Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the fire which destroyed Brighton West Pier, at a time when Burrell Foley Fischer (BFF) had been appointed as heritage architects for its restoration.
The Pier was designed and engineered by Eugenius Birch to attract visitors and survive in the hostile environment of the seashore. Opened in 1866, it was a simple and functional structure built using dozens of cast iron threaded columns screwed into the seabed and strengthened by a lattice of ties and girders that provide the necessary strength to support the promenade deck whilst allowing seas to pass harmlessly through.
John Burrell drawing of one of pier’s kiosks
A full architectural scheme for the restoration to its original design was prepared by BFF, based upon a combination of surveys of the remaining structure and historic research. However, a catastrophic storm in December 2002 brought restoration plans to a halt and a major fire in March 2003 finally dashed hopes that the pier could be saved. Components were however recovered from the severely damaged pier and stored.
Burrell Foley Fischer’s scheme to restore the West Pier
John Burrell’s association with the Pier goes back to his student days when he prepared measured drawings of the kiosks and the entire pier. These are now deposited with the Royal Commission for Historic Monuments.
Now, two decades later, BFF, are leading the design team for the restoration and reconstruction of the sole surviving complete kiosk, from the original 1866 pier, the world’s oldest surviving pleasure pier building. In order to successfully restore 19th-century structural cast iron an understanding of the fabric was established through the investigation and assessment of the 228 components, all tagged and catalogued by BFF.
Working with the West Pier Trust, BFF developed a brief to ensure there is a viable use for the kiosk. It will be the home for Britain’s First Seaside Learning Centre, building on and expanding their long-established programme of activities, talks, lectures, guided tours and exhibitions for both adults and children. Internally the kiosk will be a flexible space suitable for workshops, lectures and exhibitions designed to increase peoples’ enjoyment, understanding and knowledge of the seaside and coastal environment. It will also respond to the seasonal requirements of the city: ranging from a gallery and performance space during the Brighton Festival to Punch and Judy workshops during the summer.
BFF’s current proposals to restore the kiosk
BFF’s team for the kiosk project is led by our Managing Director, Faye Davies, an RIBA accredited Specialist Conservation Architect, whose Thesis for her Post Graduate Diploma in Building Conservation from the Architectural Association was on the life and work of Eugenius Birch.