I don't know about anyone else but I couldn't find the original thread. Can anybody wise me up or do we start from fresh here? If the original has dissapeared then that's one heck of a lot of discussion and photos, links etc. :cry: Still (to involve football for a second) I thought Cardiff City were going out of business at the end of last season and yet we have re-grouped and virtually started from scratch and we've already beaten accrington stanley 3-1 this season (friendly)!!

Anyway back to Cardiff Developments I guess it could be back to the beginning for us interested in the Capital of Wales :) ....

I've heard those Romans are planning a fortification by the side of that river taff - rumour has it that it'll be the height of 10 centurions!! oh and further down river there is talk of a sports village!! yeh get real :bash:

over to you folks...

Oh damn it, it seems that we have lost the old Cardiff thread, oh well. It gives us a chance to start again from scratch. Right, what I'm going to do is start another new Cardiff developments thread, it'll take me a while so in the meantime we'll discuss stuff in here but what I want to do is have a huge summary like the manchester one here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=153163
That way all the details about what's going on in Cardiff will be in the first post of the thread which I'll keep up to date so people won't have to trawl through pages and pages of discussion to keep up to date on what's going on in Cardiff.

I'm going to put absolutely everything I can think of in the new thread and I'm going to set it out like the manchester one above. There are a couple of noteable things I need pics and info for though:
1. The towers planned for the site next to altolusso
2. The mystery development next to Landmark Place on the the old Odeon cinema site
3. The plans for the burnt out Central Hotel by central station
4. That render from the newspaper of the hotels and casino for the sports village
If anyone has any details or renders for any of these developments it would be brilliant. Also if anyone has any renders or details that were posted in the last thread that were lost could you post them here. This is a good opportunity to start again with a new thread and to summarise what's going on in Cardiff. I reckon when we put it all down like they have in the Manchester thread then we'll have a pretty impressive list!

Luckily the Newport thread is still there and I've basically done the same thing with that one, I'm keeping page 1 updated on there as well. I know very little about what's going on in Swansea but if anyone else does then perhaps they can make a similar Swansea thread. Hopefully once we have all three threads with impressive lists in each we can make a good case for a Wales subforum!

Good idea for summary Andrew. Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Soton and Preston have one, so go for it! :D
Sorry to hear about you losing your old thread. We lost ours as well :(

Nice one Andrew - It's late now but I'll be posting some photographic contributions real soon. Let's hope everyone rally's around to assist you getting that Cardiff or Wales 'premier league' thread!! :)

Andrew's like the Cornerstone of Cardiff here. Don't know what we'll do when he's not here :(

I just noticed something on the skyscraperpage link in Andrew's sig. How come the Needle will take till 2007 to build when other much taller building's are often done quicker? I'd imagine there's some really obvious solution like smaller labor force to smaller building = same time as larger labor force to larger building. But just wanted to check :)

Don't know what we'll do when he's not here
Thanks, but I'll still be here, I'll probably be posting just as regularly as I do now. I may be going to Singapore for a year but I'm certainly going to keep up to date with what's going on in Cardiff! I don't see why it should be any different from when I'm in Newcastle really. On the internet it doesn't really make any difference whether you're a few hundred or a few thousand miles away!

I don't know why the needle will take till 2007. I'd guess it to be that it simply takes that much longer because they have to demolish what's allready there and prep the land before they can start building! I'd guess that the current building will be gone and the land prepped by the new year, then I think it will go quite quickly. I reckon the building of the tower itself will be about a year. I don't think 2007 is particularly slow in construction terms but of course it feels slow when we've been so eagerly waiting for so long.

Damn shame about our thread vanishing. We'll just have to start a fresh. Two big projects i'd like to mention that have made big leaps this week. Not in Cardiff but concerning Wales.

Richard Attenborough's 'Valleywood' project, that is to see a £330 million film studio complex being errected near Bridgend has started construction work this week. It will make South Wales the heart of the Film Industry in Britain.
Link Here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4697485.stm

Plus Llannelli Scarlets have taken more steps towards starting construction on their new 15,000 stadium at Trosdre (can't find the link now).

here it is : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4701273.stm

Real shame what happened to the Cardiff thread :( esp. after all the efforts people made to get/scan photos and upload them.

Anyway I have some news though! Going into work today it looks as if they've started adding extra floors to the top of the 40 Newport Road development.

Been reading here for a while....glad to see this back. They have a poll running on main page for best city park. Someone should post some photos of inner Cardiff which is really a huge park; well that's how it seems when seen from just above Thornhill or Rhiwbina. Cardiff seems sterile by comparison when viewed from Penarth. I'll try to find some photos of Bute/Llandaf/Pontcanna and also Roath must be worth a mention; around 3 million visitors last year
Peace :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Hey guys, I've just returned from a 2 week holiday... What's happend to the thread?! Have I missed any news in the last 2 weeks?

chaps, most of the stuff from the thread is on skyscrapernews if you look, also some new project renderings i dont think have been posted here yet

Oh, I didn't realise you'd put some new renderings up, I've just taken a look and I noticed the new ones for celestia. Shame the developers of the glass needle aren't forthcoming with renders though.

Slightly off topic but is there any news on the sports village? Has construction begun yet?

The main reason for my interest is becasue i'm a Cardiff Devils fan and are keen to see them play in the new arena (how long will the arena take to build?).

I think it'll be a while before a permanent new arena is built. They're going to build a temporary one first before knocking down the current one to build St David's 2, then they'll build a new one.

Just a quick note on the new Assembly building... I drove past it today and am dissappointed to say that it looks very plain and un-inspiring, it is much like a large conservatory.

Where has everyone gone? This thread hasn't died has it?!

I'm here! Only got back from NYC a few days ago so haven't done much posting at the moment. I think this threads problem is there isn't any news on the needle :) That's what I really want to see rise.

Yeah I'm here but i've been quite busy and there hasn't been any news on here.

I'm still here also! this is my 'glass needle so far' web page...

http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/glassneedlesofar.swf

I'm keeping a keen eye on progress so please visit it every so often to see what going on at the glass needle site! :)

If you check out my map of Cardiff City centre I intend having many more photos of the city centre projects, click on the camera icon by altolusso to see the type of thing I'm gonna have for many buildings..

This is a flash animation so be sure to 'right click' to zoom right in!! This is the map..

http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/

Nice one, the map's got a lot more detailed since i've last looked at it.

thats a great map pablo, keep it up

as it happens i'lll be up in cardiff at the end of the month. i'll have a couple of hours to kill after a meeting and i thought i'd have a look around.

should i stay in town and see whats what or head off down to the bay and have a scout around there?

its a good year since i was last there so i suspect everythings changed helluva lot.

thats a great map pablo, keep it up

as it happens i'lll be up in cardiff at the end of the month. i'll have a couple of hours to kill after a meeting and i thought i'd have a look around.

should i stay in town and see whats what or head off down to the bay and have a scout around there?

its a good year since i was last there so i suspect everythings changed helluva lot.

If you want to shop, you're better off staying in the centre. But if you want just a general wander round, looking at stuff, maybe a drink in a nice bar then I'd go for the Bay.
Despite living very near Cardiff I very rarely go to Cardiff bay. And when I do it always feel quite special down there....almost like being on holiday :-S. Generally just wander around with some friends and take it all in. Of course this is a far more pleasent thing to do when the weather is nice so that should probably govern your descision as well.

If it's been a year since you were in Cardiff then it doesn't matter whether you stay in the centre or go to the bay, enough will have changed to keep you happy. It depends what you want to do though. The Millennium centre has opened since you were last in Cardiff, it's certainly worth a look and you may also want to see the assembly building U/C - it's almost finished now. However, there has also been a lot built in the centre over the last year as well but you can't go in most of them but that's ok if you're happy just wandering. It also depends on how much time you have, as you know Cardiff isn't very big, you may have long enough to do both but if you're pushed for time and you have to choose between them I'd probably go for the bay - see if you can do a tour of the millennium centre and have a coffee at mermaid quay or something.

Hey guys, this could be interesting... http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/capitalcity/news/tm_objectid=15870840%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=anger%2das%2dbakery%2dstudent%2dflats%2dgets%2dgo%2dahead-name_page.html.

Does anyone have any further details of this development? Whether it'll be high rise etc.

here is what the development will look like when completed on newport rd
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/sanstiss/development_main.jpg

Oh and you might be interested in this link of pictures i took from the top of Eastgate house building.
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=246884

Great pics! from Eastgate house, shows city road in all its splendour!! :) loved the other shots also - not a bad old place eh!!

In reply to El Supremo - don't get to excited it's not another Pellet street, however although the echo got it wrong (how unusual) unless changed it's gonna be varying heights upto 7 storeys. Still I'm pleased coz I live a stones throw away and the old bakery is an eyesore - Y'see I'm more of an IMBY than a NIMBY! :)

Back to Pellet street I've noticed that the crane is down, which I guess is something of a relief coz the students will probably be arriving in a week or two!! are you watching Wembley!! :)

Any new news out there??... what's happening about the two new buildings next to altolusso? when are they gonna start the sports cafe? how come only two men and a dog are on the case for the demolition job for the glass needle? when are they gonna rip that central square eyesore down and what's going up to replace it? any new rumours/news on that building behind the capitol centre?

Finally I read the other day that buildings upto 14 storeys are going to be started in 2006 as phase 225ish of the Century Wharf development.

And finally finally is Andrew in Singapore??

here is what the development will look like when completed on newport rd
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/sanstiss/development_main.jpg

Oh and you might be interested in this link of pictures i took from the top of Eastgate house building.
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=246884

That's a good photo. I'd like to update the building info on skyscrapernews.com but I need the developer's name and who to credit the render to (if different from developer). Also any other info would be most helpful. This is a residential conversion isn't it and the original plans for offices fell through. Personally I think it looks ok, simple design and looks a little like the aspect. I think it's a shame that the original glass recladding for the office development didn't go ahead though. I liked the all glass clad design. Is this a height increase by the way? The render makes it look taller than it currently is.

Oh yeah, and another thing. I found a news story and another render of the aspers casino planned for the sports village. Same render as before but it looks a bit clearer.

http://www.aspers.co.uk/Press_releases/aspers_cardiff_090705.pdf

Well if you count the number of floors on this picture:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b353/sanstiss/development_main.jpg

Its only 16 stories high, but if you look at this picture:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/susananstiss/cardiff170805019.jpg
its around 22 stories high??? so i think they have updated the design. I got the picture off the citylofts website (web address on side of building and pic above lol).

admiral house isnt listed on skyscrapernews is it?

It is listed, but not as Admiral House. I'll have to change the name. At the moment it's listed as 40 Newport Road.

By the way, that's one hell of a height increase if it is 21/22 stories as it looks on the photo. I'm not sure it is though because if you look closer the scaffolding levels and the actual floor levels don't seem to align so I think there are more levels of scaffolding than the actual number of floors. It still looks like quite a significant height increase though. Aha, I see on the photo there is a website, maybe I an get the info to update ssnews from that.

already asked the person i know about it andrew.

It states on the forum that it's a 15 storey building that will have 2 floors added... so that, by my calculations, will make it a 17 storey building lol.

storeys or floors? storeys doesnt include the ground floor.

storeys or floors? storeys doesnt include the ground floor.

It says storeys on the website... (i think) lol.

The original building was 14 floors so the website's wrong unless they're counting a basement floor. Besides, the render shows 16 floors. I'd go with 16 floors, it seems most realistic.

Here's the building as I've uploaded it however I named it "40 Newport Road" because that was going to be the name of the original office development that never happened.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=967

On a photo I've put on there it's obvious the floor count is 14 not 15 as well.

already asked the person i know about it andrew.
You have the details of the project? Are you going to update the building page or do you want me to?

andrew. i dont have the details, i know people working on it. ive emailed the p.r for details rather than the project architect.

ok no probs, sounds good. Maybe they'll supply some nice big juicy renders.

went down to the tube (tourist info.) in the bay yest. and saw on the big map that there are models on the bit of scrub land next to the tube (other side of the dock). Looks like more apartments, and mostly low rise, id say about 10 stories max.

Do you mean this?
http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/marketing/harbourauthority/home/general_images/roath.jpg

yeah thats the one, where you get it from?

gm+ad (www.murraydunloparchitects.com) architects press release...

Dragon bridge

Roath Basin Bridge, Cardiff

Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop Architects have submitted their design proposals for a new road and pedestrian bridge over the south lock crossing to the Roath Basin in Cardiff Bay.

