£60m new look council HQ approved

By Kieran Molloy

3 minutes read

THE final decision has been made on what Cardiff’s new £60m headquarters will look like, but not everyone is happy.

The new headquarters is intended to be a key part of the council’s ambition to regenerate Atlantic Wharf and the wider Cardiff Bay area.

**| The main entrance of the office HQ. Image: Rio Architects.**

The council’s current headquarters at County Hall, also in Atlantic Wharf, has previously been described as a high-risk liability for several years due to spiralling maintenance backlogs caused by worsening structural deterioration.

Developers behind the new site, which will include theatre space for a project linked to the Wales Millennium Centre, say it will be a destination as well as a modern workplace.

However, concerns have been raised about the potential disruption construction will bring and questions have been raised about the design of the building with one councillor calling it a “boring box”.

Another angle of the proposed development. Image: Rio Architects. — **| Another angle of the proposed development.** *Image: Rio Architects.*

At a council planning meeting, in which the project was given the go ahead, Cllr Jon Shimmin criticised the scheme as not being accessible from anywhere outside the city centre.

He said: “This is your once in a generation opportunity to go ‘This is Cardiff, look at us’ and you haven’t – you’ve produced a boring box.

“It’s just another office box that could be anywhere rather than a nice statement building.”

The councillor continued to call it “another missed opportunity for this council”.

This sentiment was echoed by councillors Emma Reid-Jones and Adrian Robson.

Cllr Robson said: “We are the capital city of Wales, the council needs to remember we are the capital city of Wales and embrace that and this does feel like it’s not doing so.

“There’s no real civic pride in this particular building as far as I can see.”

However, he did vote to approve the application.

According to the plans for the new site, lodged by Goldbeck Construction Ltd, the development consists of a “dual-use civic ensemble” with a modern office building for the council and a “cultural destination” for the Wales Millennium Centre known as “capella”.

The capella is described as an “immersive theatre” which includes performance areas and studio spaces.

The application reads: “Its compact, solid geometry reflects the spatial and acoustic demands of an immersive theatre, while its presence signals a destination rather than a workplace.”

| A view of the development at night with a potential projection. Image by Rio Architects. — **| Potential projection.** *Image: Rio Architects.*

Together with the adjoining arena, it will create “Cardiff Live”, which is described as a “unique destination capable of delivering numerous types of events for the city”.

In contrast to the comments of his planning committee colleagues, Cllr Driscoll said: “I quite like the design. Call me old fashioned but that 80s-look rings with me and I think it looks fantastic.”

Cllr Peter Wong called the design “underwhelming but inoffensive”.

He continued: “I’m not so sure about the need to have grandeur built into a council building.”

He praised other aspects of the building such as the active travel provisions.

Cllr Garry Hunt said: “The fact is buildings will reflect their times and the time we are in is of this sort of development.

“If you look at the CGI presentations, it looks quite imaginative inside.”

The plans also included road infrastructure works and active travel routes.

Addressing this, ward Cllr Saeed Ebrahim said: “This is not an objection to investment in Cardiff.

“Residents in Atlantic Wharf have lived through years of construction, road changes, diversions and disruptions.

“Many tell me they feel exhausted by the constant change around them.

“Too many people feel they have been expected to simply put up with disruptions because regeneration is happening around them.”

Cllr Helen Gunter, also a ward councillor, added: “It’s disappointing to see the report does not put enough weight on the impact of this application on residents living in the area.”

By Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

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