Tidemark. Hastings. Oct. 09.
Hastings is a historically charged place: both in its rich past and its future possibilities.
Above are boats from the largest beach-moored fishing fleet in the country (a somewhat uncontested honour), which shows that the town's relationship with the sea is still strong. The history of the town provides a certain number of interesting conditions with which the new developments in Hastings will have to contend, and it remains to be seen whether they will.
Townscape. Hastings. Oct. 09.
The shorefront developments are penned in by the cliffs behind them, creating a manhattan-esque, diverse density. The various fish and chip shops, hotels, etc. press against the sea-side road though the town. There is a charming eagerness to this town, that is familiar from other nostalgia-riden seaside towns (Bognor Regis, Torquay, Penzance, Southwold).
Castle overlooking Stade. Hastings. Oct. 09
What remains of the castle watches over the beach, and the most enlivened part of the town. This strange old piece of history that is the fishing beach. It presents a real puzzle: is it a relic, or is the rest of the town impressing a second-rate modernity on this real industious enclave that is not really wanted?
Winch. Hastings. Oct. 09
The fishing beach is a working environment, but one under no small amount of malaise. The system is comprised of tall net-shops, and squat winch-sheds, both constructed out of tarred-wood boards. From the winch-sheds lines of nets, boards, floats and finally boats string out toward the tide. Boats are dragged in initially by tractors, and then finally by their own winch-sheds.
Micro-disorder under overall, macro-order.
Net-Shop. Hastings. Oct. 09
These net-shops have a small, square plan, and an amazing density (even more so than the hotels squeezed by the cliffs on the other side of the road. They plunge upward to compensate for their plan, with no restriction on their height. Manhattan preceded by a small English seaside town.
Net-Shop Rooftops. Hastings. Oct. 09
These beautiful buildings are truuly the heart and manifestation of Hastings' rich history. Any future trajectories must surely start here.
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