The Scottish architects were invited to submit design proposals by the Welsh Development Agency in competition with three other international practices.

The new bridge will form a fundamental part of the Roath Basin South Masterplan, the completion of which will eventually conclude the regeneration of the Cardiff Bay Area.

"The bridge will sit almost alongside the new Welsh Assembly Building and near the recently completed Millennium Centre " says Gordon Murray " so it will be a significant structure and highly visible, symbolising the redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay Area"

Alan Dunlop adds "It will have to accommodate vehicular traffic, obviously and pedestrians but be so much more. It has to be immediately recognisable throughout the world............... but be specific to the bay and to Wales"


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/003.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/CAM6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/CAM23.jpg

==============

Looks good, sort of organic/boat feel.

I really like it! It's really recognisable too.

OHHHH, I like it! That's a pretty cool bridge. It's exactly what's needed. Hopefully they'll open the area up to pedestrians to walk to the barrage once they've built this bridge.
The only potential problem I can immediately see is that with the new bridge that road has the potential to become quite busy which could cause the area to be cut in half. It shouldn't be a problem though so long as there are sufficient crossings / traffic calming measures.

yeah thats the one, where you get it from?
It's a render of the Roath Basin Southside masterplan from the Cardiff Harbour Authority website:
http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/marketing/harbourauthority/home/future_projects.htm

Only problem i see is building a bridge there would be cutting off that dock so ships wont be able to go in an out, like HMS Cardiff that was there a few weeks ago (is it still there). Will this bridge be able to open to let ships into the dock? Or is there another enterance?

That entry point to the Roath Basin has been redundant for many years. Ships that are docked there go through the port which is still directly linked to the sea rather than the bay.

Some news on the demolition in preparation for the glass needle... AT LAST they're beginnig to kick s**t out of the old buildings!! It looks like they have finished the sensitive removal of asbestos and are now starting to go for it!! when I went past today a big mechanical beast was smashing, ripping and grabbing one of the old structures so I guess progress should now soon be very visible. It's gonna be great when they are flattened, cleared and actual construction starts. It's not a large area so it'll be intense activity given that it's not just the central glass needle but appartments around it upto 16 floors!! :)

That's great news, I was in Cardiff last Wednesdays and didn't see anything notable going on. Got to catch a train to Manchester this wednesday though, I shall have another look then :). I'm glad those things are going they were so stupidly ugly.

Is the 'water tower-type thing' next to it going to be torn down? Or at least given a good tidy up, it really needs it.

There's no connection between the bay and the basin, crazy .......The bay is fresh water the basin is sea water. The lock has been removed and the bridge at the other end allows the ship's into the basin :)

From the pics the connection has been reopened. Won't there be a difference in the water levels between the two and will the fact that one is fresh water and one is sea water be a problem? It'll be good if the bridge is high enough to allow small boats under though as that means that the housing at Adventurers Quay and Junction Lock could have boat moorings! It might increase the desireability and value of the flats.

Oh, actually when I looked at the pics again I noticed the presence of lock gates. Now it makes more sense. I thought it was crazy that they'd closed off this connection to the bay completely, it'll be great to see it reopened even if it's just for small boats.

I must say, I REALLY like this bridge. The more I look at it the more I like it! I think it's pretty much perfect for the area! Except.... looking at the bottom drawing here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/001.jpg
The bottom of the bridge looks very low in comparison to the boats on the same drawing, obviously the ones with masts can't go under it but if they raised the bottom just a fraction then the slightly larger ones without masts could pass under as well.

Good point about the desirability of boats being able to travel from the bay into the roath basin, but surely this could only be done via a lock by the new bridge unless the roath basin was blocked from the other entrance and they make that all freshwater?

I always wondered whether they were going to develop that land.

there is now a level body of fresh water in the bay, the basin is still connected to the sea so there can never be a link made...unless you want the bay to return to being tidal, which would be a pity in my view.

If the basin were to be fresh water, then you would lose the connection with the sea, obviously.

The height of the bridge is governed by the maximum pitch allowed to get pedestrians and disabled people and cars across. It's quite a short span , so if you wanted to make it higher and still meet regulations you would have to start to rise around the millenium centre and end about half a mile down the other side.

This is what I also thought at first but I looked again at the renders and noticed the presence of lock gates:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/gleegieboy/CAM6.jpg
In this render the lock gates are very apparent, the ones closest to us are open, the ones further along are closed.

The height of the bridge is governed by the maximum pitch allowed to get pedestrians and disabled people and cars across. It's quite a short span , so if you wanted to make it higher and still meet regulations you would have to start to rise around the millenium centre and end about half a mile down the other side.
Or simply have slightly shorter spikes on the bottom, lol. Alhough I'm not an architect and I guess it's a little more complicated than that. Also, the bridge looks a little higher above the water in the renders than in the drawing. I'm sure such issues have been thought of, I'd be surprised if it was overlooked, it would be a little silly to put lock gates in and have a bridge too low to get boats under! lol

.........there has to be a lock gate or a barrier to seperate the sea water in the tidal basin from the fresh water in the level bay but only one. It will be forever shut and the two bodies of water forever seperate.........unless you want to lose the level body of water in the bay or the connection with the sea.

But there is no reason why the stretch of water now opened up by this proposal cannot be accessed by some river craft, and some boats allowed to tie up under the bridge, though obviously not the large masted yaughts.

Yes, you could shorten the connections below but there is something very satisfying about the compostion as a whole, we think, when it bellies out..........like a dragon or the hull of a ship. You have to ask yourself , do you make the change to allow ships that are a bit larger into the short stretch of water underneath and in so doing lose the satisfying shape....it's subjective but we thought not?

I hope that answers your questions

I agree, I love the design of the bridge as it stands, it was just a thought about the size of the boats going underneath. The only boats that would need to get underneath are small pleasure boats anyway as those are the ones that will be using the bay, besides any larger boats could go the other way through the port and out to sea. The dragon or hull of a ship comparison is very in context with Cardiff bay in my opinion; Welsh dragons and Cardiff Bay's maritime history. I also love the choice of materials. As much as I love the designs of other recent bridges eg. Gateshead Millennium Bridge, the one thing they all have in common is that they are all (or at least almost all) white! I really like the use of wood in this design. It'll nicely tie in with the board walks on the other side of the bay.

Checkout the glass needle progress here http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/glassneedlesofar.swf

mind you that was a few days ago! those old buildings are being dismantled pretty rapidly now! it won't be long (surely within a month to 6 weeks) when the construction party move onto the site and we can see this long awaited glass needle start to appear! :)

ad - i personally love it, you and GM always do good bridge designs :) looking at the design it looks almost like a marine exoskeleton or rib cage. im not an engineer but i assume they provide vertical and lateral stability? how do you oppose torsional movement, is that done by the cables running between the ribs? why did you use the wood, does it have great structural qualities for what you wanted or is it simply showy in a more environmental get down to the earth type way?

well......we wanted to create a structure that could be indentified with the bay and Roath Basin, something influenced by and particular to its location.

If you look around, there are a number of buildings recently created but very few, in fact only two, you could say had any characteristics that were connected to their environment or their location. Most could be built anywhere.

The bay is now a level body of water but on the edges are remnants of structures left over from when it was tidal and a working port: Timber structures, that supported jetties or rigs and where previously boats tied up, rise from the edge of the bay and lock gates, that controled the level of water from the adjoining rivers and ships entering the bay.

The lock gates are made from large chunks of timber and steel, the steel is now rusting.that's where the idea of using timber came, to be clad in parts with corten. However, corten cannot be used in a salt water location, we found out from a previous job, so copper was substituted. The timber on the bridge will weather to a grey , like the existing structures , the copper will patinate, some parts will go green but that's ok, it will age well.

The Norwegian Church , now an arts centre is also made of timber and is simple, pared and rational and also quite beautiful, a "look at me" masted white steel structure would have been wrong alongside that.

If you do your research you find that Cardiff and Newport have been ports and entry points to Wales from the 10th Century, when the Vikings came and then the Portugese, whose ships were called Dragon Ships. The idea of suggesting also a dragon form, was worked up at the same time.....but you have to be careful how far you push that without it sounding twee and maybe patronising. However, you can read other things into it, which is good and encouraging, like an eco skeleton, bird and fish.all excellent metaphors

That's about it, other than to say it's quite a short span but to do it all in timber would have been impossible to take the loads ..........the timber section would have been huge, so underneath the copper cladding are two steel beams which take the traffic loadings, the tension wires are to keep the structure slender but handle the movement of the bridge in the various directions.

That's brilliant, thanks for the info, it's obvious a lot of thought has gone into the design of this bridge; it's very in context; it relates well to the city's history.
Interesting bit of history about the dragonships, I like it!
http://www.keithsheridan.com/images/dragonship-bwbig.jpg http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~vikink/assets/photos/Dragonship_props.jpg

If you look around, there are a number of buildings recently created but very few, in fact only two, you could say had any characteristics that were connected to their environment or their location. Most could be built anywhere.

I can think of one of these; the Wales Millennium Centre. It was specifically designed to be 'Welsh' with it's different coloured slate, wood and copper cladding:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/slideshows/images/wmc_architect/words.jpg http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/slideshows/images/wmc_architect/slate.jpg
http://www.martin-audio.com/data/images/uploaded/red%20dragon1-575W_1.jpg
(Images found on Google)

However, which is the other building you consider to connect to it's environment?

When I went to Glasgow last year I saw Spectrum House, the Radisson Hotel and the Sentinal (still under construction when I was there) and I was extremely impressed with them. They stood out and when I got back home I went on the Glasgow forum to find out who they were designed by. I didn't really know about any of your other designs though and I've just been looking on your website and some of the others are quite impressive as well, in particular 110 Bath St atands out.
Though not high-rise, these four buildings in particular stand out and make quite a difference to Glasgow. When I went one thing that particularly impressed me was the architecture both old and new, there are some truely cracking modern designs as well as some brilliant rare examples of older styles like Makintosh's Art Noveau and a number of art deco buildings which are not found in most British cities.
In Cardiff we have some wonderful examples of old architecture and most of the new buildings are nice. They're generally smart and they look good but there are not many that really impress me. In my opinion there are few which can be classed as truely new or innovative architecture. Altolusso was a bit of a missed opportunity in my opinion, it has an interesting shape but the cladding sucks as does the cladding on Landmark Place.
The Wood Street tower will be a pretty nice tower, another nice design but it's also a fairly standard glass clad tower.
The new Assembly building will look good but it could have been built anywhere. It's a typical Rogers design, I personally don't see anything amazing about it.
St David's Hotel and the former NCM building (I can't remember what company occupies it now) are quite unique and they both create a nice shape on the skyline with their roof features. The Millennium centre's design is certainly unique and relatively controversial with some loving it and others hating it. It uses traditional materials but in fairly unconventional ways. I don't think it's a pretty building but it's certainly interesting and that's what I like about it.

It seems that they're reluctant to have some really unique designs in the city centre which is a shame in my opinion, I'd like to see something really interesting in the centre. Maybe GM+AD can give us something unique. All we need is a developer with plenty of cash and the guts to let the architects come up with something interesting.

Arg! Where is everyone, you're letting the Cardiff thread fall off the front page!

Are there any renders of the sports village in the bay? Also, some information and renders(if they exist) of the St Davids Centre 2 also whats happening to the old Ice Rink when it demolished.
Also there is supposed to be a new footbridge from penarth Marina to Cardiff bay being built....Any news/renders on that?

Still no new renders of the sports village, just these drawings which are old:
http://www.cardiffharbour.com/home/general_images/sports1.jpg

http://www.cardiffharbour.com/home/general_images/sports2.gif
from the Cardiff Harbour Authority website.

The only relatively new render we've seen is of the hotel and casino complex that's meant to form a part of the development which I can't find at the moment.

Abit of a random question. Does anyone know what's happening with the Central Hotel? It seems to have been a burnt out wreck for ages now....Is it going to be refurbished, or torn down and something new built? And how soon?

