Hugh Petter of Robert Adam Architects was commissioned by the Prince’s Foundation and the Duchy of Cornwall to produce a Pattern Book for the future development of Newquay, Cornwall. The book is intended to guide new development in a way that will provide continuity throughout the urban fabric and strengthen the built character of the town as a whole. Whilst it specifically addresses a new growth area to the east and southeast of Newquay, it is hoped that the Pattern Book will find useful applications throughout the town and ensure that any new development contributes to the revival of Newquay in a recognisable and lasting manner.

By identifying forms and characteristics of successful urban and architectural typologies within Newquay and cohesive settlements nearby, the Pattern Book will encourage transformations of existing patterns and promote the organic extension of the town. The book suggests how urban patterns may extend into new areas and thereby reinforce the best of the existing with the new. Careful analysis of urban forms and spaces will ensure that buildings of suitable character and scale are woven into the new town fabric in a natural and cohesive way. In addition to housing, it also anticipates new elements such as a railway station, a church, and schools within the extended urban fabric.

The Pattern Book is not prescriptive; rather it will provide town planners, architects and builders with a useful resource of typologies and details for the design of urban spaces and buildings that will understand and reinforce local character. It will serve as a bridge between distinctive indigenous building patterns and the requirements of a vibrant, expanding town in the 21st Century.