Two types of curtain
walling, and entrance doors, by leading UK manufacturer Kawneer, including the
first use in the UK of a new severe duty welded door, feature on an award-winning
building at the heart of the dynamic redevelopment of Cardiff's Central
Square.
Kawneer's AA®100
capped and zone-drained aluminium curtain wall, complemented by its SSG
(Structurally Silicone Glazed) and mullion-drained sister product, have been
used throughout the glittering façade of the striking new headquarters building
for BBC
Cymru at Three Central Square.
They in turn are
complemented by thermally-superior AA®720 doors and the new dual colour AA®190
TB severe duty welded doors with class-leading thermal performance that is so
robust they are offered with a lifetime guarantee.
The project,
designed by Foster + Partners and built by main contractor ISG Construction for
developer Rightacres Property, won a 2019 RICS Wales award for Design Through
Innovation, and it is easy to see why.
Set
over four floors, the building is the new home for 1,200 BBC Cymru staff and
includes 16,292m2 of curtain walling and 3,572m2 of precast stone panels over 150,000ft2 of office,
studio and production space.
The 2,000-tonne
steel frame is an essential design feature, as part of the design's focus on
the building's visibility. It is left exposed underneath a glass roof garden
canopy supported by 10 28m-high supporting steel columns, with the frame's
connections forming a diamond shape in the centre.
The building is
designed to be open and welcoming - visitors can access the ground floor and
look up through a full-height atrium into the working spaces above, as well as
into a new café facing the square. The design also establishes a sense of
openness and transparency between different departments to create new
opportunities for collaboration and interaction.
The
heart of the headquarters is a 4,000m2 ‘hub' which extends
across three linked levels and incorporates studios, offices and production
facilities. The scheme includes a sheltered garden on the hub's roof which is
connected to a restaurant and provides a unique venue for filming as well as a valuable
social amenity for staff.
The project targeted
BREEAM ‘Outstanding' environmental accreditation with strategies such as
chilled beams, locally-sourced and recycled materials, and an efficient
envelope. Mechanical systems have been carefully integrated to create a highly
flexible interior which can anticipate and respond to changing technologies.
Adam Newburn,
partner at Foster + Partners, said: "The Kawneer system was proposed by
the façade contractor, Dudley's Aluminium. We looked at the product closely and
found that it met the performance requirements of the design."
The glazed elements
are fundamental to Foster's design which was to have large-format curtain
glazing so the Kawneer products were instrumental in allowing that to happen.
They met the aesthetic and performance intent of the design, enabling the
design intent to shine through and integrating seamlessly with the rest of the
façade.
Located opposite
Cardiff Central railway station, the project is situated on the site of the
former bus station. Works on Plots 1, 2, 3 and 6 have completed, or are near
completion, and works on Plot 4 are to start soon, and this will create a
dynamic area known as Central Square.
The innovative
spirit of the project was defined by the BBC's vision to be the most creative
organisation in the world, its commitment to create genuine public engagement
and the idea to create an open and attractive workplace. Broadcasting studios
usually require a controlled environment for operations, yet the building
manages to achieve the contrasting aims of the project to open up to the public
as well as be a world-class broadcasting hub for BBC Cymru.
RICS judges said the
project created a dynamic principal building for the Central Square
redevelopment and that the team behind it had created a "spectacular"
commercial, pre-let building.
Historically,
Central Square was the site of the planned settlement of Temperance Town, a 19th Century inner-city suburb, which was demolished to make way for
Cardiff bus station which opened in 1954, and office buildings.
For many years the
area suffered from a lack of sustained investment. Despite its significant
public transport attributes, it failed to deliver high levels of economic
activity and provided an underwhelming and unwelcoming arrival for many
visitors. The case for regeneration of the site was made because the existing
under-development was hindering Cardiff's potential.
Cardiff's rapidly
changing skyline reflects the capital's huge economic growth over the past 10
years. Central Square is within the Central Cardiff Enterprise Zone which is
already home to several financial and professional service businesses.
One of the primary
aims of the project was to give back to the city and the relocation of BBC
Cymru from Broadcasting House in Llandaff acted as a catalyst for change,
creating the opportunity to regenerate the historic site and unlock the heart
to the city.
