Dolphin Quays development underway

Dolphin Quays is a joint venture between Orb Estates and Poole Pottery and the development includes two floors of restaurants and shops, as well as a first floor public piazza and a large external staircase to the ground floor.

The planners demanded a tall modern development even though Poole Harbour is a historic site. "The design is contemporary but fits in with the scale and proportions of the Georgian housing nearby," says architect Chris Littlemore of The Charter Partnership. The W-shaped building follows the layout of the quayside roads and is designed to be permeable and afford residents the maximum number of harbour views.

The structure is concrete frame apart from the lightweight steel frame used for the penthouses. Lower floors are faced with Portland stone and a rich buff brick, while the penthouses have an exterior of silver panels and glass.

Due for completion in Spring 2003, accommodation ranges from £175 000 one-bed apartments to four-bed penthouses. The Poole Pottery brand will survive in the form of the famous dolphin emblem, which will feature in the foyer and in development consultant Hamptons' £500 000 marketing suite.