[ Arca ] Silver Promenade café

Manchester architects Arca have completed a beach café on the promenade in Morecambe, UK.

A band of stainless-steel cladding wraps around the sides and roof of the cafe, and overhangs the two glazed facades that face the promenade and the bay.

In front of the cafe there is a south-facing outdoor seating area on two levels.

Photography by Timothy Soar.

Below is some more information from Arca:

–

Silver Cafe, Morecambe

Arca’s Silver Cafe on the promenade in Morecambe is now complete. It provides a distinctive new landmark for the town. The new cafe and public toilets were commissioned by regeneration body ‘Winning Back Morecambe’, part of Lancaster City Council.

Central to the design are window panels that span the length of the building on both the front and back. A silver stainless steel band wraps the space, framing views of Morecambe Bay through its glazed facades and withstanding the harsh marine climate. This shiny organic form acts as a ‘full stop’ to the western end of the seafront.

Raised on a series of terraces, the pavilion sits above the sea-defence, and provides a south-facing outdoor seating area for use by the café. In use, the cafe seating can spill out to occupy the various levels of the terracing, animating the public space around. For the toilets, robust matt painted steel with warmer oak hardwood doors and fittings are used.

Arca was founded by John Lee after leaving Grimshaw in 1998. The practice quickly won attention for its open approach to creating and running a small design-led practice, as finalists in 2000 in both Young Architect of the Year, and Young Architectural Practice of the Year

Recent projects include Greengate, Salford’s tallest building, the refurbishment at Tate Liverpool and residential development Garnham Lee House in Highgate, London. High profile competition wins included the Timber Wharf Competition for Urban Splash, and the Hulme/Knott Mill Link Bridge, both in Manchester.The firm also received business and management awards for its approach to organisational structures, named as one of the UK’s innovative ‘Vision 100’ companies in 2000.

from  dezeen