erz were appointed to the Dunoon Queen’s Hall and Waterfront design team in early 2013. We have created a new public realm between the building and the coastline, whilst referencing the parkland features of Castle Gardens to the south.

The project involved the improvement of the public realm surrounding the Queen’s Hall building, which is situated at the entrance to the town whilst adjacent to the pedestrian ferry terminal and Castle Gardens whilst. erz’s design reconfigured the overly dominant road infrastructure, placing the emphasis back on civic life and creating a gateway into Dunoon.

Awards
  • Shortlisted, Argyll and Bute Design Awards 2023
Client
  • Argyll and Bute Council
  • CHORD

Landform and avenue planting are used to reinforce the urban structure of the high street and reintroduce a strong axial relationship with the old pier. Lingering and sunbathing is encouraged by built-in seating walls and sunny slopes with views to the Firth of Forth.

Outside Dunoon Queen’s Hall, before and after.

Castle Gardens and the War Memorial are integrated with the new works and given a new prominence in the streetscape, whilst the Argyll Hotel reclaims its role as the focal point of a long urban axis from pier to town.

“As a number of residents and visitors to the area commented after the project was complete, if we had done nothing other than the public realm and environmental improvements, we have created a beautiful gateway into Dunoon and through the wider Cowal Area and the National Park beyond.”

John Gordon, Capital Regeneration Programme Manager, CHORD.