The Essex Coast features extensive areas fringed in saltmarshes, with mudflats and offshore sand banks. It represents a major complex of soft sedimentary habitats in the predominantly flat alluvial landscape. The Blackwater Estuary is famous for its ecology and the unique salt produced in the estuary city of Maldon. The natural environment is suitable for the reproduction and growth of bivalve mollusks; local production of oysters and clams is considerable.

Global warming and rising sea levels have caused varying degrees of soil erosion along the estuary. Time-scale analysis shows that the main cause of this erosion is the action of waves and tides across the shore. How to effectively and reasonably absorb the energy of the waves across the shore has become the primary issue of this project.

Maldon’s salt and seafood industries are related to each other, and to the waves. The salt marshes where oysters grow are an important part of absorbing wave energy, and calming the waves can give oysters a more stable growth environment. This project proposes a resilient design to reduce the energy of waves, increase the production of oysters, improve the quality of salt, and form a flexible and diverse landscape.