if
it's about Cardiff..
Sport, Entertainment, Transportation, Business,
Development Projects, Leisure, Eating, Drinking,
Nightlife, Shopping, Train Spotting! etc.. then we want it here!
Latest picture. It is currently looking rather different to the artists impression. In fact it looks like it would blend in with the Sleeperz and Maldron hotels !
Are the panels wood or some kind of man-made metal/plastic hybrid?
I really like the way this is shaping up. Basicaly this is a bunch of sheds (studios) fronted by an office/technical block and a compound for open lots for Casualty and Pobol y Cwm.
There's an honesty to the design which I like. It doesn't pretend to be something its not but there's enough of interest to draw the eye. Actually, having what's in effect an old-fashioned multi-stage film-studio in an urban setting is interesting enough in itself. There's no need to disguise what it is.
Its to make the bridge look bigger, in reality it only looks single lane, i assumed they were going to leave the black bridge for pedestrian access if the are having it 2 way.
Its to make the bridge look bigger, in reality it only looks single lane, i assumed they were going to leave the black bridge for pedestrian access if the are having it 2 way.
The East(?) side of the bridge shows it's more likely to be two-way traffic.
Having the baycar go across would make sense as it would be used by more (I say...), however would make the journey to the bay about an hour long!
They are cutting out the wood panels to reveal the windows at a cracking pace at the new BBC studios.
The multi shaded wood (which actually looked rather funky from afar at least IMO) has now been covered in a jet black layer and a metal frame is being attached to that. This building will certainly have one hell of a lot of layers wrapped around it before it is finished.
"The Council have approved plans for the new Digital Media Centre in the Roath Basin despite designs being called "uninspiring" by councillors.
The plans comprise an office block and two retail units off Tiger Way next to the BBC Centre.
Building work on the new drama village, named Roath Lock, is already under way – with a bridge connecting it to the rest of Cardiff Bay put in place last Friday.
The new site will be accessed via a new highway called 'Tiger Way' – and will be a six storey building of 0.66 acres. Made out of brick, developers aimed to reflect the site's dock side history with projecting timber boxes at both pine ends of the rectangular building to appear like "an irregular stack of large baulks of timber".
Despite these design efforts, however, one councillor in the meeting said the designs were "uninspiring"."
By the way, long time lurker, first time poster here I really enjoy reading this forum.
Welcome Barden! let's face it if it's happening in Cardiff you'll hear about it first or indeed a very close 2nd here! anyway I hope you keep reading and posting!!
This gives a better indication of where the building is than I got from the text:
This has lessened any concerns I had with the design, as most of the more bland elements will be facing other buildings in the coming years (maybe many years mind). That said, I'm not really that troubled by the blander bits anyway. The interesting shapes will be facing onto the water on one side and the open space/road by the BBC building on the other so, if the rest of the buildings continue a related decor, they should, I think, be quite good!
As submitted the aesthetic of the building can be imagined as a simple
rectangular block, 52 metres by long, 13 metres wide and six storeys or 22
metres high, surmounted by a flat roof with parapets. The two long elevations
are brick, with punched openings for windows. The two narrow end elevations
are a composition of projecting timber boxes with glazed openings.
At ground floor level, larger areas of glazing open onto retail units, reception
and foyer areas, helping to activate the streets and the waterfront. Also at
ground floor level are a number of projecting elements, appearing in the
manner of loose timber cargo crates in contrast to the smooth, flush-pointed
stretcher bond brick sides of the building and in compliment to the shorter end
elevations which appear themselves as an irregular composition of projecting
timber boxes, with large windows giving excellent views of the waterfront.
The concept of the aesthetic of the building lends from an irregular stack of
large baulks of timber. The lengths of the baulks retained between smooth
brick walls, while the shorter end elevations the baulks project differentially, to
provide animation to the ends of the building. In this way the building
celebrates its location and reflects timber as one of the important cargoes
passing through Roath Dock, mainly Baltic pine for use as pit props in the
South Wales Coalfield; also referenced by the use of timber framed windows
throughout.
