Silecroft beach cafe competition win

Konishi Gaffney have won a national architectural competition for a new café on the beach at Silecroft in Cumbria and will be appointed to deliver the £380,000 building by spring 2021. The competition attracted 59 design team entrants from across the UK.

Silecroft beach is situated in the southwest corner of the Lake District National Park, is overlooked by Black Combe Fell to the north and gives spectacular views across the Irish Sea towards the Isle of Man.

Our design developed with two sheltered, canted courtyards, one facing Black Combe Fell and the other, the sea views which are are maximised through the splayed forms. The building will provide shelter from the blowing wind regardless of direction. We took pitched, slate roof vernacular of the Lake District and adapted this to make a modest addition to the beach context.