Architecture

Admiral Park Flagship Offices

Brief
The Flagship Office Development forms part of an eighteen acre mixed use urban redevelopment area on the island of Guernsey.  Located on the coastal trunk road linking Saint Peter Port and Saint Sampsons, our Client's requirement was the establishment of a high quality contemporary speculative office development with associated car parking, that would provide the optimum level of inherent flexibility, efficiency and expression to appeal to offshore financial institutions.
Response
A number of key contextual influences informed the urban response; proximity to the coast and the views afforded to the Small Isles; placemaking within the urban masterplan framework; prominent frontage and  a desire to establish a  gateway presence to the park, all contributed to the resultant design development  process.  Car ownership ratios on Guernsey and an almost cultural reliance on private transport, dictated a solution which limited the visual impact of large car parking areas and maximised the amenity potential of the development for both the building’s users and the people of Guernsey.  A semi-basement car park, with podium deck above, served as a clean canvas onto which the position, orientation and layout of the buildings could be composed, unhindered by surface car park space requirements. The building's plan composition thereafter was primarily driven by the wonderful seaward views presented along the site frontage.
Outcome
Two four-storey office buildings, each forty five thousand square feet net, are orientated and arranged around a common landscaped plaza, providing privacy and a sense of place while maximising the seaward outlook.  The buildings' relationships to each other is such that they could be linked relatively easily if future demand requires.  The use of materials and the elevational language they adopt is common, yet each has its own identity through its articulation and response to the site perimeter.  Fifteen to eighteen metre deep floorplates are arranged around vertical circulation atria, maximising sub-division flexibility via a common expressive identity.  Since completion, each building has been acquired by its respective occupier.

Team