In respect of construction, the building is an in situ flat slab concrete frame on
piled foundations with brick outer skin. The layout of the building has been
designed to provide a maximum of flexibility with upper floors being able to be open plan or subdivided as necessary into large or small office suites ranging
in size from 20sqm upwards.
The entry lobby and other ground floor elements project forward from the
south-western façade of the building, activating the forecourt and street scene
there. The café can develop into a public facility serving inward into the
building, and outward onto the forecourt. Retail units are located at each end
of the building’s ground floor, and are accessed separately from the rest of the
building. Their glazed frontages helping to activate the ground floor facade.
It is also hoped that the developer will be able to utilise the temporary bridge
currently providing access over the outer lock, to span the Bailey dry dock
adjacent to the development upon completion of the new outer lock crossing which would reduce the length of the pedestrian route to the site. The bridge
has been offered by the Cardiff Harbour Authority should this be able to be
realised and the practicalities of moving the bridge are currently being
investigated.
The strategy describes how successful public realm can be created in what
might be considered the hostile conditions at Porth Teigr using the concept of
an ‘outside’ and an ‘inside’ public realm. The outside being all the waterfront
spaces and the inside being the more protected inland spaces and streets
(including the proposed ‘Timber Street’ applied for under the terms of this
application.
The DMC would be positioned at the junction of two ‘neighbourhoods’ being
the perceived ‘Roath Basin Core’ of commercial waterfront development
facing the centre of the Basin, and the ‘Bute Dry Dock’ formed of mixed use
commercial and retail development seen as the social heart of the greater
site.
However, it is not considered reasonable
to realise the whole of the intended dockside perimeter walkway on the extent
of development proposed. A reasonable and proportionate amount of the
walkway, commensurate with the application site boundary, is considered
appropriate
Igloo has appointed a public art consultant, Emma Price, to advise on a public
art proposal for the Digital Media Centre, and a planning condition is
considered prudent to secure this.
This one shows the car parking and, I think, the amount of the dock parimeter walkway they will complete as part of this project.
I think the car parking spaces intrude into what in the masterplan is another building, so I guess theplan is maybe to build a full car park for the site so this is no longer needed. Just a guess...
The orange wings on the bridge are very garish and don't fit in with anything else in the area. It's a pity nobody thought about blending them in with the Norwegian Church - in white or grey, they'd have looked like giant seagull wings and been in better harmony. Currently it looks like a couple of giant orange tick marks have landed.
They look more red IMO, almost the same red as that on the lightship. I agree white would have been nicer, but then everything is white in Cardiff and look how dirty thats getting, i really hope they repaint the Aspect, looks terrible!
The bridge is clearly not designed to blend in... It is a little garish and angular, but it makes a fitting gateway to what is clearly shaping up to be a quirky creative district. It will work well with the studios I think. Fun!
Yes, possibly I don't like it because the angle I see it from is in unhelpfully close proximity to the Church. Hopefully it'll look better when the area round it is less cluttered.
I must admit, I find the red bridge a bit garish and a bit over-engineered and while I appreciate that it is designed/inspired as a piece of public art, I don't think this comes across really, and it just seems a bit big and cumbersome.
That is within the context however that I think the Roath Basin project generally is enormously positive and anything of that size is bound to not get everything right to all people.
Also of course, I reserve judgement until it's completed.
I think someone posted about the bridge being single lane, I had a look the other day and it will be definitely 2 lanes, the final bridge is actually quite wide and oval shaped, I think people were looking at the support underneath.
I cycled past the perimeter fence of the site yesterday and was very pleased to see that no fewer than 60 (yes sixty!) non-sapling trees have been planted over at the BBC site.
The bit that caught my eye is that the deal has encouraged Igloo to look at other opportunities in Roath Basin and Cardiff.
We know that there is a planning application in tfor the Media hub with a view to being completed by summer 2012 and we know that infrastructure works are continuing apace including the new bridge and the main road into the scheme. Hopefully we could see further developments take place soon.