(2013)
Herring Cove Beach Bathhouse II | Changing pavilion.
The new Herring Cove Beach Bathhouse pavilions, which opened in 2013, seem almost to be levitating over the beach. Actually, they are. Several feet. The entire complex is on pilings, to increase storm resistance and — if necessary — portability. The $5 million project was designed by Amy Sebring of the Park Service. Together, the pavilions create a sense of a small town square. All in, Sebring has shown that contemporary vernacular architecture can be contextual without being cliché. The great clerestory windows of the changing pavilion, which is the visual centerpiece complex, make it feel like outdoors indoors. A large whale and its calf, fashioned from patterned shingles, frolic on the south facade.
¶ Adapted from Building Provincetown (2015).