Residents criticise council’s proposed ‘imposing, institutional’ headquarters

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

New images have revealed how a council’s proposed £60m headquarters could look, but the building’s design has drawn criticism from residents.

Cardiff Council’s current headquarters, also in Atlantic Wharf, has been previously described as a high-risk liability for several years due to mounting structural deterioration, spiralling maintenance backlogs.

Previously the council announced it would be moving to a new location as part of the wider urban regeneration of Cardiff Bay.

Now plans have been filed by Goldbeck Construction Ltd that have revealed new images of its new headquarters.

Planning documents read: “The proposed site occupies a prominent position between Cardiff city centre and Cardiff Bay, within the north-east part of the wider Atlantic Wharf masterplan area.

“It forms part of a changing urban environment where major regeneration, including the arena-led development to the west, is redefining the role, character and accessibility of this part of the city.

The proposal encompasses a “dual-use civic ensemble” with a contemporary office for the council and a “cultural destination” for the Wales Millennium centre known as “Capella”.

It continues: “The simplicity of its form reinforces its internal focus and experiential nature while the contrast between the transparent, gridded office building and the solid, self-contained theatre establishes a deliberate architectural dialogue.

“Together they reflect complementary modes of occupation: productivity and focus alongside immersion and collective experience.”

However, not everyone is happy with the building’s design.

One public comment attached to the application calls the new building “closer to a generic commercial office development than a building that should represent Cardiff and its public institutions” as well as “exceptionally bland, lacklustre and unimaginative”.

The anonymous member of the public said they were “particularly disappointed by the apparent lack of ambition in the design”.

Another member of the public, who was originally “genuinely excited” by the regeneration, now believes that the “original ambition” of the proposal has now been lost.

They wrote: “The current proposal appears to move considerably further towards an imposing, institutional and office-led building, with the surrounding open space becoming secondary to the building itself. In a part of Cardiff that is already becoming increasingly dense, I believe this is precisely the wrong direction.”

It has been reported that the costs to the council for the project will be around £60m.

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