International Design Competition
At the core of RE:BEACH is a global design competition in search of the most innovative, multi-beneficial, and feasible solutions to restore and preserve sandy beaches in Oceanside. From May - December 2023, RE:BEACH brought together 3 design teams from around the world to develop innovative sand retention pilot projects.
A Jury and Advisory Panel composed of local, state, and national experts was formed early on and helped in making the ultimate decision on the finalists, based on experience, proposed approach and track record of delivering innovative solutions. In addition to the Jury, the competition was supported by a Project Team and internal City Team whose input, guidance and expertise informed the final designs produced by each team. In January 2024, the Jury, Project Team and City Team collectively recommended a winning design for the Oceanside City Council to assess and adopt, which has allowed the proposed pilot concept to move into the design and environmental compliance stages of the project. You can learn more about the other competing designs considered, but not selected, below.
In January 2024, Oceanside’s City Council voted to advance the ICM team to partner with GHD to advance the project concept into final engineering and permitting. In this next phase, we will continue to need public input to determine the siting for the pilot project and refine and finalize the design. You can learn more about the teams, competition process, proposed design, and sign up to learn about ways to engage, below.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ICM TEAM FOR THEIR WINNING RE:BEACH DESIGN FOR OCEANSIDE
The “Living Speed Bumps” concept includes the construction of two artificial headlands that will aim to stabilize sand on the back beach, and one offshore artificial reef aimed at slowing down nearshore erosive forces. These constructs shall be supported with nearshore and onshore beach nourishment, with the entire design concept collectively called the Living Speedbumps design. ICM, based in Australia’s Gold Coast, has decades of experience implementing “speed bumps” on their own coastline, bringing forward a new concept for Oceanside’s coast, but with a proven track record of success on the East Coast of Australia.
In January 2024, Oceanside’s City Council voted to advance the ICM team to partner with GHD to advance the project concept into final engineering and permitting. In this next phase, we will continue to need public input to determine the siting for the pilot project and refine and finalize the design. You can learn more about the teams, competition process, proposed design, and sign up to learn about ways to engage, below.
THE
DESIGN TEAMS
ABOUT:
“Deltares has expertise in the policy, science and engineering disciplines that make it possible to live in densely populated and vulnerable areas in deltas, coastal zones and river basins. The combination of specialized consultancy projects and applied research puts Deltares in a unique position to address sustainability issues. To enhance our societal impact, we focus on the Sustainable Development Goals by thinking globally and acting locally.”
—with Deltares USA.
Deltares & MVRDV
FROM THEIR PROPOSAL:
“The first step for an innovative approach is to re-think the way we talk about our relationship with the water and the coast. The Project team believes in the need to change the current adaptation that displays a human-centric and nature-detached perspective into a more reciprocal language such as protect each other, host and restore. We need to change our proposals from nature-based solutions to nature-based thinking.”
ICM: International Coastal Management
ABOUT:
“ICM is a coastal engineering firm well-known for its innovative, out-of-the-box problem solving strategies. Our innovative roots can be traced back even prior to our twenty years in the Middle East, where we worked on high-profile, crown-level projects, creating one-of-a-kind underwater structures and designing unique islands. These projects have ingrained in us a design philosophy that centers on the belief that anything is possible.”
FROM THEIR PROPOSAL:
“Our understanding of the need for the Oceanside Sand Nourishment and Retention Pilot Project is deeply rooted in our own experience of living and working on a long stretch of highly dynamic coastline (Gold Coast, Australia) that is a hub for tourism, surfing and a quickly growing interest in conservation and sustainability. We have learned to work with nature to develop cost effective strategies that have been scalable and transferable to other sites globally.”
SCAPE
Landscape Architecture
ABOUT:
“SCAPE is a landscape architecture and urban design practice based in New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. We design and advocate for the ecologically restorative and socially engaged landscapes, urban environments, and natural infrastructure of the future. We do this through diverse forms of design—built landscapes, planning, visioning, and research—with the ultimate goal of connecting people to their environments.”
—with ESA and Dredge Research Collaborative (DRC)
FROM THEIR PROPOSAL:
“The Coast is Core to the Community: We understand that the beach plays a central role in the identity of Oceanside—known to some as the “hub of Southern California,” the sandy beaches and coastal waves are primary attractors for a diverse group of residents and visitors. Shore tourism, including recreational and competitive surfing, beachgoing, pier walking, and coastal trails are at the core of Oceanside, yet the environmental systems, built infrastructure, and physical materials that support the coast and beaches are eroding and threatened with sea level rise and intensifying storm events. Dry beachfront is transitioning to intertidal conditions, past engineered coastal structures are at risk of failure, and the beachfront requires significant repeat inputs of sand to respond to coastal erosion. Without new ideas or intervention, Oceanside is at risk of losing the environmental asset at the core of its economy and identity—the beach.”
THE JURY
Chris Abad—Surf Resource Preservation—Director, Oceanside Boardriders Club.
Bob Ashton—Community Representative & Coastal Advocate—President/CEO, Save Oceanside Sand (SOS).
Scott Ashton—Community Representative—Chief Executive Officer, Oceanside Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Curt Busk—Community Representative & Coastal Advocate—President, Buena Vista Audubon Society.*
Megan Cooper—Coastal Grant Funding Expert—Deputy Regional Manager, California State Coastal Conservancy.*
Councilmember Dwight Worden—Coastal City Representative—Del Mar City Council, Chair of SANDAG Shoreline Preservation Working Group.
Dr. Lesley Ewing PE—Coastal Management Expert—Former Sr. Coastal Engineer, California Coastal Commission.
Karen Green—Nearshore Marine Expert—Division Manager, Marine and Aquatic Ecosystem Resources, Tierra Data, Inc.
Dr. Arye Janoff—Coastal Management Expert—Coastal Geomorphologist, Planner & Manager with a U.S. Federal Agency.*
Dr. Charles Lester—Permitting Viability Expert—Director, Ocean and COastal Policy Center, Marine Science Institute, UC Santa Barbara.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes—Coastal City Representative—Encinitas City Council.
Dr. Dan Pondella—Nearshore Marine Expert —Professor, Biology; Director, Vantuna Research Group, Occidental College.
Ernie Prieto III—Community Representative—Local Business Owner (Ocean Sea Charter), Boat Captain and sitting member of City of Oceanside’s Harbor and Beaches Committee.
Mitch Silverstein—Coastal Advocate—Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter.*
Jeremy Smith—Coastal Management Expert—Coastal Engineer, California Coastal Commission.*
*indicates jurors whose role is advisory and non-voting, their ideas, input and role is purely their own expertise and does not represent the opinion of the various organizations they represent professionally.