Cley’s maritime and mercantile history has diminished. Industrialisation is reversing and nature is reclaiming the sculpted marshes. The new settlement introduces an alternate reality where trade returns. Shaped by the political precinct and the precious landscape, the Tidal Market is an act of political resistance informed by the tidal salt marsh.

The market is made up of four structures: the Beacon, which at night guides ships into port during high tide; the Canopy, an open-air pier for docking and trading; the Market, with individual kiosks and small stores; and the Storehouse, which temporarily holds traded goods before transportation inland.

As a metaphoric act of mooring to European ideals, the market’s architecture emerges from an amalgamation of archaic Greek agora and oriental tectonics. Taking the water as its public space, the market acts as the stoae between the berms, land and sea, regulating the flow of people, light, goods and views into the water agora. The layout creates a tensioned entrance, contrasting itself with the regimental Ionic agora. The tranquil oriental tectonics and proportionality create moments of zen amid a hyper-nationalistic society.