The site was a former factory for Carter’s Tiles, taken over by Pilkington’s Tiles and closed in 2010. It sits on the west side of the harbour, near to the Twin Sails bridge. Our design was inspired by geometries found in tile arrangements produced by Carter Tiles – a fragmented block plan breaks up the mass of the scheme and works with the strong 45 degree geometry of the site. This also neatly echoes the nearby Twin Sails bridge and Sunseeker boats (Poole’s largest employer.) The landscape, by UBU, counterpoints this with owing planting. Archaeological investigation identi ed that the site was once used as an oyster shell midden by the Romans, so the outer elevations to streets use a varied brick alluding to the rough outer shell of an oyster and have a resonance with an old boundary wall built from reject bricks and tiles. The inner elevations to the garden courtyard are a clean light brick reminiscent of the smooth lining of an oyster shell. We make the central building, clasped by the other blocks like a pearl, in a mix of glazed and matt pale blue bricks that will shimmer in the changing light conditions. Additionally glazed bricks in 5 di erent colours signal the 5 residential cores and the colours are also used for window reveals and inset balconies. The palette of colours re ect colours in one of the nest architectural tile murals by Carter and Co. at Lewis’s Department Store in Liverpool. Like the decks of an ocean liner, oor level strata de ne the geometry of the buildings extending to form the prominent glazed corner balconies. The project provides 161 apartments and ground oor commercial spaces.