Sovereign Harbour sits to the north of Eastbourne town centre and was a originally a series of gravel pits and ponds on an area of shingle known locally as the ‘Crumbles’.
Following ideas in the late sixties about the potential for housing on the site, development eventually began in the 1980s. Specifically, work started on excavating the harbours that now cover 65 acres. The harbours became operational two years later and now form Northern Europe’s largest composite marina complex.
An incredible site combined with an exciting design that represents 20 years of creative thinking about housing for older people.
An outline consent from 2014 for various plots around Sovereign Harbour included ‘Site 1’. This is where Untold Living now plan to develop their flagship IRC.
An earlier scheme on this site had proposed luxury residential development. However, this was only part delivered. The key site that completes the sweep of buildings around the outer harbour remained vacant.
Adopting the principles of the 2014 outline consent, our carefully massed proposal answers the dilemma of how to respond to the immediate context, but also provide a suitable “stop end” to this part of the Harbour.
Our Three Key Design Moves
Firstly, we created a linear building that continues the frontage created by the 10 houses to the south.
Secondly, we split the resulting mass into smaller blocks, connected by transparent cores that allow views through the building from the land side to the coast.
Thirdly, we responded to the height of the newly built houses to the south, massing the building up to create an element of height at the northern corner. This follows the logic of the existing block corners along the Sovereign Outer Harbour Promenade.
Materiality
We refined the material palette to reflect a strong desire for the building to properly address its relationship with the maritime context. Accordingly, it was important to select materials that are suitable for use in the maritime environment with severe exposure to high humidity, winds, and salts. Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) allows for sculptural balconies and strong horizontal banding, whereas dark render contrasts with the GFRC. Additionally, buff brickwork softens the rear façade of the building.