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.
"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
- 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.
