The Portsmouth Society is pleased to announce the results of its annual design competition. A full report is available by clicking here.

Best New Building

In the category Best New Building it was the unanimous choice of the judges that the award for the outright winner 2008 went to the Mary Rose School, the sparkling new special needs school off Locksway Road in Milton. The design with its dramatic central corridor a fifth of a mile long was by Andrew Malbon of the city architects' department.

Two other New Buildings were commended:

Admiral Square, a group of fourteen new town houses in Nelson Road in Southsea by Willowbrook Property Services designed by Adams Poole Architects and Highbury College's new city centre building designed and built by AWW of Bristol and Kier Southern.

Best Restoration

There were two winners in the Best Restoration category:

The Kings Theatre, Southsea, which is being brought back to its Edwardian splendour by specialist contractors and graduates of the city university's Restoration and Decorative Studies course and

The intricate restoration of the flint front wall of Mrs. Doreen Harrison's house in Stanley Street in Southsea by Steve Langton and Steve Smith, well known to The Portsmouth Society as experts in this meticulous work. We have honoured them in three previous years.

Commended in this category were the flats in the original wings by Scott Brownrigg and in the recreated clock tower by Michael Underwood of Hedley Greentree Partnership of the Vulcan Building in Gunwharf Quays, itself a successful conversion from the Grand Storehouse.

Best Landscaping

The Best Landscaping award went to Marine Gardens, part of the splendid grounds of the former Royal Marine Barracks at Eastney, lovingly cared for by Mrs. Grayson-Smith and her contractors Pete Kidd who looks after the soft landscaping and trees and Mark Younghusband of FEM.

The judges wanted particularly to commend the beautifully designed and tended gardens open to Oyster Street and facing St. Thomas's Cathedral in Old Portsmouth.

This annual competition very much reflects and supports the elements of Policy PCS10: Design And Conservation in The Portsmouth City Council's consultation document The Portsmouth Plan and in itself is hopefully a representation of the positive and practical work of the Portsmouth Society.

The judges for this year's competition were:

• Paul Grover, Chief Executive of the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design
• Paul Ramshaw, Head of Regeneration and Planning Policy at Eastleigh Borough Council
• Pauline Powell, member of The Portsmouth Society
• Celia Clark, Chair of The Portsmouth Society.

Background

Each September we hold a competition where our panel of judges decide the winners in at least the categories :

• Best New Building
• Best Restored Building
• Best Landscaping scheme

The winners are presented with blue ceramic placques which are unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth.

To be eligible, schemes must have been completed by the 31st December of the previous year and they must, of course, lie within the boundaries of the City of Portsmouth.