Abstract:

In the winter of 2004, a group of Chinese cockle pickers lost their lives in the cold waters of Morecambe Bay after being caught unaware by fast-rising tides and the bay’s treacherous geographic conditions. Set in Blackpool, North West England, The Lost Boys: It's OK to Cry explores an engineered architecture comprising a memorial to the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, an RNLI lifeboat station, and a survival training pool. Together, these elements aim to educate coastal communities about marine dangers and raise public awareness of coastal risks.

The design responds to Lancashire’s geotrauma—shifting sands and rapid tidal change through three interrelated programmes. The memorial offers a space for Blackpool’s residents and visitors to engage in a Chinese ritual ceremony 20 years on, acting as a symbolic tombstone. The RNLI facilities investigate architectural strategies for coastal resilience. A time-based, episodic design methodology fosters emotionally resonant experiences and repositions Blackpool’s lost generation as lifesavers.