Quinlan & Francis Terry Top right : George Saumarez Smith Bottom right : Masterplanner Leon Krier
While Francis Terry has recently branched out with his own separate company , he and his father Quinlan took time out to talk to Celebrating Poundbury about their recollections and thoughts on the build . “ The unveiling was great and I had a chance to briefly talk with the Prince . Especially after working on the project for such a long time it ’ s quite exciting to see that grand finale . I think Prince Charles is obviously very proud of Queen Mother Square , which is nice to see ,” says Francis . Quinlan adds : “ Prince Charles has been totally committed and without him it just wouldn ’ t have happened .” Having designed the heart of the square , Francis believes the architecture of Poundbury will leave a lasting legacy on town-planning in the UK . “ I think Poundbury is having a huge influence on what people think about ‘ new towns ’ and meeting the demands of much needed new housing . “ People have realised that you can ’ t just make massive housing estates . You have to build places with urban structure that works and also has a bit of civic pride . I think Poundbury has that .” Quinlan adds : “ Poundbury is outstanding and makes you think about where you live . The mixture of residential and commercial properties means that people don ’ t spend their lives on the train commuting to work .” Working closely with The Prince of Wales , they were both impressed with his passion , drive and vision for the construction of Queen Mother Square . “ The Prince was very hands on . I went to
meetings with him at Poundbury and he certainly wouldn ’ t let others just get on with it . It was very much his project and things had to be signed off by him ,” says Francis . Francis and his father worked together on the buildings and even brought in a few unexpected influences on the architecture , especially Strathmore House . “ It ’ s funny because Strathmore House has been likened to Buckingham Palace and that was never in our minds . “ It ’ s a fairly simple classical design catering for balconies . “ The colour comes from a holiday to Nice where I noticed a lot of very brightly coloured classical buildings and also throughout the Mediterranean .” Quinlan also cites the strong classical influence of 16th century Venetian architect Andrea Palladio on the buildings of Queen Mother Square . Francis is aware that the style of architecture in Poundbury has courted both positive and negative criticism over the years , but feels that it ’ s now turned a corner . “ Poundbury has been developed for over 20 years and there ’ s been a lot of architectural experiments . Some that worked well and some that didn ’ t . I actually think that Poundbury has got into its stride over the last five to seven years . “ There ’ s been a lot of learning from mistakes and certainly the kind of urban quality that we ’ re going for now was not initially present at the start . You have to remember the buildings are stone and very permanent , so it ’ s not something constructed for a short while . They ’ re highquality buildings .” The impressive Royal Pavilion was designed by leading architect Ben Pentreath , who also designed the interior of this grand building . When completed in late 2017 it will feature 20 luxury apartments and a health spa is planned for the ground floor .
“ Prince Charles has been totally committed and without him it just wouldn ’ t have happened ”
Ben has been heavily involved in the design of Poundbury since 2009 and is working alongside architect George Saumarez Smith on the northern quadrants . He says : “ We have focused our attention as much on internal layouts as external design , but with particular effort paid to achieving a very high level of architectural detail .” Ben started working in Poundbury aged 25 when he won a competition to design parts of Pummery Square . “ My first impression was that it was utterly weird but 20 years later what has been achieved here is pretty amazing .” Ben was actually born in Dorchester and now works between his London offices and his Dorset home . His favourite part of the development is the houses in Woodlands Crescent because of its ‘ peaceful feel ’ and he aims to use more of this classical architecture in the northern quadrant . Future plans on the drawing board are inspired by the great London Estates as well as more local Dorset examples . There ' s also a small area based on John Nash ’ s Picturesque Blaise Hamlet .
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