There are ongoing plans for the Central Hotel site, unfortunately I think the old building is due to be demolished. We haven't seen any renders or drawings of what this is going to look like but the design council for wales has done two design reviews. Reading them gives you a good idea of what the new building here might look like, you just need a bit of imagination:

1st review 02/03/05
http://www.dcfw.org/media/reports/CentralHotelCardiff.pdf

2nd review 17/05/05
http://www.dcfw.org/media/reports/CentralHotelCardiff2ndreview.pdf

Keep a constant look at this website it's pretty good for keeping up to date on what's going on in Wales:
http://www.dcfw.org/

Design review for the new Central library:
http://www.dcfw.org/media/reports/SD2Library-May2005.pdf

A While ago in the Echo there was an image of a new sports cafe there, with apartments above. Had a render of it, and from what it said in the article it sounded like it has been given the go ahead? and from the render it doesnt look like the old building will be retained. Also dont know if anyone has noticed but they are building a new pontoon in bute park next to the castle for the boat trips, and one of the buildings for the new glass needle has completely gone. Does anyone know what is being built between st marys street and westgate street? Alsoi there are tours of the old librarys tiled main entrance, and there is an exhibition of the St Davids 2 project in the set of buildings next to the oxford arcade, open between 12-2pm.

I haven't seen the render of the sports cafe that you mentioned. Can you post it?

This is what's going in between Westgate Street and St Mary's Street. Mid-rise block of flats, looks quite nice, in keeping with the rest of the street and I like how they've incorporated the old art deco taxi garage entrance into the design:
http://www.acefolio.com/assets/arch/147/images/234/5_large.jpg
Website: http://www.aww-uk.com/ProjectPage.asp?name=mixed+use&pgno=1&intprojectid=234

I really like Westgate Street but it needs a few more developments with active frontages to fill in the gaps and give it some life. It's a shame that a street with some of the city's best architecture is often a bit empty when there are no games on at the Millennium Stadium, it sometimes feels a bit too much like a back street than the main city street that it should be.

I completly forgot there was something going up behind the Queens Vaults....It's been too long since I've been there. It's still the best pub in Cardiff though :). :cheers:

On Queen Street they are redesigning the entrance to the shopping centre, getting rid of the old horse-shoe shaped entrance and making it flat. Are they going to do this with the other entrance to the shopping centre with a horse-shoe entrance - by the cathedral?

I don't think so. I think it's a shame they're doing it on Queen's Street. I'm not impressed with the design of the new entrance, it will be worse than it was before. There was nothing wrong with the old entance, they're blatantly only doing it to increase floor space for shops in the centre. I think the horse shoe shaped frontage made for a good focal point on Queen's Street and although there was no extra space at street level it still felt more of a public meeting point than the rest of the street, now it will feel more enclosed and less of a focal point. A shame in my opinion.

By the way, before I left to come to Singapore I noticed that they were building a Primark superstore or something on the site of the old Dixons XL but I didn't see any renders or drawings, does anyone have any pics of what it's going to look like?

I don't think so. I think it's a shame they're doing it on Queen's Street. I'm not impressed with the design of the new entrance, it will be worse than it was before. There was nothing wrong with the old entance, they're blatantly only doing it to increase floor space for shops in the centre. I think the horse shoe shaped frontage made for a good focal point on Queen's Street and although there was no extra space at street level it still felt more of a public meeting point than the rest of the street, now it will feel more enclosed and less of a focal point. A shame in my opinion.

By the way, before I left to come to Singapore I noticed that they were building a Primark superstore or something on the site of the old Dixons XL but I didn't see any renders or drawings, does anyone have any pics of what it's going to look like?

I agree about the entrance on Queen Street, it's a shame it will end up looking just like the rest of the street. Although, I think it might be partially to do with people using the section below street level to sleep in, as well as litter etc getting built up in the area. But primirly it is to add floor space, which is a shame. No idea about primark....I've not been into the centre of the city (further than the station) for quite some time :(.

I've just been taking a look at the website for the new Assembly building. Having only seen the outside before (and only half complete at that) I was not all that impressed with it initially and the renders really didn't help either. However, I have just been looking at the photos of the building's progress on the website and I've changed my mind. From the photos it looks brilliant! I love the extensive use of wood, slate and glass, they really work well and the shape looks great from the inside as well. This is one building I'm gonna have to take a look around once I get back from Singapore.

http://www.wales.gov.uk/assemblybuilding/pictures/sept05-02.jpg

http://www.wales.gov.uk/assemblybuilding/pictures/sept05-04.jpg

http://www.wales.gov.uk/assemblybuilding/pictures/sept05-05.jpg

More pics on the website:
http://www.wales.gov.uk/assemblybuilding/pictures/index.htm

Yeah, I've been meaning to get down the bay and look at everything down there sometime. It's been ages since I had a proper wander down there. The Welsh Assembly looks good, but not stunning IMO. It's good enough though :).

Since I've only seen the exterior half finished I'm going to reserve judgement till I see it finished but I have a feeling the most impressive part will be the interior. I have a feeling that I will not be amazed by the exterior even when finished. Having said that I do think it'll probably look pretty nice, just not amazing.

the cross bracing exposed right at the entrance is a puzzle to me but the welsh assembly building will win the stirling prize in 2006........you heard it here first :)

I like your prediction, it will be awesome to see a building in Cardiff get the stirling prize. Maybe it will prompt better architecture across the whole city. So far there are a lot of nice buildings but few excelent buildings in Cardiff, I'd love to see some more... hint hint ...go on, you know you want to ;)

One question though, what do you mean about the cross bracing being exposed at the entrance? Do you mean the diagonal bars coming down from the roof on either side of the steps in the render?

http://www.wales.gov.uk/assemblybuilding/pictures/05%20Approaching%20from%20Pierhead%20Building.jpg

In the article on the Cardiff libary that you posted further up this page, it mentioned that it had been deemed to expensive to try to get an 'Excellent' rating for the building. But they are hoping to achieve 'very good'. I'm a little disppointed by that, a building in such a prominate place in the redevelopment should have the extra effort made to make it really outstanding, and a landmark for Cardiff.

Anyone heard anything about the Roath Basin Bridge yet?

I have to agree with crazyevildude. I was expecting something spectacular, iconic, daring even! but it all looks a little boring to me*sigh*

I wouldn't go as far to say it's boring, it is a nice building...But it is a little disappointing considering, as you said, it could have been truly iconic.

what's boring, not the assembly building surely?

Bloody hell mate, I've never seen a roof as sensual or dynamic in my life. Have a look again at the photograph Andrew has posted and tell me where else you can see something like that. It looks like it's alive.

Roath Basin has'nt been announced yet.

No, I think he's refering to the design of the new library building not the assembly building. Yes I agree with you though, the more I look at those photos the more I'm getting to like the assembly building. It's certainly on the top of my must see buildings for when I get back home from s'pore.

In the article on the Cardiff libary that you posted further up this page, it mentioned that it had been deemed to expensive to try to get an 'Excellent' rating for the building. But they are hoping to achieve 'very good'. I'm a little disppointed by that, a building in such a prominate place in the redevelopment should have the extra effort made to make it really outstanding, and a landmark for Cardiff.
Crazyevildude, the rating is not refering to the design quality it's a rating to judge the environmental sustainability of the building. They were saying that certain features like photovoltaic cells and a sedum roof had to be cut out due to cost constraints therefore the rating for the building's environmental sustainability would not achieve 'excellent'.

How does BREEAM work?
BREEAM assesses the performance of buildings in the following areas:
• management: overall management policy, commissioning site management and procedural issues
• energy use: operational energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) issues
• health and well-being: indoor and external issues affecting health and well-being
• pollution: air and water pollution issues
• transport: transport-related CO2 and location-related factors
• land use: greenfield and brownfield sites
• ecology: ecological value conservation and enhancement of the site
• materials: environmental implication of building materials, including life-cycle impacts
• water: consumption and water efficiency
http://www.breeam.org/index.html

Looks like activity down Ye Olde Sports Village is imminent - check-out the story here (http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/capitalcity/news/tm_objectid=16193247%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=revealed%2d%2d%2dthe%2dnew%2dempire%2dpool-name_page.html)

And this is a digi pic of the accompanying photo minus the 400ft observation tower.

http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/sportsvillpic.jpg

Upto 34 storeys eh! we'll ave a bit of that!!

Thanks for clearing the libary thing up Andrew....I feel a little silly now :( lol.

The Sports village sounds awesome, I can't wait to see this being done. And I'll get a good view from the Cogan Spur bridge whenever I go to the city centre (by car):).

bloody 'ell! That's scary!

OH - MY GOD!!!! Does anyone have any pictures of the tower? How tall (in metres/feet) will the other towers be???? What capacity will the indoor arena be?

This is very exiting indeed, Cardiff will certainly now have a really good skyline!

wow! looks good, 34 floors of residential should be about 110m - 120m

Cool, pretty good designs too :)

how much is 400ft in meters? Will it be a simmiler kinda thing to the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth?

/\ about 120m, spinnaker is 110m.

400ft is 120metre. Roughly the same hieght as a 34 storey building. Hmm...I think it should be higher - maybe 500ft so it stands out abit. It wont look special if there is a building as tall as it near it.

I think they've said 400ft plus so maybe they want to keep the exact height a secret or maybe they havn't decided how tall it should be yet... I wouldn't read into the height being exactly 400ft.

But anyway, how great is this, we get no news for ages and suddenly we get news of 4 huge towers! We'll probably start to forget about the 'glass needle' soon lol.

Bloody hell, that's awesome! I wonder if these three towers are in addtion to the tower shown in the casino design. If so that would be doubly awesome! lol Were gonna have quite a cluster here, the city centre is going to have to really get building if it wants to avoid getting beaten by the bay! Think about it, we've got the midrises plus the 19 story tower at Prospect Place, maybe the casino hotel tower plus these three, that's gonna be quite a skyline!
I'll add those towers to the Cardiff section of skyscrapernews after my monday mid term exam, till then i'm quite busy!
I wonder if gothic can get hold of some high-res renders for us (and for skyscrapernews of course)...

Here's the viewing tower:

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icwales/sep2005/5/2/0004BDE8-44BD-133D-8A9C0C01AC1BF814.jpg


It's like a giant funfair ride - the platform slides up and down the tower. Rather fun.

Apologies for the radio silence recently, by the way. Broken computer, and I can't get onto this site in work!

Oh, and it says in this article that the council is about to agree a deal with an American property developer, which sounds to me like it's independent of the casino. In which case the apartments should be built anyway. The observation tower would definitley depend on the casino going ahead.

I do like the apartment designs, but I've seen so many different renderings of the sport's village that I'm not holding my breath on these being definitive!

Hi Dai! Nice to see you back again, shame about the broken computer, hope it didn't cost too much to fix. Observation tower looks cool, I always thought the sports village would benefit from such a thing.

The article says the designs for the pool have been released, have you seen that as well? Or is it available online?

Isnt that the observation tower that Footloose said they hoped to build in Manchester?
I remember them saying they would select one UK city to build it in. I guess they chose Cardiff in the end.

wow this look great for Cardiff! I will be coming home for a few weeks in December and have not been home for 2.5 years so I am expecting quite a few changes, cant wait!
Also the Casino will be good for Cardiff and I am happy that Kerry Packer is behind the development, the Packers are a very wealthy and influential family in Australia and they own Crown Casino in Melbourne.
Crown Casino is the nicer of casinos between the two rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Sydney Casino (Star City) is a little tacky and a bit Vegas, but Melbourne is a sophisticated and elegant space with a rich interior and gleaming chandeliers, you can view this at www.crowncasino.com.au and www.crowntowers.com.au. The whole point in me telling you all this, as I am hoping this is what Cardiff could expect, I know Packer is not a fan of Star City and turned down to co-own and went into Melbourne and Perth, so if he has his way Cardiff can expect an awsome, glamorous and respected casino!

who is the architect/developer for that 400 ft tall project.

who is the architect/developer for that 400 ft tall project.

Who knows? I suspect it's purely conceptual at this stage; probably some local firm has put some designs together for the council. The observation tower is likely to be just an idea on paper unless Cardiff gets the casino.

then i cant find out anything. what about the residential towers?

are you talking about the observation tower? It was proposed for manchester a while back. The architects are Marks Barfield.

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ContentResources/509.$plit/C_17_Articles_151774_BodyWeb_Detail_0_Image.jpg

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/151/151774_the_high_pod.html

I assume he's talking about the whole development so he can contact them for information and if possible renders for skyscrapernews.com, I'm going to do a search for some other news stories and press releases from the council to see if they give any more details. I should have a little more time now since I've had my mid term Chinese test (bloody difficult, I only knew about 60 of the 100 characters I was supposed to learn).

The council are being useless, there are no press releases about this at all on the Council's website and I can't believe they're planning this huge project that will completely transform Cardiff and they still only have this crappy website with 3 years old information:
http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/sportsvillage/sports_village_page1.htm
Get your acts together pr people in Cardiff Council, it's no wonder the public don't get excited about projects in British cities when the authorities can't even be bothered to keep them informed let alone actively promote such a project.

