Thomas Heatherwick created this beach side cafe in Little Hampton, UK around an extremely strict design cept. The owners wanted to discourage graffiti, which was a problem in the past, by getting rid of any large expanse of flat surface on the building. But it was the building’s intention to be long and thin to take advantage of the sweeping ocean views. So the architect to the “no flat surfaces” concept to the extreme by breaking the building into ribbons resembling the contours of a map. Each ribbon is 30 centimeters wide which was chosen for the peculiar reason that this was the size of a standard shutter which could cover the facade from the elements. Really, it’s as good of a reason as any. I quite like the building for it’s clear statement: ” I turn my back on the land and look only towards the sea”. It’s a very opaque building. It’s sort of like a little child standing in the corner trying to ignore the world, but doing so in the most conspicuous way. From far off, the building is like a ferrous sand dune or a Mad Max dreamscape. I love it. Thanks for being forceful.