Central Square

12 storey office block, the render doesnt give justice to how large this will be! VERY bland building that wont age well and has little to no style, replacing like for like IMO.

Well maybe opportunity knocked with HMRC for central square but I'm dissapointed that the overall masterplan has changed from this...



maybe rightacres plans for brains will compensate?

Anyway I look forward to seeing more of this proposed HMRC building but can't pretend I'm not disappointed that they didn't go for more height rather than considerable bulk.

I think the HMRC build is the one to the right. The tower (to the left) may still be built

Am I the only one not disappointed by todays news?

I think the renders looks fantastic and if they get the materials right, it will be a most welcome addition to Cardiff.

The square is a great idea that will link and bring activity to a realitively dead space around the Old Post Office. I think together with the other developments and the existing Southgate House, it'll add some much needed mass Cardiff's CBD.

According the link below, Southgate House is only 48m.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t ... in_Cardiff

So the planned building at 55m will be taller. I think the renders may be based lacking a floor because it looks shorter than Southgate House!

Am I the only one not disappointed by todays news?

I think the renders looks fantastic and if they get the materials right, it will be a most welcome addition to Cardiff.

The square is a great idea that will link and bring activity to a realitively dead space around the Old Post Office. I think together with the other developments and the existing Southgate House, it'll add some much needed mass Cardiff's CBD.

I'm with you. Having many mid rise buildings is going to be better than a statement high rise. In the space of a few years Cardiff will have 5 or 6 10+ storey offices/new build in the same area. There will be new public realms and the quality of materials is going to be impressive throughout

L&G have invested 400m + in the area which is a huge result for Cardiff.

Am I the only one not disappointed by todays news?

I think the renders looks fantastic and if they get the materials right, it will be a most welcome addition to Cardiff.

The square is a great idea that will link and bring activity to a realitively dead space around the Old Post Office. I think together with the other developments and the existing Southgate House, it'll add some much needed mass Cardiff's CBD.

You're not alone. I think it looks great. I'm a sucker for buildings heavy on the glass though!

Tŷ Admiral - which is 11 floors of offices plus a double height ground floor and a double height top floor (so in effect as tall as a fifteen story office block) is 220,000 square feet.

It occupies a site with a footprint roughly 60% the size of the vacant land on Park Street. If the whole of the footprint is built on then I'd estimate that the new building of 270,000 sq ft will be about 9 storeys high - a double height ground floor with seven or eight storeys above.

So no tower I'm afraid.

When I posted this and made my calculations based on Ty Admiral, little did I know thst what would eventually emerge was Son Of Ty Admiral. At last the New Cardiff Vernacular has been defined - and it looks like tax and insurance offices. I think that it was Dic Mortimer who said that Ty Admiral looked like a convection heater and in a way these buildings mirror the Senedd in that they are associated with hot air (the Senedd building has some sort of eco turbine on its roof).

Is it architecture to amaze, inspire or thrill? I think not. But it does impress in a very safe, bland way. Let's hope we get a good bus station.

I like it. As long as the materials are top notch I think it will look good and the square opening up views to the law courts will be a great addition to the city centre.

I'm not quite sure what it is people want or expect with the buildings here. Lets remember that this is a building for a public sector branch office not the worldwide HQ for a leading bank or global corporation. Lets also remember that this is Cardiff and although we are a capital city we are about the 10th biggest city in the UK and in European terms insignificant. We also need to remind ourselves that in economic terms we are also small fry and bobbing around in the mid reaches of the UK economic tables and we sit in the midst of the most economically 'challenged' area in the UK.

I think we need to get real. Is this building and the whole central square development significantly better than what was there before. That must be a resounding yes even with the slightly disappointing redesign of the bus station. Will the buildings, individually, wow and impress visitors? Unlikley - but who wants a bunch of buildings jostling for attention? Will the sum of the whole Central Square development be greater than the sum of it's parts - I think it probably will.

I also think that what Cardiff needs is a period of developing its urban grain and actually looking like a city rather than individual statement buildings that look nice in isolation but make for a disjointed streetscape. A 12 storey building is unlikley to get the groin tingling but in conjunction with everything else being built I think ultimately it will add to the city in a more positive way than a statement tower.

I like it. As long as the materials are top notch I think it will look good and the square opening up views to the law courts will be a great addition to the city centre.

I'm not quite sure what it is people want or expect with the buildings here. Lets remember that this is a building for a public sector branch office not the worldwide HQ for a leading bank or global corporation. Lets also remember that this is Cardiff and although we are a capital city we are about the 10th biggest city in the UK and in European terms insignificant. We also need to remind ourselves that in economic terms we are also small fry and bobbing around in the mid reaches of the UK economic tables and we sit in the midst of the most economically 'challenged' area in the UK.

I think we need to get real. Is this building and the whole central square development significantly better than what was there before. That must be a resounding yes even with the slightly disappointing redesign of the bus station. Will the buildings, individually, wow and impress visitors? Unlikley - but who wants a bunch of buildings jostling for attention? Will the sum of the whole Central Square development be greater than the sum of it's parts - I think it probably will.

I also think that what Cardiff needs is a period of developing its urban grain and actually looking like a city rather than individual statement buildings that look nice in isolation but make for a disjointed streetscape. A 12 storey building is unlikley to get the groin tingling but in conjunction with everything else being built I think ultimately it will add to the city in a more positive way than a statement tower.

Yes all is not bad at all! I think I was just looking forward to the flagship tower Still the square is a big bonus and this remains a very substantial building that should look very good. When we look at this area as a whole - it will bear no comparison to what was previously here - unrecognisable! (Thankfully). Interesting that they hope to start in Autumn, presumably the demolition of St Davids house is more for the square than overlapping with the construction on the new HMRC.