The Portsmouth Society - News
| Portsmouth Society Design Awards 2005
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News Earlier news Awards home 2004 results |
From Building Destroyers - to Destroying Rubbish Education and heavy industry were the two themes in the judging process in the Society's design awards. Each year our judges take a snapshot of what's recently been built in Portsmouth and decide if there's any building or urban design good enough to give awards in three categories - New Building, Restoration and Landscaping. This year, we gave five awards and four commendations - a record! Best New Buildings VT Shipbuilding's enormous ship assembly sheds impressed us by their sheer scale and the dramatic ship building processes going on inside, while the Incinerator in Quatremaine Road by contractor CNIM won one of our two Best New Buildings Awards. The Society was opposed to the building of the incinerator, but decided to give an award for its elegant design and materials by the same French architect, Jean-Robert Mazaud, who won an award some years ago for its neighbour, the Materials Recycling Facility. In pursuance of our objective of sustainability, the Society is currently helping Hampshire Waste Services to look for users for the waste heat it produces, such as the new Queen Alexandra Hospital Some of what the judges saw frankly didn't lift the heart. But they were delighted that the city council leads the way with excellent designs, especially in providing for disabled and disadvantaged children. The other Best New Building winner is the new beautiful and tranquil classroom block at Waterside School, Tipner Lane designed by Daniel Brunt of the City Architects department – he designed last year's winner the Charles Dickens Community Centre. Even though this classroom block is jammed up against the motorway, and close to the Firing Ranges, its lovely natural materials: stone, slate and wood and its thoughtful design, both inside and out make it a special place to learn and to teach in. The builder was local firm, Norman Wright. Another very large building, the navy's Fleet Headquarters, the Henry Leach Building designed by Winchester firm, architecture plb, was commended in the Best New Building category. The Society was critical of the first proposals for these very large offices at the south western point of Whale Island, but the new design, grey corrugated steel on one side and terracotta facing the harbour, with its dramatic orange funnel with the stairs and lifts inside is a welcome addition to the city's fine architecture. The Highbury College Northarbour Centre Southampton Road has fitted 12 schools of construction inside the external shell designed by Architect Steven Miller of Scott Brownrigg for developers Asda Properties and Curries Properties, with Internal fit out by Phil Amey Studio 4. It impressed the judges by its ingenuity. They also enjoyed The Willows Special needs Nursery School, Battenburg Avenue by City architects Charles Creed, Tracey Parker and Stefan Jakobek, with its special colour coding for little children to find their way around the building and enjoyable sound room. They also visited Oakdene, St. James's Hospital Locksway Road Milton, a 14 bed Rehabilitation building – and The Orchards, an acute ward and day treatment, both designed by Devereux Architects for Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust. We were unfavourably impressed by the John Pounds Health Centre, part of the large scale rebuilding of the community centre in Portsea. We criticised the tiny windows in the consulting rooms with the consequent poor ventilation. We felt the designers had failed to learn the right lessons from the city's first generation of health centres. Best Best Landscaping schemes In the Best Landscaping category, there were also two winners: the first was the dramatic Inside/Outside Playground, Marsden Road Paulsgrove for 5 to 13 year olds designed by Clark Barton and Andrew Malbon, Team Leader at Portsmouth City Architects, and the wonderfully inviting play equipment chosen by Paul Casey for Wendy Brookfield, Manager of the Play Service. Local residents and councillors had asked for a playground for this age group for twenty years. Grants from Sport England and other sources financed a really innovative playspace, with its building buried like a ship with two bright funnel/skylights poking through the green roof, with lovely curved spaces inside and niches for gossiping. All the judges wanted to have a go on the tall slides! We also visited Arundel Street landscaping, commended by parent body, the Civic Trust last year, and the Moat Bridge to Spur Redoubt in Old Portsmouth. The other winner for Best Landscaping is the beautiful mature Porter's Garden in the Dockyard Heritage Area, created by volunteers for Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust. The Friends commissioned the three stone seats reflecting the profiles of the three preserved ships. They were awarded a grant from the Onyx Trust under the Landfill Tax Credit scheme which paid for the transport of the granite blocks and the sculptor, Roger Stephens' fees. Best Restorations The unrivalled winner of the Best Restoration award was the New Theatre Royal, Guildhall Walk which, though it still has a long way to go, has by clever internal reordering been given a new life that enables it now to stage an attractive programme. Architects Burrell Boley Fisher added a new bar in the stalls, levelled the floor, put in a much wider and higher stage with new entrances via the boxes, and brought the Upper Circle back into use for the first time for many years. There are still substantial improvements to come, but the Society is delighted to see the director Mark Courtice and his staff build up new audiences. The theatre buzzes with life in a way it has not done for many years. Unusually, there were also three Best Restoration Commendations: the 1850s Iron and Steel Foundry HM Naval Base converted into two floors of offices by FSL Facilities Ltd. and contractor Ralls Group for BAe Systems. It has a new full height glazed entrance, simply butted to the brick wall, and high tech equipment where metal castings were once made. Local builders Steve Langton and Simon Smith won a Commendation for the high quality of their work in restoring – and in places, rebuilding No. 41 Kent Road Southsea for Mrs. Ariadne Dorey. The proprietors of the Florence House Hotel, Steve and Vicky, at 2 Malvern Road Southsea were also commended for their creation of a beautiful boutique hotel in what had been a shabby bed and breakfast. We were also impressed by Portsmouth Grammar School's new library and Ken Woolas laboratory, designed by Hampshire County Architects' Department. We were unfavourably impressed by the John Pounds Health Centre, part of the large scale rebuilding of the John Pounds Centre in Portsea. We criticised the tiny windows in the consulting rooms with the consequent poor ventilation. We felt the designers had failed to learn the right lessons from the city's first generation of health centres. The Judges The judges were Tom Dyckhoff, architectural correspondent of The Times, Paul Grover, chief executive of the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design, and Dr Celia Clark, chair and Dr Roger James, secretary of the Portsmouth Society. Background Judging for the Design Competition takes place each September where our panel of judges decide which is the best new building, best restored building and best landscaping scheme completed in the City during the previous year. Celia Clark |
New Buildings Joint winners Waste Incinerator, Quartermaine Road New classroom block, Waterside School, Tipner Commended Henry Leach Building, Whale Island Restorations Winners New Theatre Royal Commended Iron and Steel Foundry HM Naval Base No. 41 Kent Road Southsea Florence House Hotel, Malvern Road Southsea Landscaping Joint winners Inside/Outside Playground, Marsden Road Paulsgrove Porter's Garden, Dockyard Heritage Area |