The team of local architects took time to study good local buildings before designing the houses for Poundbury. Unity and interdependence are principles in nature and society as well as in architecture and they apply particularly to Poundbury where this new area relates well to Dorchester and the traditional architectural style of the county. Equally, within unity, there is diversity. There might be a common building line along a pavement, a common roof pitch or common materials, but within that there is enormous variety. Each house is instantly recognisable and distinct but none dominates.
Symbolism is another principle.
Houses and their design features play important roles. The formality of the design relates to the importance of the building in the development. As people would dress formally for an important occasion, there are more formal features on main strects, fewer in the back strects. Audun Engh, St.