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5 Aug 04Winners of Poole Pride of Place Awards 2004
The judges this year were Mayor of Poole, Councillor Les Burden, Councillor Carole Deas, of the Planning Committee, Paul Harrington, Chairman of the Dorset Branch of the RIBA, Ros Diamond of Diamond Architects (Architect of Branksome Café, last year's winner) and Mary Tibbles, of Poole Agenda 21. They were looking for schemes that make the greatest contribution to the quality and appearance of the public realm in Poole, either in the form of buildings or landscape.
Councillor Carole Deas said: "The buildings we have chosen represent the benchmark for the level of quality we expect to see delivered in Poole."
Two awards went to schemes on Poole Quay, the Yacht Haven Facilities Building and the new Sea Defence walls.
The Yacht Haven building, designed by Charter Partnership for Poole Harbour Commissioners, floats on a pontoon just off the Quay and acts as a welcome to Poole for boat visitors. Paul Harrington described it as "a little gem of a building".
The judges were impressed by the way that the Tidal Defence scheme on the Quay had not only protected the Old Town from flooding, but had also provided much needed seating areas and safe walking space for the general public. Peter Brett Associates, engineers for the Environment Agency, worked closely with the Council's Planners on the design. The artists were Simon Read and Simon Watkinson.
The private house at 6 Brudenell Road, by architect David Wright, stood out as being of particularly exceptional design quality. Roz Diamond said: "We looked at a number of individual houses but this one stood out for the way in which the architect has used a number of bold, complex shapes, yet produced a unified building of calmness and generosity."
The fourth award went to the pair of porch extensions to the west front of All Saints Church in Western Road, designed by Anders Roberts and Associates. The judges noted how sensitively the architects had used matching materials and stone details to complement the existing building. The Mayor said: "This was the sort of sensitive treatment we would commend for extensions or alterations to all of our listed buildings."
Paul Harrington summed up the awards by saying: "Whilst this year's entries were predominantly small scale, the award winners have all taken the detail design that little bit further and produced projects of real quality."
A commendation was given by the judges to the alterations and improvements to the Harbour Heights Hotel 
for adding "such an accessible and delightful leisure facility to the Borough".
A commendation also went to "Dreamcatcher", a private house by Seven Developments in Bingham Avenue for its restrained use of modern architectural style.
However Mary Tibbles of Agenda 21 commented: "Sadly, it was not possible to award a sustainability prize this year. It is somewhat disappointing that none of the schemes really went the extra mile to make the special contribution towards sustainability that would warrant an award. It is hoped that in future years more schemes will fulfil the criteria."
John Biggs, Team Leader Urban Design, Planning Services, Borough of Poole tel 01202 633331
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