Totally agree with you andrew, in the echo it mentioned the £1.2bn sports village and as you said the council have that joke of a website - bloody disgrace I'd rather they had nothing! Still we're used to this by now and I guess we'll have to wait, I'm looking forward to them starting the pool though as this will surely be the start (at last) of all these projects.

There's no information available I suspect because there is no information. Cardiff Council are in talks with 'an American property developer' to build the apartments; but I imagine until a deal is signed we're not going to find out who they are or what the final designs are. According to the BBC website today the obs tower has been proposed by Aspers - the casino partners. Whether or not it has anything to do with the Manchester proposal I don't know.
The truth is a lot of this project still depends on the casino getting the go ahead. Since we won't find this out until 2007 there's probably not a lot of point in looking for final detailed designs and the Council website is as detailed as we'll get. Nobody knows any more detail!
The earliest developments will be the apartments and the pool - the pool being partially funded by the apartments. An announcement here is expected in the next month or so but I'd be surprised if detailed plans were available anywhere before then.

Fair comment Dai, but I still feel the website could be more up to date, considering the pool IS going to happen and presumably the ice rink? and the general ambitions for the area. In the meantime news on those apartments should be pretty exciting - that'll certainly keep us lot focused on the area!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4304498.stm - A link to the BBC article that DaiB refered to (I assume).

I don't get this super casino thing. Only one super casino for the whole coutry, I think that's a little silly. Perhaps one super-casino for each region. Then all the places that want one can have one. The only reason I can think of for only allowing one is that they want to test the water. See what effects a super-casino has on crime and gambling habbits before allowing them to be built everywhere. It seems abit over-cautous to me though. Even one super-casino per region seems a little unfair, what about competition and monopoly laws?

Surely Wales should be regarded as an area entitled to its own super casino. I mean we've got people ready to invest some £700m in one! how can that much investment with all the tourist and development benefits not get approval? still it'll be a fair while yet before anything happens, frustrating isn't it!!

If the whole of the UK is only getting one super casino then I don't see them picking Cardiff. They'd be competing against the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and tacky entertainmet capitol, Blackpool. Is London included in this?
Thing is they keep refering to it as a regional super casino, surely if there's only going to be one in the whole UK then it's more of a national supercasino unless what tehey really mean is one supercasino per region...

I'm a little torn by this one though, a super casino would be brilliant for providing the financing necessary to make the sports village awesome and those designs would look amazing, however I'm not at all sure I want Cardiff to be dominated by a casino. It's a small city and while a supercasino would have a minimal effect on a big city like London or even Birmingham's culture and lifestyle, it would have a pretty big effect on Cardiff. While the benefits would be much more significant in Cardiff and could give the economy a huge boost, so would be the disbenefits... I'm no fan of casinos but if it gets the sports village built... well I just hope the council have considered the pros and cons extremely seriously.

well......we wanted to create a structure that could be indentified with the bay and Roath Basin, something influenced by and particular to its location.

If you look around, there are a number of buildings recently created but very few, in fact only two, you could say had any characteristics that were connected to their environment or their location. Most could be built anywhere.

The bay is now a level body of water but on the edges are remnants of structures left over from when it was tidal and a working port: Timber structures, that supported jetties or rigs and where previously boats tied up, rise from the edge of the bay and lock gates, that controled the level of water from the adjoining rivers and ships entering the bay.

The lock gates are made from large chunks of timber and steel, the steel is now rusting.that's where the idea of using timber came, to be clad in parts with corten. However, corten cannot be used in a salt water location, we found out from a previous job, so copper was substituted. The timber on the bridge will weather to a grey , like the existing structures , the copper will patinate, some parts will go green but that's ok, it will age well.

The Norwegian Church , now an arts centre is also made of timber and is simple, pared and rational and also quite beautiful, a "look at me" masted white steel structure would have been wrong alongside that.

If you do your research you find that Cardiff and Newport have been ports and entry points to Wales from the 10th Century, when the Vikings came and then the Portugese, whose ships were called Dragon Ships. The idea of suggesting also a dragon form, was worked up at the same time.....but you have to be careful how far you push that without it sounding twee and maybe patronising. However, you can read other things into it, which is good and encouraging, like an eco skeleton, bird and fish.all excellent metaphors

That's about it, other than to say it's quite a short span but to do it all in timber would have been impossible to take the loads ..........the timber section would have been huge, so underneath the copper cladding are two steel beams which take the traffic loadings, the tension wires are to keep the structure slender but handle the movement of the bridge in the various directions.

Whoo. Very impressive.

Thats one expensive bridge there fella, and I think Gothic makes a very good point about the torsional deflection.. I'd be surprised if they can get it to work with glu-lam struts of the size indicated. I take it the bridge will be a box girder with the glu-lam struts cantilevering off it. A very simple way of getting more efficiency out of that structure would be to tie the tops of the highest glu-lam 'arms' across the top of the bridge deck. Just my tuppenys worth.

I think the Casino is a great idea, it will obviously have an effect on Cardiff, but in my opinion most of it would be positive.
I am from Cardiff but now live in Sydney, and we have cities the size of Cardiff and smaller with huge Casinos and the negative impact is not so great, namely cities like Parramatta, Hobart and Canberra.
I suppose the one issue being that if there is only one "super casino" in the UK then the influx maybe great. The difference here is that casinos and pokey (gaming) rooms are very common and actually every pub in Australia has a gaming room of some sort.

I'm sure the council have considered the pros and cons but there's always the danger that they're so despirate to see the sports village built that they grab any source of funding available without fully considering the effect it has on the city. I'm not against a super casino per se but I remain sceptical. It has to be considered very carefully and it's implementation should be well considered, it has to be tasteful. I will never forgive the council if Cardiff fills up with las vegas style developments. With the development of a super casino there's the possibility that the city will be flooded with proposals for smaller casino developments. I want a guarantee from the council that they will not allow the development of a super casino to spawn the development of a wave of other gambling and tacky 'entertainment' centres. Such things are not suitable in Cardiff and would ruin the city completely. Keep them confined to Blackpool.

I have always thought that Cardiff needed an observation tower, but from what i saw in the design i was dissapointed. I lived in Portsmouth for 4 years and was always behind the Spinnaker towers development, as it is quite a unique design and lets people know that they are in portsmouth, the same as the Eiffel tower does for Paris. This design looks a bit uninspired to me, and like was said earlier, cardiff needs excellent archetecture, not just good. Hopefully they will also build a rail link to the sports village, perhaps we will see the revival of the mono rail? lol

Monorail .... Hmmmmm, we have one in Sydney built for the 200 years celebrations of Australia in 1988. It is expensive, sooooo slow and only really used by tourists, but this is due to the route it takes and doesnt really take you to any major hub from a residential area, just links the harbour, city and china town. I hope if Ultra is still considered for Cardiff they do a great job.
I remember years ago, when I did a project in school with the Cardiff Bay development that they were looking at putting trams from the city to harbour, now that seemed a better option, but then that was during the times of Zaha Hadid's opera house, now that was striking!

what can I say Jerv, we have some of the world's best engineers on our team.........and hey, if it's ok by them :)

If we lose it to a masted, steel calatrava rip off, with sections that look like they could span the width of the bay , well I'd say there was a lack of ambition evident somewhere

what can I say Jerv, we have some of the world's best engineers on our team.........and hey, if it's ok by them :)


Oh sorry alan. I didn't think it had gone that far. I just thought it was a concept design. Good luck and hope it goes relatively smoothly. Just out of interest, who are the engineers?

whitby bird..........and thank you. We should hear this week, one way or another

If we lose it to a masted, steel calatrava rip off, with sections that look like they could span the width of the bay , well I'd say there was a lack of ambition evident somewhere
I'm completely in agreement there Alan. That kind of thing would be huge shame.

We should hear this week, one way or another
That's good, while I haven't seen the competition I'm pretty sure that if I were making the decision, based on the renders I've seen I'd easily go with this. Or to put it another way, it would take a hell of a lot convince me that another design is better.

whitby bird..........and thank you. We should hear this week, one way or another

Yep. I dare say the best specialist bridge engineering consultancy in the land. One of my Uni colleges now works for them in the manchester office.

It seems the old farts of penarth are not content with attemping to ruin any development in Penarth itself, but are determined to hold back Cardiff as well, if the article in it today is anything to go by. I shall see if they have it online (doubt it) if not I'll take a picture and post it.

There are signs of some activity at the AXA building next to Altolusso - I don't know whether it's to do with St Davids II work or whether the demolition squad will be moving in soon? On that front I thought work on the demolition of the burnt out central hotel was imminent but the site remains the same as it has for the last 3ish years? Talking demolition.. there was an accident at the glass needle site (nobody hurt) but I wonder if there will be a significant delay? for the latest on that site, keep an eye on it via my cardiffwalesmap glass needle progress page here..glass needle progress page (http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/glassneedlesofar.swf)

That sounds like a lucky escape, looks like things progressing well. Man, that site looks funny without those ugly office buildings there!

For anyone here who hasn't noticed this thread yet, go take a look:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=240398

That's a fascinating place, a friend of mines daughter (fluent welsh speaker) has visited and says that the people are extremely friendly. Isn't it strange that they are bilingual - spanish and welsh!!

Back to the AXA building - they are definitely gutting the place in preparation for demolition. I can't believe how much demolition is going on in cardiff at the moment, and next year with st davids 2 there'll be a heck of a lot more!! Finally I've tweaked my glass needle progress page here (http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/GlassNeedle.htm) so that it is now html, I should get out more but I'll probably do the same for the sports village and any other half tidy developments in our increasingly impressive city. By the way its about time we had some news on that plot by the millennium stadium where anything less than 100m will be dissapointing!! :)

^Which plot is that? :s.

Behind Yates and the gents club in westgate street, plenty of room for a big un!!

Nicely done, new swish look for your glass needle page! Great to see those horrible old buildings go. Can't wait to see the new one rise.
I can't wait to see what's going on the site of the old AXA building, I wonder if they're still going with the original 2 towers up to 17 floors idea. That seems a little short now lol. As for Westgate Plaza; yes news about that is long, long overdue, we've gotta have something over 100m on that spot. Westgate Plaza's one of the two locations in the city centre which would be perfect for a decent high-rise building. The other, which I maintain is the best of all (and deserves a series of maybe 3 or 4 mixed use towers ranging from say 20-35 floors) is the large plot of land, currently a ground level car park next to the CIA. If they got rid of the ugly 1960's building on site it would give them a huge ammount of room to create something truely spectacular but even if they only built on the car park it's still a pretty big site and it's not in the old part of town so they wouldn't have to worry about spoiling the setting of historic buildings or anything.

Don't forget the old Odean site where a planning application was submitted for apartments.

Oh yeah lol, I did forget about that one, thanks for the reminder. That's also another good place for a highrise, would make a great entrance to the city to those coming into the city centre along Newport Road if there's a nice biggun plonked right at the end of it.

I think three big towers around calaghan square would look great, and with a redoo of the bus and train station, it would make an impressive entrance to the city, and connect the center to the bay more.

I think three big towers around calaghan square would look great, and with a redoo of the bus and train station, it would make an impressive entrance to the city, and connect the center to the bay more.

Maybe this is why no further development has taken place in Callaghan Sqaure... maybe someone is waiting for a high rise developer to come along to build on this prime site.

Or more likely the fact that the bottom fell out of the office market a few years ago and there was no demand for office space. Even now it's not really recovered properly, remember how long it took to fill 1 Callaghan Square, that was half empty for ages. Just take a walk around the city and have a look at the office buildings, almost all of them are advertising space to rent (unless they've all filled up since I left). Remember 40 Newport Road was originally planned to be refurbished and used for offices but there was no demand which is why they're currently converting them into flats. Hopefully the office market will pick up sometime soon and we'll get a few decent sized office buildings.

Off topic but is there anywhere on the net where I can find good panaramas/skylines pictures of Cardiff?

Will this one I took for www.skyscrapernews.com do?
Feel free to use it but remember to credit me and say where you got it from if it's for anything public (maybe someone will see my pics and love them so much they want to give me loads of money for them, lol) ;)
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/imagesp.php?plib=ps&se=nse&ref=733&idi=Cardiff+Skyline+from+Penarth
I have more Cardiff photos which I intend to put in the images database on skyscrapernews when I have the time so keep checking back every now and then.

