Since the day John Nash drew up his designs for the Royal Pavilion, weird and wonderful architecture has been put forward for Brighton.

The last two years have brought a flood of radical, new designs for buildings on land and at sea, usually followed by howls of protest from residents claiming they are out of character and proportion with the rest of the city.

The Athanaeum in Palmeira Square was a huge glass dome known as the "palace of flowers" built in 1833.

Thousands visited on the opening day but hardly had the last visitor left on the evening of the second day when the structure collapsed.

In 1951, Brighton Council built a bathing pavilion near the West Pier to celebrate the Festival of Britain.

It opened the following year but was ignored by bathers and was eventually turned into a milk bar. It is now Al Fresco restaurant.

In 1949, Lord Cohen proposed a large music and entertainments pavilion on the seafront near West Street. However, lack of finance scuppered that plan.

Nine years later he proposed a chain of gardens from Preston village to the sea, sweeping away houses and the Royal York Hotel.

Sir Herbert Carden proposed pulling down most of the seafront between the piers between the wars, replacing it with an art deco boulevard, and even favoured demolishing the Royal Pavilion.

Forty years ago, garage owner Henry Cohen suggested a marina in Kemp Town. It eventually moved to Black Rock, where it was built between 1970 and 1980.

Recently, there has been a flood of applications for high-rises and avant garde designs.

The most controversial has been Frank Gehry's daring design for four tower blocks on the King Alfred site in Hove. He views them as four Edwardian ladies, their skirts billowing in the sea breeze. Locals have nicknamed his designs 'tin can towers'.

Piers Gough's vision for a modern, 18-storey block at the Endeavour Motors site near Preston Park, Brighton, has also caused an outcry.

In April, five new blocks were proposed at Brighton Marina, some of them higher than the cliffs behind.

The so-called Banana Block, Piers Gough's proposed yellow-striped eight-storey building in North Road, Brighton, was dropped suddenly last month after architectural experts brought in by Brighton and Hove City Council decided high-rise buildings were not acceptable in the heart of the city.

Even on the water there is more controversy. London-based Aros has proposed a futuristic floating pier stretching half a mile out to sea. The project, which would rise and fall with the tide, could be linked to the rebuilding of the Brighton Centre.

Additional reporting by Adam Trimingham