A leading architect wants to transform Brighton Marina so more people there can see the sea.

Piers Gough, speaking at a seminar called Building in Context at the Old Market in Hove, said: "It's simply wet and cold there and there is no indication of the sea."

Mr Gough, of CZWG architects, said there were too few shops and too much public space in the main octagon of the Marina.

His outline ideas include filling in more of the octagon with more shops and putting homes above including a large percentage of social housing.

There would be a visitor centre to explain the geology of the nearby cliffs and a way down into the Marina from the cliffs.

At that level there would be cafes, turning the normal conventions of architecture upside down.

Mr Gough said the Marina was part of Brighton but divorced from it and needed better access for pedestrians via a panoramic lift.

Mr Gough, who was born in Brunswick Square, Hove, said modernist buildings that were not bad in themselves did not fit well into Brighton.

He said the resort needed a flamboyance and excitement in architecture to match its exuberant nature.

City environment councillor Chris Morley also spoke at the conference, which was sponsored by English Heritage and CABE, which cares for the built environment.

He said: "Good modern design will be welcome in the city and the run of the mill and the mundane will be discouraged."