Thanks buddy :)

Been working down Dumballs road. Another large Modern Office block going up rapidly next-door to Zurich. This one looks to be about the size of the Black Horse building. It's easy to ship Valleys workers in and out via Cardiff Central and plenty of new Bay-dwellers work in these high-end call-centres. This building will be another ground-scraper; only 4-5 storeys, but at least 400 workers. Not many nearby facilities. Face it,a high rise, corporate hq-type scraper is probably not going to come to Cardiff unless some eccentric entrepreneur were to build it. Maybe if we were to pool our cash.... :)

Maybe if we were to pool our cash.... :)
...umm, we might have enough to buy a flat in altolusso, or even the glass needle but build a skyscraper of our own... I don't think so lol! Buying a flat in the glass needle would be cool, it could be used as the SSC/SSNWales & World Wide Welsh HQ! lol Could have webcams looking out the window over Cardiff... I wish!

Nah, I don't think there'll be a high-rise corporate hq in Cardiff unless a few Welsh companies clubbed together to build one. I think that could be feasible but not likely any time soon, lol you'd end up with the majority of Cardiff's office space all in one building! Nah, single use office skyscrapers are not necessarily the best idea anyway. It would be good to see a very tall mixed use building incorporating office, hotel and residential, that would be cool (except I'm not sure how feasible hotel is since there are allready so many hotels in the city as it is, and with the one planned for the spors village as well there'll be hotel overload)!!

apparently there is a tower planned for the site of the burned out central hotel. what a pity i think. the developers set fire to it to get their project built - aledgedly - and now theyre getting away with it.

I haven't heard that rumour before, such rumours always go around when something like that happens though, it could be true but I wouldn't necessarily believe such a rumour. It is a shame that the Central Hotel is going to go, it would be better if they restored it.

^ To be honest, with the amount of damage to cost of resoration would be incredibly high. I would think there is some servere structural problems. So I doubt there is little choice in rebuilding.
I doubt the rumour to be honest, the building was in fine condition, a quick rennovation and they could have sold flats for an incredibly amount of money. It's been in this ruined state for ages, both under the previous owners and whoever bought it when it was auctioned off last year.

The Central Hotel is supposed to be all systems go for the new sports cafe with apartments above. I believed that demolition was due to start about 2 months ago but there are no signs of activity to date. As for it being a tower well don't get too excited coz the last proposed pic I saw was about 7 storeys, still if the old building is not to be saved it would be nice to see them getting on with it - unless there's been a change of plan? but I haven't seen anything to the contrary. Still as often happens now it has been discussed here work will miraculously soon start!! :) As for your idea re the Glass Needle Andrew - I love it and never say never that's what I say!! :)

Update on the AXA building.. it's definitely about to be AXED!! I wandered past today and one of those dinosaur like demolition beasts was parked within the hoardings - so I guess it's all systems go!! incidentally there is a distinct lack of such a beast at the glass needle site - maybe Wring demolition can borrow when it's chomped up AXA!

Does anyone have any renders or any information on what is going to replace the AXA Building? It just seems that 17 stories seems quite low for this area now (I wonder if they have revised their plans).

also, anyone seen the plans of the redevelopment of a section inside the Castle walls. I quicklly walked past some boards with renderings. Didnt look at them properly but it looked like an all glass building next to one of the walls. Anyone know what that's about?

Update on the AXA building.. it's definitely about to be AXED!! I wandered past today and one of those dinosaur like demolition beasts was parked within the hoardings - so I guess it's all systems go!! incidentally there is a distinct lack of such a beast at the glass needle site - maybe Wring demolition can borrow when it's chomped up AXA!

Demolition for the glass needle is almost finished. about 1/3 -1/2 of one building remaining last monday. :).

Oh man, I didn't realise the one on the site of the AXA building is gonna start so soon. This and the one on the Central Hotel site starting so soon and I still haven't seen what either one's gonna look like! Does anyone have any pics of of any of them? Dan, can you get a photo of the renders you saw of the castle, looks interesting. Frankly I'm surprised anything's getting built there so close to a grage 1 listed building and one of the city's main historic landmarks, how big is it? With all this happening Cardiff's gonna look soooooo different when I get home! I know it's not exactly gonna feel like a skyscraper city compared to Singapore but for our little city it's gonna be awesome! Anyone know how things are coming on in Newport? I'm gonna go and revive the Newport thread so it doesn't get pruned, that little city's gonna see some big things soon as well!

Cardiff has been changing so fast over the last 10 years or so, and it still shows no signs of slowing down. It's fantastic :).

How long ago did you leave?

Also, as far as I can tell from passing on the train nothing is happening in newport yet.
However, my dad got stopped the other day for a traffic survey to do with the South Newport M4 relief toll road. And they said that it is almost certain it will be built :).

That's interesting, they certainly need to do something to sort out congestion on the m4!
I left in July, I've been studying in Singapore since then. I'm not gonna get back till next July, everything's going to be so different!

^ Yes it is! I suppose it wont be so surprising as you know most of what's going on. It must be crazy for someone who goes away for a couple of years to come back and see what's changed.

also, anyone seen the plans of the redevelopment of a section inside the Castle walls. I quicklly walked past some boards with renderings. Didnt look at them properly but it looked like an all glass building next to one of the walls. Anyone know what that's about?


This will be a new visitor centre for the castle. The plans originally included a new home for the moulding military museum too. Don't have any pics, but it will basically be built into the grass bank against one of the walls with the exposed parts of the building in glass. Looks slightly anachronistic but I think it will work. The castle's such an architectural hotch-potch anyway; I think it's good to have a 21st century addition!

r/e AXA; things are definitely moving. Was browsing the planning section of the council website and i see that the development has recently been given planning permission which would explain the sudden rush of activity. Surprised that it's taken this long though. Perhaps the plans have been tweaked. About 180-ish apartments, so I think in two buildings that won't be more than the 17 stories originally proposed.

The last bit of the council planning offices is taking ages to come down! It doesn't seem to have moved on since the accident a couple of weeks ago, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Plenty of work still going on on site, clearing the knocked down bits and so on, but I want to see that last wall come down, please!

Here Here Dai - It's frustrating looking at whats left and wondering when work will resume on it finally being flattened. The prospect of some actual construction aint gonna happen whilst that pile of rubble remains!! As for the AXA building I still find it hard to believe there is room for two buildings at that location, it just goes to show you don't need much room to build UP! :)

I thought the AXA building was quite a new building anyway? :s Or am I getting mixed up with something else. I never see that part of the centre, I always go straight from central station to Queen street through the Hayes.

Yeah it is quite new, what about 10-15 years old. It obviously says something about land values (and possibly the office market) when they're knocking down a perfectly good office building to build yet more flats! This is gonna be one hell of an impressive street once this and St David's 2 is finished. That might also explain why everything went quiet about this for a while and now we've suddenly found out that it's all systems go. I'm pretty sure this site was snapped up and plans were drawn up in order to capitalise on it's proximity to St David's 2. It all went quiet when they were waiting for news about St David's 2 and then as soon as they found out about it's approval they quickly got their own application in to start work on site as soon as possible. I wish they'd show us renders though! Maybe someone can take a look in the planning office for this and for any other stuff planned... oh and whoever goes, take a digicam with you so you can get pics of the planning applications ;)

This is a very promising looking report, I just found it on the web when looking for info on the Meridean Gate development. Didn't find much about that but i did find out that the ofice market is actually doing rather better than I had realised:

M4 Cities Report
http://www.knightfrank.com/webui/ResearchReportDir/10668.pdf

The next anticipated development is likely to occur at Callaghan Square and will comprise two further
office phases. The first phase, which MEPC will carry out in isolation, will incorporate a 30,000 sq ft
speculative office scheme on Site E18, and is located to the north of the railway line. In addition, a
joint venture speculative office scheme is currently being considered on part of Site E04, which will
potentially comprise a 100,000 sq ft office building.

That means that the most likely next office development is gonna be the site directly across the road from the Marriott hotel just within the city centre.
E18 is the site at the top of the Callaghan Square masterplan
http://www.callaghansquare.co.uk/pop/master.jpg
It's an excellent location for an office building and would be a brilliant place for a mid-rise office building, however 30,000 sq ft is hardly any different from the original plan so I imagine the scale on the masterplan above is what will be built. Still, the original plan is better than leaving the site empty.

some great projects for cardiff the sports village looks very interesting

I think it's a fair bet that Andrew will read this post!! :)


I'm after a favour Andrew - would you have any objection to me using some of your pics on my cardiffwalesmap website? I would of course credit them to yourself. If you want to email me directly then please do so via the site. I feel that your pics are excellent and would be an asset to my website for people (like us) who are interested in Cardiff's buildings.

There is actually building activity at that E18 site, however (and I'm no expert!) judging by the preparation of what ever is about to be put up.. it aint big! still what do I know? I'll keep an eye on things and we'll see what springs up on the site :)

It's probably just going to be what was originally planned, the report only says 30,000 sq ft so were probably only getting something small. Maybe a little disappointing that it's not bigger but it's encouraging because it signals that the office market is on the up again. What I've just realised though, which is quite funny is that it'll probably be about the same size as the AXA building that's being knocked down to build the meridian gate residential towers so Cardiff isn't really getting any new office space, it's just being moved 50 yds down the road!! lol Oh well, I don't really mind this being a low rise building too much so long as the design is good. Fron the masterplan it looks to be a similar design to 1 Callaghan Sq which looks quite smart but it would be good if they've paid attention to this building's detailing, I hope it's not exactly the same.

Did any of you guys see about the scaffolding collapsing on Friday at the glass needle site? Doesn't appear to be anything severe, just thought I'd share for those of you who never heard about it.

Bay apartments to hit £1m Nov 7 2005




Phillip Nifield, South Wales Echo


A propsed new luxury apartment complex could be the most expensive South Wales has ever seen.

With apartments with price tags rising to £1m, they have been designed by architects Atkins - which was responsible for the spectacular sail-shaped Burj al Arab in Dubai, the world's first seven-star hotel.

The 997 apartments are set to be built on the waterfront in Cardiff Bay, with the tallest block rising to a whopping 36-storeys.

Subject to planning permission, work on £300m Bay Pointe development, on the sports village site in Ferry Road, will start in the third-quarter of 2006.

Chris Hamilton, managing director of Allied Developments (Europe), which is carrying out the scheme, said the development would include one-bedroom properties through to three or four penthouse apartments with price ranges from around £150,000 to £1m.




Story continues

ADVERTISEMENT


'Some developers have already done some great work in Cardiff and got the ball rolling,' said Mr Hamilton, who has a home in Cowbridge but has been working in the US.


'But there is nothing to compare at present at the level of finish there will be in our development.


'We see this as a fantastic opportunity alongside the 530 acres of water.


The scheme also includes manicured, landscaped gardens covering 10 acres to which the public will have access to.'


He added: 'Many of the apartments will have views across to Cornwall or the Brecon Beacons with underground parking provided for the site.'


Mr Hamilton said that the Cardiff scheme would be the flagship for its move into the UK and it plans to 5,000 homes over the next five years.

Ohhh! This looks great, very very exciting. Thanks for posting this miniloops, were there any new pics along with the news story?

There's probably a photo in the Echo, but this was from www.icwales.co.uk where they cut the pictures. I believe it's a follow up to post #87, but I'll check the recent planning apps and see if I can find it.

Here we go. Super-casino or no super-casino, I reckon we've hit the jackpot with these...

http://www.photojunkyard.com/is.php?i=18786&img=untitled8.jpg

... and it's worth making the point (or should I say pointe) that the SHORTEST of these towers comes in at around 20 stories. The impact of these on the bay area will be immense.

Shame about the ridiculous name though. I thought that was a typo on the part of the Echo until I googled the architect to find that picture. Hopefully it's just a working title, and they'll come up with something a bit more inspiring!

The good thing about this is that it's obviously come about with input from the Council already, being in their flagship project. So I think the chances of it being built have to be considered very good. And the tallest tower has gained 2 floors already since the story broke a few weeks ago.... :)

They look fantastic! I hope they go ahead *drool*

Great stuff eh!! and as you say Dai it looks very likely that this will actually happen. At this rate there won't be any room for a super casino!! Actually I'm sure plenty goes on without us having a clue about it, and if this is the case then perhaps the super casino is also extremely likely as the people who are investing in the new towers must've done a fair bit of research into the area. Let's face it these are pretty exciting times for Cardiff! I can't believe how many large projects will be happening over the next 5 years - mind you it can make us a little greedy, I guess the next big project should be Central Square - with all these magnificent developments going on it's a shame that visitors via the train will get a pretty poor 1st impression of the city, although the glass needle will improve things massively. Still I guess it all takes time and at least there is an awareness that this scruffy area needs serious attention. I shan't get down though coz the future is looking well bright for Cardiff

WOW!! Very impressive!

