Sea–Change Design Competition 1998

Tides/Tidal Web Beach

Objective: the main idea of our proposed transformation is to elevate one’s awareness of the constant and timeless phenomenon of the ocean tides that forms part of the environment on our planet Earth.

Our ocean is filled with water H2O. Water is fluidic, and unlike solid, can transform to any shape of the surround that contains it. The gravitational force between the sun, the moon, and the earth hence can create high and low tides due to different relative positions of them at a different time and season. Tides constantly demarcate a new edge between the earth and the ocean along the shores.

Site & Strategy: in order to intensify the awareness of the tides, a system of tide markers is placed on a beach along the existing promenade. These markers create a visual vertical index reference. At high tides only the peaks of some of these markers will be seen. The second strategy is to create a vast area to place these markers. By constructing a wall along the outer edge, which is set at a calculated height, a huge tidal beach can be formed. This allows people to reach out further to the sea when tide is low. The bay in Jericho Beach is chosen as the site because of its proximity to the promenade and its ‘embracing’ character formed by the rock embankment on one side and the pier on the other. A curvilinear wall is proposed to join these two ‘arms’ on both sides.