Wales has a legacy of great architectural gems but was not perceived as a leader in design until recently. Now a wave of projects is putting the country back in front. Kristian Dando reports.
On the face of it, Wales has not been short of striking and influential architecture.
From the grand statements of the halls and institutes of the Valleys to the Marquess of Bute’s romantic palaces, Italianate Portmeirion, and the brass armadillo-style Milennium Centre, Wales has made some bold statements.
Through one of the world’s most respected institutions – Cardiff University’s Welsh School of Architecture – Wales has provided influential and often remarkable buildings, even if the bright lights of London and further afield mean it can be difficult keeping hold of all the brightest and most promising minds that progress from the university.
Despite this fertile ground, some say Wales has a history of underperformance.
Jonathan Jones, regional director for HLM Architects in Wales, says: “My experience since arriving in Wales in 1970 from the US as an eight year-old has been that the overly inwardly focused nature of society in Wales has contributed to a lack of good architecture being commissioned and built.”
But he says that is likely to change: “New measures from the Assembly are pushing the boundaries and will help good architectural design to become less of an issue, and more of a pre-requisite.”
“If you compare the output of the Wales RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) region in producing RIBA award winning buildings with other similar sized regions, it is evident that Wales has not had its fair share of inspired design for a number of years, if, indeed, it ever has.
“Producing good designers does not result in good architecture without the presence of a society willing to take on board the challenges of a commitment to a well-designed and sustainable environment,” says Jones.
One of the drivers for change is the Assembly setting out a directive that will require all new buildings to comply with BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings and carbon neutrality by 2011.
That gives Wales the potential to lay down a marker for the rest of the UK and beyond.
Public buildings have provided the catalyst for change with the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, and buildings such as Caernafon’s Galeri spearheading a new breed of Welsh structures that are visually daring and structurally innovative. C
apita Architecture’s Jonathan Adams, the architect behind the Millennium Centre, says getting the green light for such projects is often a challenge. “When you’re working on public buildings you have to understand the people who control funding are under financial cosntraints,” he says. “It’s one of those businesses that you find yourself coming up against cynicism.
Other professionals can look at you and think all you do is draw pretty pictures with soft pencils, but it actually requires a diverse range of experience.
Drawing the pictures is just one of the disciplines
“But it’s so important to put yourself in the mindset of the people who hold the purse strings.
If you have an idea that is distinctive it can be awkward.”
However, Chris Hamilton of Bay Pointe – the 33-storey tower to be built near Cardiff’s International Sports Village – claims Wales is not forward thinking enough in delivering ambitious schemes.
The original Bay Pointe – a collection of controversial spherical structures – was rejected.
The skyscraper design has also been subject to criticism from commentators including Adams, who brands the scheme “an absolute disaster”.
Hamilton says: “The original Bay Pointe plans were too challenging for Wales.
And that wasn’t down the architects.
The developers, professionals and consultants couldn’t cope with it. Things have to be done in a particular way here.
“Architects tend to have the flair, but the banks and professionals tend to be too stuck in their ways,” he says. “When you look at the criticism we faced with the original plans, it just shows you what we’re up against.
Overseeing architecture in the principality is the Design Commission of Wales. “Our job is to champion good design, to the benefit of the people of Wales, and in support of sustainable development objectives”, says chief executive, Carole-Anne Davies.
“I know that sounds rather altruistic, but that’s what we’re trying to do: help deliver better towns, cities, schools and hospitals.
There’s a high price to pay for bad design, and it’s often the social cost for the people who live in poor neighbourhoods or work in buildings that aren’t of the quality skilled staff demand – so that’s an economic issue, let alone an environmental one.
“We don’t allow soap-boxing in Design Review and we’re not here to pull designs apart or stifle development.
What we do have is a rigorous, robust process of dialogue about key issues.” For Davies, a source of much frustration is the much-hyped “iconic sustainable buildings” that some developers are erecting at a very fast rate.
“In some cases, when developments are presented to us, our sustainability experts can see immediately if somebody is greenwashing,” says Davies. “Often, solar panels and wind turbines are proposed unnecessarily, when actually before we start adding on, what’s needed is to get the basics right – reduce energy demand, make the most of daylight, think about locally sourced, sustainable materials, transport and construction techniques.
We want to see simple things done first – proper orientation of buildings, good use of passive design and natural ventilation.”
Looking across the Cardiff Bay skyline from the commission’s Caspian Point headquarters, Davies says: “Out there I can only see about three good buildings.
The Bay is a product of its time, and decisions were made for all sorts of reasons.
That said, we should be learning from it.
The Senedd is outstanding, and the Pierhead building, but that was built nearly 200 years ago.
The Sovereign Quay residential scheme is also very good, and the Wales Millennium Centre.”
“While there is no doubt the waterfront is improved, it’s also a missed opportunity,” she says. “Wales needs to learn from the Bay’s mistakes.
Key issues with the Sports Village and the Bay Pointe area include the lack of transport connections, and the general quality of the public realm and pedestrian space.
Away from the bars and restaurants in the Bay there is a lack of life on the street and it is car dominated.”
On the positive side, she has high hopes for Igloo Regeneration’s Roath Basin plans, and says the standard of public building in Wales is high. “Cultural buildings are generally good – beyond the Millennium Centre, Galeri in Caernarfon is excellent, as is the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, which has also had a positive effect on public realm and other amenities close by such as the refurbished leisure centre.
The museum has been a catalyst in that way. And there are some fantastic residential developments, too – but they’re often small scale and we need to get them mainstreamed,” she says.
“It was a major step getting past all the Opera House nonsense,” says Davies of the ill-fated predecessor of the current building. “The Millennium Centre isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but it’s a good building.
It’s also OK to do architecture that is not of the norm – it’s not a normal building.
It’s good not to build things that are just steel and glass, and it’s good that Jonathan Adams could do that.”
She contrasts the Senedd building with a nearby private sector development: “It’s an outstanding piece of resource- efficient building.
In contrast, you look at the Red Dragon Centre and you’ve got to ask what kind of legacy it will represent We must understand that what we build now we – and future generations – will have to live with or deal with.”
But Wales is well placed for the future, says Adams. “Five years ago you would not have seen a developer such as Urban Splash in Swansea,” he says. “Aspirations are getting higher.”
“There are opportunities for architecture now that are only here because of devolution,” he says. “And the potential is there.
People in Wales are as interested in architecture as anywhere else. We’re getting better,” he adds. “It is quite difficult to build something truly dreadful in Wales nowadays.”