Nice find there Dai, I can't find the original architects website myself though.
Can you post the website address, I'll need details from the website in order to put this pic on to skyscrapernews.com

Something that's of interest, the ULTra scheme has a new website. I would still love to see them in Cardiff but I don't have much confidence in them being delivered, I hope I'm wrong though. With their implementation at Heathrow Airport hopefully the Assembly will see their benefit and change their mind.
www.atsltd.co.uk

Haha I just found a render we haven't seen before of the new library to be built as part of St Davids 2 scheme. Man, the render looks mouthwatering, just look at the cladding on the library!!
http://www.stdavids2.com/images/pageimages/SouthViewOfJohnLewisAndTheLibrary2_large.jpg

I've noticed a recent trend in cladding -- the random vertical strips. I'm hoping this style will age well, as there are so many new developments using it!

I hope this project will 'kick-start' other large scale projects in the Bay area and the downtown area of the city. We've discussed in the past where these 'large-scale' projects could take place in the downtown area but where do you guys think that we could have tall buildings in the Bay area? Do you think that there is enough density in the Bay yet to warrant further major projects?

I think the only places outside the city centre that should allow tall buildings are the sports village and the inner harbour / Roath Basin area around Celestia and the Assembly. I think there should be a height limit of about 20 stories in the inner harbour / Roath Basin area of the bay but no limit in the city centre or in the sports village. Outside those three designated high-rise zones there should be a height limit of around 10 stories across the rest of the city (not necessarily a strict limit, there could be exceptions but in general they should not be allowed to get too tall). This should result in three very distinct clusters of taller buildings, only allowing high rise development in these areas would mean that the clusters of tall buildings have a greater impact on the skyline - tall buildings in the suburbs would detract from this and create a messy skyline. My reason for a limit in the inner harbour area is because this area was planned from the start to be mid rise and therefore insensitively plonking very tall buildings could ruin it's character, however I do believe that it's suitable for residential towers up to about 20 stories.

How tall do you think Cardiff could realistically get in the next 10 years?

Wow!!! Very very nice :D. I really hope these go ahead, and it sounds like they probably will. I wonder if the super-casino is given to Cardiff (something I personally doubt) they will consider making them ever larger. (Or perhaps they know something we don't hence the growth from 34 to 36? ;)). Just for clarification, what part of the sports village development will they be in, an over head map would be ideal. I want to know how good a view of them I'll get while driving in over the Cogan spur bridge.

As for how high can we go, I think it'll depend how the economy as a whole does. Right now a fair part of the western world is in a recession. The U.K is teetering on the edge of a simular situation. There's certainly been a marked slow-down in the last year. If we can out of it then things should be brilliant, and another boom could happen by the end of the decade. If not then things will take longer. Either way I can't see them going much over 40 storeys before 2020 really.

Well, I remember when the Seagate tower in Swansea was first announced (incidentally designed by the same architects as Bay Pointe) I thought that that woud give Swansea the edge for a few years. Since which we've seen a height increase for the Wood St and now this. Just shows how much I know!
However I do think that the apartment market for somewhere as small as Cardiff must have a saturation point(e) somewhere... and I don't think we'll be seeing any high rise office building for some time. So I'd be surprised to see these towers topped, or even equalled, any time in the forseeable futuere. Hope I'm wrong again!

Andrew - agree about your clustering ideals. I think this is happening naturally in Cardiff, and will continue to happen. The three areas you mentioneed are the only areas in Cardiff likely to see high-rise buildings, so hopefully clustering is oretty much inevitable. The inner harbour though is actually getting pretty full and as you say was originally concieved as a low-rise district. Celestia has raised the bar slightly but I'd be surprised to see anything really tall down there. The council seems to have let it's hair down with the Sport's Village, which is excellent, and the city centre will bulk up over the next few years too. I always thought that Cardiff's size (not to mention the lack of distracting commmie-blocks in the suburbs) has automatically given it quite a well defined skyline, and now it's getting the height to go with it. In terms of coherence and aesthetics, if not in absolute height, I think in a few years it'll hold its own well with anywhere in the UK outside London.

In answer to your question - I googled ""Bay pointe" cardiff" which threw up a couple of pdf files for the architect. The image came from this one:

ir.atkinsglobal.com/atkinsglobal/finperf/presentations/analyst0506pres/analyst0506pres.pdf

^ Remember that roughly 1.5million new homes will be needed in the UK in the coming years (more because of people living alone than increase in population) Cardiff population and size could well increase significantly meaning more residential towers and perhaps even offices. The residential towers are well suited for this maket though as they are aimed at single people or couples with no children.

The sports village peninsular is not a massive area and with the absolute definites of Morrisons and the new Pool taking largish chunks on the site it's hard to imagine other developments in the area avoiding the need to build 'up'. The Bay Pointe developments themselves will surely account for at least a quarter of the available space and therefore surely the casino and an hotel are also likely to make a fair impact on the skyline of that area. When the Sports Village gathers momentum then any future developers will be paying a fair bit for land so 'low rise' may become a luxury that they can't afford. I noticed recently that the apartments planned for where the red house pub used to be have more than doubled the quantity of homes (although this is still not going to be very high) but it does illustrate the fact that if you've got a plot in this location, then the only way is up! I think we are very fortunate to have this exciting area that presently contains zero buildings to be able to watch develop into what will hopefully become one of if not 'the' most dynamic areas of the city - and it isn't being created with the destruction of existing historic buildings (other than the Red House pub of course) Also I think that our 'not mighty' River Taff is gonna see one hell of a lot of river Traffic increase over the next 5 years and this in itself I believe will see much more made of the river and its banks between the bay and sophia gardens - we'll see! but whatever happens it's all pretty positive stuff for the city of Cardiff and how lucky we are to have these smallish defined areas to keep making our skyline all the more impressive instead of tall buildings dotted over much greater areas - like London used to be for so many years.

I was in Cardiff last Friday night. Cardiff city centre was very lively, obviously due to the Wales-Fiji match.

How old is the Old Brewery development? I had a burger in Ma Potters that was very good - it's been rare until recently for UK places to do simple American style food well, but that hit the spot.

Some good bars afterwards too - although I was part of a tiny minority out and not wearing a red jersey. The exception the rugby fan dominated bars was the Kings Cross - I was dozy enough not to realise that the place was tres gay until I'd bought my pint and sat down.

Hi, dont venture to the cardiff board often but am amazed by the level of development. Anyway, found this article in todays AJ:


Atkins has been appointed to mastermind the £200 million Bay Pointe residential scheme on Cardiff’s waterfront.

The centrepiece of the 5.2ha project will be three skyscrapers – named Mizzen, Genoa and Spinnaker towers – the tallest of which will be 36 storeys high.

Sitting next to Cardiff Bay’s International Sports Village development, the project for Allied Developments Europe will create 997 residential units, ranging from one-bedroom flats to low-rise town houses.

Explaining the scheme, project director Eugene Travers Jones said: ‘The architectural concept has been imaginatively developed to create an exciting environment for both residents and visitors.

‘By retaining green open spaces interspersed with water-based landscaping features we have been able to ensure the site provides plenty of accommodation without feeling overdeveloped.’

He added: ‘Our Cardiff- and Bristol-based design team is looking forward to seeing the development completed in time for the 2012 Olympics, as Cardiff hopes to be used as a base and training facility for countries competing in London.’

A planning application for the scheme is expected to be submitted early next year.

Also an interesting rendering but unfortunately dont have picture hosting.

bastards beat me to it! ive written an almost identical article im just about to put up. lol.

Hmmm.. do you think someone should tell them that 'Spinnaker' has been done before...? !

And I'm too impatient to wait until 2011/12 for this to be finished! Hope they break with Cardiff tradition and build the tallest bit first.

I dont know if anyone has been, but there is a stdavids 2 model and exhibition center in the hayes (in the southern part which had MVC in it). There is also a model of the new library, which isnt particularly attractive, and in my oppinion will creat a narrow dark corridor of mill lane. Anyway its open between 12-2pm everyday

hasnt been mentioned guys but st davids 2 has three residential towers to go along adam street, tallest is 54m.

Nice article about St David's 2. When I first looked at it I thought you'd got the facts wrong, I was certain that it had received detailed planning permission. Alas no, I looked it up and you're absolutely right, this is just another outline application that has been granted.
I was wondering what had happened to the Adam Street towers. I saw them in the first outline application which is downloadable from the site and got permission last year but they haven't put up any new pics of them and they're not displayed in the showroom for the project on The Hayes in Cardiff so I assumed they had been dropped from the project. It's good to see them still in there. I suppose they don't think it necessary to include them in their publicity since they'll be private residences and not part of the main shopping centre.

Anyone heard anything about the Roath Basin Bridge.........news, local gossip, local press?

I haven't heard anything more about the bridge but then I'm not normally the first to get news anymore since I'm in Singapore at the moment. I'd really like to know the status of it, it'll be a good addition to the bay if built. I have it in my head that it was a competition entry but I don't remember where I got that from. Am I right? If so, what are the other entries like? I haven't seen any pics of them.

Looking on the buildings list for Cardiff I've noticed that the only thing missing in the Sports Village is the casino developmet. Obviously we don't know much about this one since it's dependent on Cardiff getting a regional casino license. Here's a pdf from casino operator Aspers about it. It gives no details about the specifications of the develpment if it happens but there is the render below which I've cut out and saved. I don't know whether it's worth adding these two buildings to the list, what do you think gothic? As far as I know we don't have any heights or even floor counts for these (would just have to count the floors on the render).

http://www.aspers.co.uk/Press_releases/aspers_cardiff_090705.pdf

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/226/casino3jp.jpg

Oh yeah, one other thing about the flats on Adam Street. You have them listed as 13 floors, 13 floors and 11 floors each atop the 4 story shared podium car park. I was just wondering if the design has been changed since the proposal on the original outline planning application since in that application the pictures show the blocks to be 13, 10 and 8 floors atop the shared podium.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/5746/adamstflatsdiagram6fs.jpg

http://www.stdavids2.com/word_docs/Masterplan_1_revC_(pg28-36).pdf

Since we currently have no picture for these flats I was wondering if it was worth using this one from the pdf above, it's old I know but I wonder if it's better than having a no image tag:

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/5715/adamstflats2et.jpg

andrew - with st davids who knows... its quite possible. there's a couple of pics about them in the planning and masterplan stuff including a cgi massing view but it was so vague i didnt use them.
andrew, when i dont have floor counts i count them on the render, it usually works well. i would definitely add the aspers stuff to the site if i were you. i work on the idea that ANYTHING is of interest, even if it hasnt been built and wont be because not being built is interesting too.

I'm wondering, did you get the information from the current outline planning application or the one from the St David's 2 website. The one on their website is the old one submitted last year. If you got it from the new application, how did you get hold of it? Did you email them for it and is there any chance of a copy?

old one???hmmm where did i get it... it was for the application approved and linked to from the developers website.

Haha, yeah that wasn't the one submitted in July this year, that was one submitted way back in 2002:
The proposal took the form of an outline planning application for this development on 31 October 2002
http://www.stdavids2.com/pages/thedevelopment_planning.asp

For some reason they are absolutely rubbish at keeping the St David's 2 website up to date, it's only in the last few weeks that they have actually added up to date renders of the project. I don't get it, they spout out stuff about public consultation and they've got a 3yr old outline planning application on their website. Bloody useless people.

thats the one andrew. twonks they are.

Well this thread seems to have gone a little quite. To breathe a little life into it I found an article on the BBC news site about the planned development of a new Football stadium on the site of the current atheletics stadium and a shopping complex on the current Ninian Park site directly opposite. There's been talk of this happening for years as far as I can remember but no ones mentioned it in this thread by the looks of things. Anyway here's the article.

New deadline for Cardiff stadium
Artist impression of the new stadium
The scheme is expected to help the fortunes of Cardiff City FC
Cardiff City football club has been given three months to prove that its plans for a 30,000-seat new stadium and retail complex are viable.

Cardiff Council made the demands after club officials asked for an extra six months to secure the project.

The council said it was not satisfied with the business plan that the club has delivered.

But club officials said that they were "fully confident" that the scheme was a viable project and would go ahead.

