Deal Pier is a bare bones structure, its unadorned concrete superstructure comparable to the skeleton of a beached whale or the ribcage of a ship. The bones of the pier are cleaned and weathered by the marine environment. We wanted to make a building that shares these qualities. We studied the way different materials respond to the marine environment to find ones which weathered well. We chose to build the new café with an untreated hardwood frame and cladding. The saline environment helps preserve the timber and over time it will weather to a silver-grey to match the concrete of the existing pier. The new building has a rectangular footprint formed from 16 repeated bays of structure. The structure is a formed of portal frames supporting sloping external walls and valley roof. The roof is formed of Structurally Insulated Panels, allowing most of the structure to be prefabricated and erected quickly on site. In the café dining area the walls are glazed to the south, east and west, giving panoramic views of the sea and the sea-front of Deal. At the north end of the building the ancillary functions are grouped together and the external walls are clad with timber boarding. Two sets of projecting timber combs along the east and west facades provide sun shading to the interior and to bench seats along the outside of the building.