‘There’s something about being at the seaside - it’s fun, exuberant. A lot of contemporary buildings are so earnest that the joy is lost.’
Graham Haworth
A new seafront development for AXA REIM
Douglas
Isle of Man
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After the success of a previous commission in Jersey, AXA REIM again chose Haworth Tompkins to design an urban regeneration scheme of four buildings, two offices and two residential blocks, around a new civic square for this historically important seafront site in the Isle of Man. Both the scale of the proposals and the prominent architectural setting ensured that the development was particularly sensitive, not only to the town but to the island as a whole. Working with the Douglas Development Partnership we have been able to create the first large sheltered civic space in the town for social activities and performances. |
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The site, though derelict, formed an important part of the grand architectural composition of Loch Promenade, a dramatic sweep of tall Victorian terraced hotels and boarding houses overlooking the bay. The existing buildings with their regular bay widths are predominantly faced in ornate rendered masonry, in the Italianate style popular in seaside towns in the late nineteenth century. |
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The new proposals respect the quality and richness of this existing context by continuing the sweep of the adjacent buildings and adopting the vertical rhythm of the individual frontages and bay windows that define so much of the seafront character. A rhythmic elevation builds interest through a series of bays, balconies and setbacks ending in a sweeping corner. |
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Building on an exposed coastline presents a particular challenge, and exhaustive research was undertaken to develop an appropriate material specification and detail design to withstand the saline environment and high winds. Environmentally the buildings operate on low energy principles, using exposed concrete soffits as a thermal store and incorporating a ground water cooling system using the tidal water from the sea as a source of free cooling.
The first two phases are now complete and successfully leased, and plans are now under way for the final two phases. |
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LOCH PROMENADE
Client: AXA REIM
Value: £9,500,000
Completion
Loch Promenade Phase 1: December 1999
Villiers House (Phase 2): December 2002 |
Exterior:
Painted render, Derbyshire limestone, Grassed turf roof covering, Anodised aluminium, Stainless steel, Glass
Interior:
Manx black limestone, Plaster, Glass, Painted steel, Yellow canvases by Damien Duffy
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