The club has already committed £3m to the scheme which would see a new stadium built opposite its current Ninian Park home in Leckwith.

The £100m stadium plans are seen as essential to the future of the Championship club.

Intergral to the scheme is securing retail development alongside it and it is this aspect which has become a source of concern for the council, which has committed nearly £500,000 to the scheme.

American discount store group CostCo earlier this year signed a contract to become a tenant but other stores are needed on board before the plans can go ahead.

Following a meeting between the club and the council's economic scrutiny committee, the council demanded that the club prove that the scheme could satisfy pre-conditions laid down in a development agreement ensuring viability of the project from 31 December.


Peter Ridsdale
I'm absolutely confident that this scheme will go ahead and provide Cardiff with an exciting and vibrant future
Peter Ridsdale, Cardiff City FC

This includes providing a business plan showing how the project can be delivered and also demonstrating that the club is financially strong enough to see the project through to completion without further financial assistance from the council.

The club has a £30m in debt and has already acted to reduce the wage bill.

Chairman of the committee, councillor Ralph Cook said: "The committee thoroughly examined the issues over the stadium plans and there was clear scepticism over whether the development can go ahead and the committee supported the officers' recommendation regarding the deadline given granted to the club.

"This is the time for all involved to get their heads down and ensure a viable business plan is in place for the March deadline.

"I sincerely hope this can be achieved," he added.

But the club reacted by saying it has been unable to deliver a full business plan because of on-going talks with a food retailer - believed to be a major supermarket group - who has yet to give a conditional assurance they will take an outlet.

Club deputy chairman Peter Ridsdale told the BBC news website that he was confident that a deal would be made by the end of this year with the retailer with a full business plan being submitted in February.

"The issue so far has been securing the food retailer but I am confident that by the end of this year we will have got a conditional offer from them," he said.

"And once we have that we will be able to submit our business plan. We have not been able to do that so far because we have been waiting for the retailer.

"I'm absolutely confident that this scheme will go ahead and provide Cardiff with an exciting and vibrant future," he added.

It can be found at - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4464422.stm

From the sound of it, it doesnt look like it will get the go ahead. Do you think that maybe the Millenium Stadium might be a factor in the decision making, as other cities might give the go ahead for a new stadium as a prestige building, and Cardiff already has one?

Don't think so really, this stadium isn't supposed to be particularly Iconic I don't think. It's only a medium sized football stadium after all. I think really it is needed because Ninian Park is a complete dump to be honest.
But I'm not sure if it will happen, despite the fact that Cardiff City are doing reasonably well they are really struggling to sell tickets and make money. As to why that is I honestly don't know. It's a particularly expensive venture as a new Atheletics stadium needs to be built to replace the one that will go with this new plan. It was already decided that there is not room for one in the sports village, I believe one out near Cardiff gate was suggested but I don't know if this is the intended proposal. I suppose if a major supermarket is brought on board then it will help alot but I still question whether Cardiff city FC can really afford this.

From the sound of it, it doesnt look like it will get the go ahead. Do you think that maybe the Millenium Stadium might be a factor in the decision making, as other cities might give the go ahead for a new stadium as a prestige building, and Cardiff already has one?

Not sure that getting the go-ahead is the real issue here. I think money is the bigger issue and Cardiff council is getting fed up with waiting, blimey if things had gone as planned it would probably be opening soon.

Mind you a few weeks ago there were rumours in the Echo that Tesco had been signed up for the site.

The stadium is essential if we want to see Cardiff playing top tier football. It's been depressing watching this saga stretch out for so many years. I mean didn't Sam Hamman want to move into the new stadium at the start of the 2003/2004 season? This has been going on for too long

this is all very well and good but i dotn see any cranes,and photos of anything u/c which makes me sceptical

i did a crane count in nottingham and i counted 45

I don't care how many cranes there are in Nottingham. Are you using that comment to try and suggest that there's nothing going on in Cardiff - that it's all plans and no action? Because if you are then my reply would be that you have no idea what you're talking about. Ok the Cardiff City FC stadium is taking ages but that's the club's issues not the city's, most other things are going along quite nicely thank you very much.

The replacement athletics stadium is going over the road from the new stadium. I think the two stadia are effectively just swapping sites aren't they? Look at the masterplan from the Cardiff City FC website:
http://www.cardiffcityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/20/e5/0,,10335~451872,00.jpg

Found these...sorry if posted before.


Cardiff's proposed Sports Village

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/3855SportsVillageTower3_pic1.jpg

and this is the Heritage Gateway Scheme

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/232HeritageGatewayScheme_pic1.jpg

. Are you using that comment to try and suggest that there's nothing going on in Cardiff - :
http://www.cardiffcityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/20/e5/0,,10335~451872,00.jpg


no photos no action,nothing is going in in cardiff,its all talk and no cigar

dont blame me,blame your city counsel

As I said, you don't know what you're talking about.
Right now we have a 31 floor tower, a 21 floor tower, two 16 floor towers and a 12 floor tower under construction, a 14 story tower is undergoing a refurb with 2 floors being added making it 16 floors, we've got a 19 floor tower about to start. There have also been 2 towers (17 and 23 floors) completed since 2004 and 3 other refurbs.

Tallest U/C at the moment - Heritage Gateway Scheme (31 floors/101m)
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/232HeritageGatewayScheme_pic2.jpg

sorry eddyk, old news ;).

bobthebuilder, i am curious to know, what developments are going on in nottingham, cause i havent seen any on this website? What exactly are these 45 cranes building?

And don't tell me there's nothing going on in cardiff. Andrew has already pointed out high rise buildings that are about to or have already popped up. Ad to that a 74,000 stadium, a barrage, the brand new Wales Millenium Centre with 2,500 seater theatre, and new assembley building, a totall re-vamp of the bay, a 7 storey 5star hotel and the rest, all in the last 10 years or less. Not to mention the St Davids 2 development which will push Cardiff into the top 5 shopping destinations in the United Kingdom, the imminent start to the new Sports Village in the bay to include the residential towers eddyk posted, new 10,000+ arena and olympic swimming pool and possible regional super Casino, new 30,000 cardiff city stadium (well it better bloody start that's all i can say), and all the stuff that's going on in Newport. So don't tell me nothing gets done or happens here (although we could do with your trams).

Well i think maybe you put the point accross that there is alot going on here (just the sports village, st davids ii and heritage gateway scheeme add up to 2billion pounds of investment). I think Cardiffs development will be a sustained one as well,as what other cities apart from Regional capitals can boast such world class sites?

Come on guys I think we are being unfair with the developments in Nottingham, after all they do need the place is a f*cking hole LOL!!! :o)

GO CARDIFF!!!!!! Whooooo!!!!!!!!

I hope the owner of this website doesn't mind me giving this link, but www.cardiffwalesmap.com has pictures of construction of the heritage gateway scheme (glass needle) tower. It's also a great map of central cardiff too.

bobthebuilder, i am curious to know, what developments are going on in nottingham, cause i havent seen any on this website? What exactly are these 45 cranes building?


Guys -- don't feed the trolls! :crazy2:

I hope the owner of this website doesn't mind me giving this link, but www.cardiffwalesmap.com has pictures of construction of the heritage gateway scheme (glass needle) tower. It's also a great map of central cardiff too.


that's the very map our Pablo created is it?

Yes that is my map - which is an ongoing project, of course I have no objection to the link, in fact I'm very flattered!! :) Another page that may be of interest to visitors of this site is my glass needle progress page which I try to keep right up to date - I added another photo today glass needle progress page (http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/GlassNeedle.htm)

Yup, correct. I think he'd be delighted your posting liks to it. Also I don't believe I've welcomed you to the forums yet Lister...Welcome! Great to have another Welsh forumer.
I have a goal that we eventually have enough people here to have our very own Wales subforum. We've got Cardiff, Swansea and Newport threads now. I reckon once we've got enough people chattin to keep all three threads on the front page all the time then we'll have enough for a subforum. I don't know whether Gothic would agree with me there but we'll see.

That last building is taking a long time to go!!

Thanks for the welcome Andrew. Not been on the forum long so I didn't realise the map was pablo's website!

That last building is taking a long time to go!!


I have a theory that it may be the same demolition company carrying out the work on the former AXA site and sharing resources between the projects. While that building was being demolished the glass needle site ground to a complete halt. Now that AXA has all but come down it's all action again at the glass needle.

It's interesting to note that Cardiff city centre IS crane-free at the moment. I can't really remember the last time that was the case. From a distance it almost looks like a finished city for a change! In a year's time though... St. David's 2, Glass Needle, Meridian Gate, Callaghan Square...

Can't you tell this guys joking?! like hell there's 45 cranes in Nottingham, more like 4.

I thought he was joking about the number of tower cranes in Nottingham since I looked at the Nottingham thread to see him complaining that hardly anything's being built there.

The AXA building has been demolished allready? That was quick, has still nobody found a pic of the plans for that site? I want to see what it'll look like!
I can't wait to see Cardiff when I get back from Singapore, it's going to have changed a fair bit I expect.

I cant wait to be in Cardiff and see the changes, I am flying "home" on the 20th Dec for am month, has been 2.5 years since I was last home, I am hoping there are going to be some great surprises and cant wait to see Altolusso in reality. Hmmm Cardiff in December when I am leaving Sydney's 35 degrees *shiver*

^ Christ you really will be in for a surprise after 2.5 years :D. Although I suppose being on here and kind of knowing what is going on will ruin it some what :p. We had an inch or two of snow in Cardiff on thursday/friday. Snow > 35 degrees sunshine.

Yeah I have an idea of what to expect, but it is still good to see it in person, and not just the high rise developments, but also the small things that change, and the Brewery Quarter will be a new one for me too, and cant wait to get down the bay. I will be in Barry and I hear it has changed a lot too, the last time I was there the Waterfront had maybe 2 apartment blocks and that is it. All very exciting and will have my camera at the ready!
I am very pro Cardiff/Wales so whenever I get the chance I tell everyone here to visit and all of them love the place!

Ahh yes Barry has changed somewhat as well :). The apartments are nearly all finished now, quite alot of them :D. They are re-doing kings Square at the moment, work started back in April but I've not actually seen it since I left college in June, it should be nearly done by now I think.
But surprise surprise, excluding the marina, pretty much nothing at all has changed in Penarth :D.

You are definatly right to be pro Cardiff, Cardiff is a great place :yes:. I imagine Sydney is too, it's one of my priority 'To visit' cities. I kind of get put off by the incredible amount of time spent flying though. Makes me think it's not really worth it unless you are going for a long period of time which we can't really afford...yet :D.

Having said that I know someone who went to Sydney from Cardiff for a weekend :runaway:.

wow, that's a long way to go for a weekend.

^Yeah, it was for his brothers funeral so it's understandable. Leave work friday, drive to heathrow, arrive in sydney sunday morning go to the funeral, fly out sunday afternoon/evening arrive monday morning, drive back to work :D. You could do it without missing any time off work (just)

Not really related to Cardiff other than the rail link but still of some intrest. Work has started on the old Ebbw Vale steel works site apparently. Although nothing is expected to built untill 2007-8. Link - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4467284.stm
Does anyone have some better renders of the master-plan for the area?

I've just been looking up the meridian gate development on google, all I have found so far is this:
http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/regulatory/DevControl/Dev_Con_New/New%20pages/PDF/Decided%20Lists%202005/decided%20lst%20wc%20031005.pdf
(2nd application down) I didn't realise it got permission so long ago! I can't believe I still haven't seen a pic of it!

I've just been doing a bit of digging around lookin for any new pics and/or info about developments in Cardiff. I found a website that lists architects and their projects, that's where I found this new pic of celestia:
http://www.archsearch.co.uk/shared/showLarge.html?id=11560&mime=image/jpg

And these of some flats planned for the Oval Basin:
http://www.archsearch.co.uk/shared/showLarge.html?id=3599&mime=image/jpg

http://www.archsearch.co.uk/shared/showLarge.html?id=3600&mime=image/jpg
I've known about the Oval Basin one for a while but I haven't been able to find any info about them untill now. Does anyone know the status of this? That patch of land has been empty for ages and could really do with being filled up with something at least.


