AR Awards for Emerging Architecture	Highly commended	December 2007
THOMAS HEATHERWICK	Restaurant	Littlehampton, England
Though the judges thought that Thomas Heatherwick, the elfin guru of the architecturally unexpected, might already be said to have ‘emerged’, they could not resist this inventive and sensuous little temple to the joys of English seaside gastronomy (AR August 2007). Energetically abetted by his client Jane Wood, Heatherwick has created a startling monocoque structure on the promenade at Littlehampton, a sleepy West Sussex town. Cradled within the muscular, rust-coated carapace is a restaurant with sea views where up to 45 patrons can savour delicacies such as potted shrimp and locally caught fish with lashings of ice cream for afters. True to form, Heatherwick has brought his perpetually questing vision to bear upon what, in terms of scale and budget, is actually a very modest project. There were constraints – an awkward long, thin site, the corrosive effects of sea air and limited resources – but these have been used as jumping off points for highly imaginative formal and technical responses. The monocoque shell is both structure and skin, with a steel outer layer cut at a shallow angle into a series of chunky vertical slices. Mild steel was preferred for the external carapace over the more familiar Cor-ten, because Heatherwick thinks that it will weather better. Once a patina of rust has taken hold, an oil-based coating applied at decreasing intervals will seal and protect the surface. Beyond the obvious comparisons with upturned boats, driftwood and giant insect pods, Heatherwick sees his creation as both posh and demotic, a place ‘where you can eat a Mr Whippy or drink Dom Perignon’. Tickled by his sense of invention, the jury happily raised a glass to that. C. S. Architect Thomas Heatherwick, London Structural engineer Adams Kara Taylor Photographs Andy Stagg/VIEW