents dRMM and the wider profession in the media through radio, TV appearances, and features in publications such as The Plan, Architectural Review, Dezeen and The Guardian.

With a parallel passion as photographer, Alex photographs for publications and exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale 2008 and 2012, and documents dRMM’s projects on an ongoing basis.
 
Sadie Morgan. Director. BA (Hons), MA (RCA), FRSA. UK. Sadie is a Founding Director of dRMM and industry leader. Her steadfast belief in the importance of design that connects back to people and place is a central influence in our practice. Over her 20-year career Sadie has had an increasingly significant role in the advocacy of design and architecture through her professional practice and her advisory roles.

Sadie reports directly to the Secretary of State as Chair of the Independent Design Panel for High Speed Two. She is a commissioner for both the National Infrastructure Commission led by former Cabinet Minister Lord Adonis, and Lord Heseltine’s Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission. Sadie has been appointed as a Professor at the University of Westminster, London and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the London South Bank University in 2016.

She lectures internationally on the importance of design, architecture and infrastructure, and sits on various competition juries and advisory panels including the RIBA National Awards Advisory panel and the World Architecture Festival super jury. As a media commentator she appears on TV and radio, and writes regular columns for publications such as Building magazine and the Estates Gazette.

Sadie has won the 2016 Building Magazine Personality of the Year Award and the 2015 CBI First Woman Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the built environment, and she was shortlisted for the 2015 AJ Woman Architect of the Year award. She became the youngest and third ever-female President of the Architectural Association in 2013.

Aspects of Sadie’s design thinking can be found throughout dRMM’s projects, from the Stirling Prize shortlisted Trafalgar Place and Clapham Manor Primary School, to the Athlete’s Village for the London Olympic Games and Faraday House at the Battersea Power Station.

Philip Marsh. Director. BA, Dip Arch (UCL), RIBA. UK. Founding Director of dRMM, Philip has been central to dRMM’s education projects. He was project architect for the remodelling of Kingsdale School, an acclaimed project that addressed student morale and education standards through the radical transformation of the learning environment. This experience was distilled into Dura, dRMM’s Exemplar School for the DfES. He was project architect for Clapham Manor Primary School, shortlisted for the 2010 Stirling Prize and in 2013 completed 4 Dwellings a 2FE Primary School for Birmingham City Council. Current projects include a new campus for Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education.

Philip was the architect for the Elephant & Castle Regeneration pilot, Wansey St, a mixed tenure scheme for which dRMM were awarded BD Public Housing Architect of the Year 2006. Additionally, he co-designed the recently completed sister project Harper Square, for Family Mosaic shortlisted for the NLA 2013 award for housing.

Philip has designed ArtHouse for Argent, the first private housing scheme delivered at Kings Cross Central completed 3Q 2013. He is currently working on Faraday House, phase one of Battersea Power Station, a project which has been described by David Cameron as “jewel in the crown” of regeneration projects in London.
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Published on: November 2, 2017
Cite: "Hastings Pier by dRMM Architects winner of the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/hastings-pier-drmm-architects-winner-2017-riba-stirling-prize> ISSN 1139-6415
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