That wesite led me to each of the individual architects websites. Here is the page for Celestia:
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/images/residential/celestianightview.jpg
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/Celestia.html
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/Celestia.pdf


This one isn't Cardiff, it's Porthcawl. Not very big but it looks really cool though so I had to post it:
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/images/residential/esplanademain.jpg
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/EsplanadeDevelopment.html
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/EsplanadeDevelopment.pdf


This architect seems to do a fair bit of work in Wales. Barry:
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/images/residential/jacksonsquaymain.jpg
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/JacksonsQuay.html
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/JacksonsQuay.pdf


They did the Sainsbury's Central on Queen Street:
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/images/retail/sainsburyscardiff1b.jpg
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/Sainsburys_Cardiff.html
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/Sainsburys_Cardiff.pdf


Lifelong Learning Centre Merthyr Tydfil:
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/images/education/lifelong1.jpg
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/LifeLong.html
http://www.stridetreglown.co.uk/Architecture/LifeLong.pdf

Sorry for posting loads of times in a row but I keep finding new info.
It seems that the latest phase of the Prospect Place development has been branded "Bayside". The plans haven't changed since they were resubmitted to include the 19 story tower last year but they have added some nice high quality renders (unfortunately mostly on the pdf not the site so I can't hotlink them). I quite like this phase of the development. The designs look better than the first phase, they look more contemporary, more modern. Plus they include the 19 floor tower which is a welcome addition:

Bellway website: http://www.bellway.co.uk/wales/Bayside/home.htm
http://www.bellway.co.uk/wales/Bayside/siteimages/Bayside.jpg
PDF of the sales brochure (it's quite big at 21 pages but is well worth a look):
http://www.bellway.co.uk/wales/Bayside/PDFs/ProspectPlace_Bayside.pdf

Also, anyone interested in construction techniques might be interested in this article I just found while updating the skyscrapernews page for The Lighthouse:
http://www.steelconstruction.org/static/assets/source/132_feature_02Lighthouse.pdf

Well looks as if Cardiff council are giving CCFC 90 days to come up with a new business plan for the stadium

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4487598.stm

Hopefully this will get them to put thier butt's into gear and get something done.

Here's a pic of a Mosque planned near Crwys road, looks pretty impressive. I'll have to try and find out how tall the minarets are so I can put it onto skyscrapernews, I imagine they're tall enough to qualify.
http://www.madinamosque.org.uk/images/01%20main%20perspective-Large.jpg
http://www.madinamosque.org.uk/madinamosque.asp?n=homepage.htm

Andrew wrote:
I'll have to try and find out how tall the minarets are so I can put it onto skyscrapernews

On the elevation diagram on the web page the minarets are about 23 times the height of the people. The average height of people in Britain is about 1.7m so the minarets are about 39m tall. They're big. The architects are Egyptian so maybe the minarets are a few metres shorter than this but you get the idea...

It'll definitely not blend with it's surroundings but since it's on Crwys Road that may be for the best... Perhaps the rest of Cathays should be buried with sand so it fits the area better :) Either way it's a very pretty building. Now we need a massive pyramid at the junction with Albany Road.

The website of the original Madina Mosque suggests that the received donations are not as generous as the amounts pledged so building work is currently delayed.

Links:
New building (http://www.madinamosque.org.uk/madinamosque.asp?n=homepage.htm)
Current building (http://www.madinamosque.org/)
icWales - '£5M mosque on way to capital' (http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=15837701%26method=full%26siteid=50082-name_page.html)

Sorry to repeat post but according to icWales plans have changed since those drawings were made.

icWales - 'Council defend city mosque decision': (http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=16272578%26method=full%26siteid=50082-name_page.html)
"The council confirmed the height of the minarets in the artist's impressions of the mosque would be a lot lower than depicted."

now thats how a mosque should look. wow. amazing...

That is such a shame that the minarets will be lower, a mosque should be seen from a great distance and admittedely mosques are not usually seen like this in Cardiff, but the city should be proud that this is going up and thrive on the multiculture. I would imagine that a lot of the letters are complaints only due to the fact that it is a mosque. I am sure that if a stunning new church or cathedral was being built in it's place people would be happier ... all very sad :o(

I guess there would also be quite a lot of opposition to a new Church that sort of size, ok probably not as much as for this but that's not surprising given the country's Christian heritage. Would you expect a Church this sort of size to be built in... say Turkey without any opposition. I wonder how tall the minarets will be now, I'm not so much interested in how far it's gonna be seen from but rather how the height reduction will affect the proportions of the building as a whole. The design works quite well with tall minarets it might look strange with short stumpy ones, oh well we'll just have to wait and see. One thing I don't get though is that new mosques, new buddhist and hindu temples are usually all built in traditional styles with beautiful intricate carvings, I wonder why we don't get new gothic style Churches...

Actually in answer to my own question I guess it's because in Christianity less importance is attached to the building, it's not necessary to stick to tradition in the design of new Churches, there is no need for ornamentation or anything therefore new Church buildings tend to be more functional, with more modern designs.
As impressive as it would be to see new gothic cathedrals built I don't think it could be justified in terms of cost, such designs are not necessary for worship so unless there are specific heritage reasons the money would be better spent on a new more efficient building.

Wahoo! The Stones are a-coming. In your face Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool! ;)

lol

Found another pic of the sports village, it's one of the older concept drawings before the Atkins designs surfaced, nothing exciting but i thought i'd post the pic because it hasn't been posted before:
http://www.capitallaw.co.uk/images/content/property_sports_village_700.jpg

Found a pic with a red outline showing the location for a "luxury clifftop residential development of Penarth Heights". I've always thought that this would be the perfect place for luxury developments. I'm suprised that the council flats there (now abandoned) got such a bad reputation dispite being in such a beautiful location.
http://www.capitallaw.co.uk/images/content/property_penarth_heights_700.jpg


A news story I just found on Vale of Glamorgan council's website dating way back to February:

http://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/Data%20Views/News/News%20Article%20Images/Feb05_pheights14935.jpg
A major regeneration project in Penarth has taken another step forward.

Following a successful marketing campaign facilitated by the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Crest Nicholson (South West) Ltd has been identified as the developer – subject to contract – for the Penarth Heights (Harbour View/Royal Close) project.

The 16-acre site, with its panoramic views across Penarth Marina, Cardiff Bay and the Bristol Channel, is viewed as "one of the most exciting development opportunities in Wales" and, says Council Leader Cllr Jeffrey James: "The Council has, therefore, been striving to secure a developer with a strong design team with the ability to put forward a high quality residential development which responds appropriately to this important site on the skyline of north Penarth."

A leading national developer with a strong track record in high quality sustainable residential developments throughout the United Kingdom, Crest Nicholson (South West) Ltd has appointed London-based architects Edward Cullinan and landscape architects Nicholas Pearson Associates to prepare detailed designs in line with the Council’s Planning and Design Brief.

Cllr James added: "I am delighted Crest Nicholson has been identified as the preferred developer. This represents a great achievement for all the officers and consultants involved in tackling the complex issues associated with this project.

"I have always recognised this to be a strategically important gateway site, and it is a great opportunity for Crest Nicholson to deliver a high quality residential development for Penarth and the Vale of Glamorgan.

"Together with the Council’s ongoing programme of investment and enhancements in the neighbouring Central Renewal Area, the forthcoming regeneration of the Harbour View/Royal Close area presents a bright future for Penarth.”

Crest Nicholson Managing Director Stevan Usher stated: "We are using a world-class architect to create Penarth Heights as a place where people will be proud to live and where there will be a real sense of community spirit.

“Having been involved in the development of Penarth Marina, which was a catalyst for new homes, work places and leisure facilities, it is exciting to be involved in the next stage of the region’s development.

"We have worked very successfully with the Vale of Glamorgan Council before and we are looking forward to working with them again.”



24/02/2005
I can't find any renders or up to date news on the Penarth development.


A bit more Cardiff news:

Plan for new office quarter in Cardiff Bay Dec 9 2005




South Wales Echo


A SCHEME to create a £130m new office quarter in Cardiff which could bring up to 5,000 jobs to the city has been unveiled.

The plan involves the creation of almost 700,000 sq ft of prime offices with parking on six-acres of land - part of which overlooks the waterfront - at the Capital Waterside site in Cardiff Bay. One of the buildings will be next to the new National Assembly debating chamber.

The development will have office suites ranging from 8,000 sq ft to individual spaces of 100,000 sq ft or complexes linking buildings of up to 230,000 sq ft.

Planners at Cardiff council are expected to make a decision on the proposals during the spring.

Mike Luscombe, fund manager at Morley Fund Management, said: "Cardiff Waterside is already home to a range of blue-chip organisations, an excellent foundation on which to create new landmark buildings designed to reflect both the nature of this strategic location and the aspirations of future occupiers. These plans demonstrate our confidence in the investment potential of Cardiff Bay and we are greatly encouraged by Cardiff council's new initiatives to promote the city to an international audience."

Rob Jones, partner at Knight Frank LLP, which acts as investment and asset manager for the Cardiff Bay Partnership, wholly owned by Norwich Union Funds, said: "We aim to provide buildings of international quality to attract employers and investors to Cardiff."


And Julian Cheek, architectural director at Scott Brownrigg, which has designed the complex, said: "Cardiff Bay has become a dynamic and prominent area for Wales. By creating the potential for visually-stunning buildings and urban spaces, we hope to enhance the vibrancy of the area."

Well I guess the council flats got their reputation before the days of Cardiff Bay when they they looked over a grotty old docks and industrial area - think about the flats in Grangetown (Channel View?) they have a view people would pay £££ for nowdays. They could refurbish the Penarth flats and sell them for a packet even though they were former council flats.

An Article from the BBC. I was hoping the sports village was quite so dependant on the super-casino as I don't think we'll get it if there is to be only one in the whole country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4533000.stm

I reckon our best bet (pardon the pun) will be if the governmernt allow more regional casinos.

On a different matter the site where the AXA building was is completely clear now - This was how things were looking on Friday 16-12-2005 the photos aren't great quality, still not bad for a mobile phone...

http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/MG1.jpg

http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/MG2.jpg

http://www.cardiffwalesmap.com/MG3.jpg

they cleared that up pretty quick!

Exposes the fact that the certain builder of luxury flats can't even be bothered to paint all of their car park. Plus the build quality of the car park doesn't look too great - which would of been disguised if they'd of bothered to paint it. Makes you wonder how well the flats have actually been built.

15/12/05 New Bridge Aims to Set a Standard
Full articleA unique design concept by an award-winning architectural practice has been chosen for a new bridge intended to be one of the hallmarks of the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay’s Roath basin area.

After evaluating four competing designs, the Welsh Development Agency panel selected a striking concept devised by Studio Bednarski Ltd. for a bridge which will be a distinctive feature of the basin waterfront.

The bridge will carry pedestrians and cyclists from the Norwegian Church side of Roath Basin across the basin’s outer lock to the south side and into an area of the bay about to be transformed by a major redevelopment programme.

The 36 acre site, which takes in one and a half miles of waterfront, is earmarked for the development of premises for a cluster of life sciences businesses centred on a Life Sciences Technium and for a range of media enterprises. There will also be room for more than 1,000 new homes.

The WDA’s Paul Williams said: “We wanted a bridge which raised the bar in terms of quality of design for this important new area of the regenerated Bay. We agreed unanimously that Studio Bednarski’s ideas delivered an excellent solution to our objectives.

“It’s a strikingly attractive design unlike anything else in the UK - and it’s a very practical concept as well.

“For example, one feature of the design is that horizontal surfaces, which could attract roosting gulls, have been eliminated through the use of sloping plates. The proposed construction method is based on off site fabrication and delivery by either road or sea.”

“It works extremely well in its context and it will become, we think, one of the visual attractions of Roath Basin.”

The new bridge will carry pedestrians and cyclists over the historic Outer Lock to link with the roadway along the Barrage. The 24 metre lock is a listed structure and this was the critical factor the influenced the form of the winning bridge design.

The structural diagram of the bridge is that of two V shaped beams from which two haves of the 24 by 15 metre deck are cantilevered. The beams rest of four columns, transferring only vertical forces. No significant loads are imposed on the dock walls.

Construction of the bridge is likely to be part of a joint venture between the WDA and the private sector partner selected to undertake the first phase of the overall Roath Basin development.

The Agency is currently interviewing several prospective developers in line with European project procurement rules.

Article published on: Article published on: 15 December 2005

http://www.wallpaper.com/design/1048

That bridge looks awfull! theycant be seriouse???????????

That bridge looks awfull! theycant be seriouse???????????

Yeah that was my reaction. What happened to the stunning design that was posted earlier in this thread :(.

And by the way, one day late but nevermind. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARDIFF!!

Capital of Wales for 50years yesterday :D. And my god, how it has changed and grown in those years.

:dance: