PLACES
Shaping my city.
Cardiff.
Clockwise from bottom left: Principality Stadium, Heath Hospital and Children’s Hospital for Wales, Admiral Insurance HQ, No 2 Kingsway, St David's Shopping Centre, No 1 Kingsway
Partner Wynne Harris shares some of the unique projects that have helped to make Cardiff the vibrant city it is today.
LET'S TALK
HOARE LEA & CARDIFF
Our Cardiff office opened approximately 30 years ago, providing us with a hub from which to grow our work in the Welsh capital and surrounding areas. Today it’s a welcoming community of creative engineers, along with specialists in acoustics, lighting design and sustainability, who are passionate about projects that shape both Cardiff and Wales for the better.
From the city...
Principality Stadium.
Known to the world as the Millenium Stadium, this is one of the UK’s most prestigious sporting venues. In the past 12 months, it also took on arguably its most important role to date, temporarily becoming the Calon Y Ddraig (Dragon’s Heart) Hospital to help respond to the Covid pandemic. Back in the 90s, the project was a fast-track build, with the immovable deadline of the 1999 Rugby World Cup. As the biggest ever stadium with a retractable roof – and the first in the UK – we defined exactly what the MEP and environmental parameters were, visiting the most innovative facilities at the time and researching technologies to understand how we could enhance the visitor experience.
I remember watching the official opening rugby match there with Wales beating South Africa for the first time! I’ve never felt pride like it... until last year of course, when the team handed over the space to the NHS after working around the clock to transform it from stadium to temporary hospital in just a matter of months.
Heath Hospital and Children’s Hospital for Wales.
This was the first dedicated hospital for children to be built in the country. We were involved in both phases of the build, which spanned a decade. The client’s challenge to us was to deliver world-class services in keeping with the vision for a truly child-friendly environment. They also needed us to do this in a way that was as environmentally conscious as possible. Wellbeing was absolutely central to our solution. Our services and acoustic design was dedicated to creating reassuring spaces, without ‘scary’ or loud equipment – with child-focused systems. This meant creating easily controlled heating, ventilation, and lighting features, allowing children and their families to adjust their environment – ensuring they feel as secure, comfortable, and relaxed as possible. Alongside this, we were able to achieve a BREEAM Very Good rating, an Outstanding rating in Energy Credit Ene 01, and a 50 percent carbon reduction. The Phase 2 space opened an incredible eight weeks ahead of programme, under budget, and exceeding the required quality standards… and went on to win the Constructing Excellence Project of the Year Award 2016 – what a project!
Admiral Insurance HQ.
Our relationship with leading welsh based FTSE company Admiral Insurance goes back more than 20 years so it was fitting to become involved as client advisor for its major new HQ ‘Ty Admiral’. At the time it was the largest pre-let commercial office space in Cardiff, with the potential to house circa 3,000 employees. We advised on all matters relating to MEP engineering and Acoustics, along with preparing detailed fit out specifications for incorporation into the base build works. In response to Admiral Insurance’s 25 year lease period, our solutions reduced the risk of excessive plant replacement costs over the term. Since completing this flagship HQ, we’ve helped support the technical design of the company’s new call centre in Newport, a fit out at Capital Quarter Cardiff, and various refurbishments at its Swansea offices.
No 1 & 2 Kingsway.
No 1 Kingsway was my first project for Hoare Lea when I joined some 27 years ago and has probably stood the test of time far better than yours truly! It’s funny that after all these years I still remember some of the technical challenges, such as building next to the historic dock feeder and how to get enough supply air into the carpark. Meanwhile, the more recent No 2 Kingsway boasts fabulous views across to Cardiff Castle and is an excellent example of a refurbished office scheme, designed for multiple office tenancies. It was completed more than 20 years after No 1 – I wonder whether there will be a No 3? Alas, I don’t think I will be around in any further engineering capacity in another 20 years!
St David’s 2 Shopping Centre.
This is now one of the best places to shop and socialise in the UK, not just Wales… The scheme represented a huge investment in the city centre at the time. We dedicated a full-time local experienced design team to develop an MEP approach that was integral to the success of the space – both its functionality and user comfort levels. By basing ourselves onsite from summer 2007 to spring 2010, we could collaborate really effectively, and ensure the strict budgets and stringent timescales were kept to. It’s a beacon of retail-led mixed-use urban regeneration in the city – with a fantastic atmosphere found throughout the contemporary and relaxing environment. We are still continually involved in this ever-evolving development, acting for the Shopping Centre owners to support changing tenants and their associated fit outs. I certainly think there will be ongoing re-purposing in the coming years to reflect changing shopping habits and continue to be the vibrant destination it is today.
Clockwise from bottom left: Scott Harbour, Crickhowell House / Ty Hywel, National Credit Mutual (now Atradius), Oval Basin.
To the bay...
Scott Harbour.
Having always been mesmorised as a young boy with tales of exploration to the Antarctic and, in particular, Scott’s famous expeditions to the South Pole, it was great to be involved in a project just a stone’s throw from where Terra Nova set sail for that famous but fateful trip. These five workplace buildings that make up the 150,000 ft2 development have each been named after elements of Scott’s expedition, honouring the history of the area.
Crickhowell House / Ty Hywel.
Crickhowell House (now Ty Hywel) was originally designed as a backdrop office building that would be masked by future surrounding developments and therefore, at times, attracted some architectural critique. But it’s certainly held more affectionately in the eyes of most residents now, as a practical building that houses some of the most important decisions for the city and country. Over the years it has been the administrative HQ for the Welsh parliament (Senedd), as well as being offices for the Welsh Government.
National Credit Mutual (now Atradius).
This is a very architecturally pleasing building, with its ‘pink’ granite hues that shimmer in the changing light conditions throughout the day. It was also ground-breaking, as the first building in Wales to be comfort cooled via chilled beams in combination with displacement ventilation via floor mounted air supply grilles. It’s a wonderful example of how we were pioneering healthy buildings more than 25 years ago, and I’m proud to say the amount of fresh air introduced across the office floor plates in this building are more than double that of many new offices being built today. With the events of the past year in mind, and the implications to health we will inevitably see, I think it’s likely we’ll see a return to more fresh air and better air distribution in many workplaces.
Oval Basin.
The Oval Basin is synonymous with some of the best views and vistas in Cardiff Bay. The imposing columns are strategically located to define the mini amphitheatre and create a multi-functional social outdoor space that can become the stage for a concert, a place for pop up shops/stalls, an area for families to enjoy a picnic, and even simply act as an enjoyable pathfinding route to other destinations. We were so pleased to be involved in this fun project, lending our expertise to the lighting, electrical power distribution and water feature design for this iconic piece of Welsh public realm.
llustration: Claire Huntley