And the winners are ........

Penoyre & Prasad and Hampshire Architects take Inaugural Solent Design Awards
 
Penoyre & Prasad’s Portsmouth University Library extension and Hampshire County Council Architects’ Department’s Wellstead Primary School in Hedge End, Eastleigh were the best “Quality Places” selected as  the first Solent Design Awards.   Portsmouth University Library was also chosen as the “Community Champion” in an online ballot by local residents.

Congratulating the winners, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Chair of PUSH Quality Places Group, sponsors of the Award Scheme, said: “Good design can make great places and these buildings underline that - and the community shares that view, judging by our online poll. I hope that when thinking about future projects all investors and developers, whether public or private, will remember this message and create places which the community can value.”

Paul Grover, Chief Executive of the Solent Centre for Architecture and Design (SCA+D), who organised the Awards on behalf of the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH), believes the winners have set design standards for others to follow; “The Solent awards show what can be achieved when all the partners in the design process come together with the intention of creating great places. This is not the first time Wellstead has been recognised for its architectural excellence(NOTE 1) but our judges felt that it really did add value to the place in which it is located. Creating that sense of place was what we set out to measure in these awards - which we and the community also recognised in the Portsmouth University Library.”

The Library had to be extended to meet the demands of growing student numbers and their expectations of a high quality learning environment.  Following a RIBA design competition, Penoyre and Prasad were appointed as architects and the new building includes an enhanced IT area, with 250 desktop computers, group study rooms, teaching rooms with the latest training and presentation facilities as well as a cafe.  It bridges over the entrance to a public park, to which it provides a gateway and is accessed from a new urban square which provides space for students to congregate as well as enjoy an alfresco extension to the cafe in summer. Designed to achieve a BREEAM rating of Very Good(NOTE 2), the building minimises energy use and its environmental impact; it features a sedum roof and ‘The Street’, a corridor running right through the building. Built by VolkerFitzpatrick, it complements the existing building and even includes replicated fortifications from Napoleonic times.     

Sarah Gaventa, Director of Public Space at the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, who chaired the judging panel says: “The Library impressed through its successful marriage of the existing with the new.  The best of the old was respected and referenced while creating a bright and light place to study, with the added plus of a high quality green public space which ensures the project is not only of great benefit to students and staff but the wider community of Portsmouth.”

Wellstead Primary School is a new building set on a former farm in the Hedge End housing development in Southampton.  Designed by Hampshire County Council’s Architects’ Department and built by BAM Construction, it is set round a courtyard, with the main teaching block on one side and the administrative and social block on the other.  A library and glass passageway link the four sides.  The glass provides the necessary security but at the same time allows the school to be visually connected to the community outside.  Sustainable technology giving high environmental performance includes ground source heat pumps, solar panels and smart energy meters.  Trees dating back to the days of the farm provide a beautiful backdrop; it’s a lively and well thought out learning environment which adds a central focus for the local community.

“As soon as you walk into the school, there’s just a wonderful atmosphere, a building full of buzz and laughter,” says Sarah Gaventa. “The openness of the architecture, the brightness and airiness of the rooms, the quiet and well designed courtyard - all demonstrate the love and care which has gone into creating this elegant building.  Any pupil or teacher would be proud to be at this school.”