Samantha Pennock

Year 1 MArch

TIDE TEK

Coastal Regeneration Infrastructure
Isle of Scilly, Bryher Island, UK

This proposal establishes a multifunctional coastal resilience hub on the Isles of Scilly, responding to accelerating erosion that threatens local horticulture, livelihoods, and ecological stability. Coastal erosion is rapidly erasing the Isles of Scilly’s fragile land base, collapsing its horticultural economy and putting livelihoods, identity, and long-term survival at immediate risk. Positioned within UK Shoreline Management Plan “Hold the Line” zones, the scheme integrates living breakwaters with floating and semi-aquatic cultivation systems to both protect the coastline and restore productivity. Fluid-dynamics simulations inform modular hull-like defence units that generate sheltered slipstreams, enabling aquaculture and floating agricultural platforms to thrive in exposed conditions. The project unites council, farmers, and conservation groups through shared infrastructure anchored by a central hub for coordination, repair, and adaptive planning. A public-facing oyster bar links local food production with education and shell recycling, feeding material back into coastal defences. It unites ecological restoration, food production, and adaptive infrastructure into a single, working landscape. Rather than resisting change, the project turns coastal defence into a catalyst for regeneration, securing livelihoods, restoring ecosystems, and redefining resilience on the Isles of Scilly.