Admiralty Quarter
Environment and community
Admiralty Quarter is in an urban area next to Portsmouth’s historic dockyard and provides shops and a café that blend into existing Queen Street shopping parades. It is a redevelopment of a brownfield urban site.
The scheme contains a large communal garden of 0.58 hectares and is a few minutes away from a public park, children’s playground, schools, a medical and community centre, crèche and nursery. It is close to Commercial Road, the main shopping centre of Portsmouth, and Gunwharf Quays.
“The scheme is certainly unusual. The design is far away from a standardised approach. The concept of hidden parking, large green spaces and innovative architecture has produced a scheme of real originality that serves as an exemplar that could be reproduced, albeit in different forms, elsewhere.”
John Pike, senior planning officer
Surrounding housing is nearly all socially rented, so Admiralty Quarter broadens the housing mix with units that suit young first time buyers, young couples, families and retired couples.
Admiralty Quarter’s communal garden acts as a green roof to the car park below. This reduces rainwater run off and enhances the biodiversity of the area by providing habitats and breeding grounds for plants, insects and birds. The 800 space car park is naturally ventilated using “chimney” structures that project through the garden above, saving on the environmental impact of mechanical ventilation.
The affordable accommodation is rated as Eco Homes Very Good.
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