Interview

    Why did you select Bondi Beach? 

James Gilmore: There are a few layers to this. Personally, I live at the beach. I surf most mornings, it’s a place where I find pause and time to reflect and a place where I connect friends, through activities like surfing. We’re very fortunate to live in a city that has such a different side to it.

Why we chose it? It’s a chance to explore a less-constructed space, important in a country where the blend of nature and urban forms is quite extensive – a huge proportion of the population lives along the coastline.

About 16 weeks ago, just as the country was going into lockdown and people were being told to socially distance, we hit a couple of really love days’ worth of weather. At that point, everyone was feeling the spectre of the isolation that was about to come – so about 25,000 people essentially rushed to Bondi Beach for a day of swimming in the sea, and being on the sand… It almost became this global shaming for the Australian government, because all the world was disgusted at what Australians were doing.

There’s a really interesting opportunity to think about how we both enshrine the ability and the importance of individuals being able to spend time within nature and connect with nature, but also do it in a way, which is – at this moment – safe and respectful. In a way that I think can also enhance the experience – that maybe makes you feel like you’re the only person on one of the world’s most famous beaches.

    So then how did you approach that challenge?

What we are exploring is a way in which we can give individuals both a safe and distanced ‘housing,’ but equally, I don’t want to create something where we see lots of people being distant. I think there’s an interesting opportunity to provide individual ‘moments’ within something big, like Bondi Beach.

It’s got an amphitheatre-esque form and becomes a little pod for people where, because of its shape, it blocks out the sight of lots of individuals being distance, or lonely, or kept apart. Rather it’s focusing you to look at the ocean or the sunset.

And, of course, the tide comes up every night and erases the beach – and I’m enjoying thinking of something that has a little bit of a metaphor about how these divisions are not forever.

    And how is this differentiated, for you, from the standard beach club umbrella and lounger, for instance?

Whilst there is space between beach umbrellas, for me this more about a focus. It reframes the landscape for you – blocking and excluding everything around you. We often go to these places for pause and serenity, but because everyone one wants it, nobody gets it.

For me, though, it’s still a place that is really powerful. Often in judging places as ‘too popular’ – as Bondi often is – we forget that they are there for all of us. Using design, or creative thinking, to change the way we operate those spaces is an interesting opportunity.

    And how do colour and materiality play into this?

There needs to be a respectful integration with the landscape and surroundings. Sydney itself is built on huge amounts of limestone, so the coastline is all golden and sandy, and has very warm tones to it. And because the experience of our intervention isn’t the form itself, we’re not building things to ‘be noticed,’ but something to be forgotten. That suggests it should be blended in with coastline.

    Do you think this could be replicated on other beaches in Sydney or elsewhere?

I think they could, and not because of the form but because of the purpose. We deserve to connect with these places.

    What were your major challenges?

I think avoiding some of what you were mentioning before: the umbrellas, the loungers. Australia, as a broad brushstroke, has not commercialised its beaches in the same way Europe has – you won’t find people moving along selling things, or many sunbeds for rent; there aren’t bars that run down to the front of it. As popular as it is, it is still really respected as a place for the public, as free and available without commercial intrusion.

With Sydney as our home, we chose to look at a distanced solution for Bondi Beach. We saw this as an opportunity to turn the requirement to stay apart on its head and create a more intimate and personal experience on one of the world's most popular beaches.

We responded by creating individual structures to relax in, get away from the crowds and connect with the ocean in peace, inspired by the form of Sydney's coastal paths. Their shapes, materials and colours are in keeping with the landscape around them.

Interview

    Why did you select Bondi Beach? 

James Gilmore: There are a few layers to this. Personally, I live at the beach. I surf most mornings, it’s a place where I find pause and time to reflect and a place where I connect friends, through activities like surfing. We’re very fortunate to live in a city that has such a different side to it.

Why we chose it? It’s a chance to explore a less-constructed space, important in a country where the blend of nature and urban forms is quite extensive – a huge proportion of the population lives along the coastline.

About 16 weeks ago, just as the country was going into lockdown and people were being told to socially distance, we hit a couple of really love days’ worth of weather. At that point, everyone was feeling the spectre of the isolation that was about to come – so about 25,000 people essentially rushed to Bondi Beach for a day of swimming in the sea, and being on the sand… It almost became this global shaming for the Australian government, because all the world was disgusted at what Australians were doing.

There’s a really interesting opportunity to think about how we both enshrine the ability and the importance of individuals being able to spend time within nature and connect with nature, but also do it in a way, which is – at this moment – safe and respectful. In a way that I think can also enhance the experience – that maybe makes you feel like you’re the only person on one of the world’s most famous beaches.

    So then how did you approach that challenge?

What we are exploring is a way in which we can give individuals both a safe and distanced ‘housing,’ but equally, I don’t want to create something where we see lots of people being distant. I think there’s an interesting opportunity to provide individual ‘moments’ within something big, like Bondi Beach.

It’s got an amphitheatre-esque form and becomes a little pod for people where, because of its shape, it blocks out the sight of lots of individuals being distance, or lonely, or kept apart. Rather it’s focusing you to look at the ocean or the sunset.

And, of course, the tide comes up every night and erases the beach – and I’m enjoying thinking of something that has a little bit of a metaphor about how these divisions are not forever.

    And how is this differentiated, for you, from the standard beach club umbrella and lounger, for instance?

Whilst there is space between beach umbrellas, for me this more about a focus. It reframes the landscape for you – blocking and excluding everything around you. We often go to these places for pause and serenity, but because everyone one wants it, nobody gets it.

For me, though, it’s still a place that is really powerful. Often in judging places as ‘too popular’ – as Bondi often is – we forget that they are there for all of us. Using design, or creative thinking, to change the way we operate those spaces is an interesting opportunity.

    And how do colour and materiality play into this?

There needs to be a respectful integration with the landscape and surroundings. Sydney itself is built on huge amounts of limestone, so the coastline is all golden and sandy, and has very warm tones to it. And because the experience of our intervention isn’t the form itself, we’re not building things to ‘be noticed,’ but something to be forgotten. That suggests it should be blended in with coastline.

    Do you think this could be replicated on other beaches in Sydney or elsewhere?

I think they could, and not because of the form but because of the purpose. We deserve to connect with these places.

    What were your major challenges?

I think avoiding some of what you were mentioning before: the umbrellas, the loungers. Australia, as a broad brushstroke, has not commercialised its beaches in the same way Europe has – you won’t find people moving along selling things, or many sunbeds for rent; there aren’t bars that run down to the front of it. As popular as it is, it is still really respected as a place for the public, as free and available without commercial intrusion.