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- Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:07 pm
RandomComment wrote:Regarding the developments in Brum, Leeds, MCR.
The Brum one is basically a curved version of the Cardiff one. Curves reduce the efficiency of space utilisation so not surprised a public sector occupier wasn't too keen on curves.
The Manchester one has a bit of fretwork on one facade but otherwise is fairly similar to the Cardiff building.
The Leeds one is more interesting, I admit. But again, if you are going for a large public sector occupier you're going to want an efficient design and stepped buildings like that (which require more height, core facilities taking up a higher share of overall space) don't deliver that.
Would Cardiff get better quality buildings with more prestigious private sector occupiers? Yes. But we lack the big HQ or large branch offices of the sort of tech, finance (and I'm not counting admiral here, which is mostly a call centre!), professional services etc, that are willing and able to pay for such buildings.
With this in mind, I think simple buildings (to maximise efficiency) with high quality materials is what we should be aiming for. Better than buildings that try too hard on design but are let down by poor materials.
Agreed, I don't see a massive difference between any of the examples and Central Square. If anything, ours is simpler and less likely to look terrible in years to come. The Mcr building looks pretty bad now IMO.