Capable of artificially generating up to 1000 waves an hour, this indoor surf park called The Wave, in Bristol, is also a veritable classroom for raising awareness of environmental issues.
The complex which is actually located twelve miles north of Bristol city centre, in the village of Easter Compton, is the brainchild of Nick Hounsfield. It's constructed on former farmland — a locale low in diversity and ecology, within the green belt in the Avon Forest conservation area. Covering a total area of 75 acres, out of which, the lake itself measures 36,000-metre square (180 m long and 200 m wide) and built at an estimated cost of £26 m; it took 10 years in its making.
Breaking The Waves
The designer waves are manufactured to engineer both a gradual acceleration of the surge to acclimatise aspiring surfers and rapid, powerful breaking waves, where good tube riding could be really difficult, for experienced and adventurous surfers. Professional Surf Champion, Jayce had trialled the waves. Having Spike Kane, a member of the UK adaptive surf team meant that even those with the severe most disabilities can easily access the waves.
Central Bristol school children — some of whom even had never seen the sea, a quadriplegic and the co-founder of the Plastic Free North Devon campaign group, shortlisted from hundreds of nominees, were the first ones to test-out these waves.
Replicating The Ocean
The characteristic of waves depends on an ocean bed. The Wave's 'bed work' utilising cutting-edge physics is conducive to mimicking the battling waves of 'reef breaks' — those that crash over coral reefs.
Social Connect
Inspiring a social change is ingrained in its core inadequately reflected in its landscape architecture. The idea is to give the inner-city kids and the elderly alike a true feel of the natural environment.
Environment Friendly
Besides the building being timber-clad and insulated with sustainable wood-fibre, it's also equipped with solar thermal panels that preheat water to reduce energy use. Currently, it costs an extra £100,000 a year just to maintain the renewable energy mode. So, there are plans to take the site completely off the grid within the next 6 years, by which time they are hopeful of scaling up the infrastructure sufficiently to generate their own power.
They are carrying forward the conservation conversation outside they are building as well, by planting some 16,000 trees around the site. Mini ecosystems of wildflower meadows and wetlands are also being instituted by them. Restoring hedgerows and developing space for outdoor learning is also on their agenda.
