Regenerating Taff Vale
The brief
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council appointed DB3 as the lead multidisciplinary design team for the £38 million Llys Cadwyn redevelopment. DB3 acted as both the architect and lead consultant for all RIBA Stages.
The redevelopment includes:
• two new office blocks
• a striking gateway building featuring a 21st-century library
• council customer contact point
• café
• community facilities
• leisure and fitness centre.
The project has revitalised the area by creating an attractive riverside promenade and providing 14,693 sqm of office space for over 1,000 people, resulting in substantial economic benefits that position Pontypridd as a strategically important town in the region.
The scheme
The scheme
The scheme compromises three buildings. The first one serves as the headquarters for Transport for Wales (TfW). The second building has office space that accommodates 400 staff alongside an accompanying café. The third building is ovular in shape and houses the library, council customer contact point, and leisure and fitness centre. In addition, the areas in and around the premises have been improved and are open to the public, including a new Taff Vale walkway that runs alongside the river. Furthermore, a pedestrian bridge has been constructed over the River Taff, connecting Llys Cadwyn with the Ynysangharad War Memorial Park.
Challenges
Challenges
The successful completion of the project involved overcoming several technical hurdles that demanded a highly cooperative and interdisciplinary approach across all three buildings. These challenges included navigating Covid-19 restrictions and mitigating the flood damage caused by Storm Dennis. Additionally, while the Llys Cadwyn site was not situated within a conservation area, it was bordered by such areas and listed buildings, which required meticulous consideration.
Design details
Design details
To achieve the unique appearance of the ovular building, it was crucial to employ an accurate engineering approach. The construction involved utilising a steel skeletal frame, which was carefully designed to accommodate the curved walls. To cover the frame, precision-engineered timber panels made of laminated veneer lumber were over-clad. The curved steel frame originates from the reinforced concrete core, and it provides the necessary support for prefabricated timber cassettes that are bolted back to the steel. In total, the project incorporated 6,345 zinc shingles, each roughly the size of a ceiling panel. The internal structure of the building presented its own set of challenges. As the gym and activity studio were located above the library, managing vibration and acoustic control in long-span steel beams (up to 15m) was a significant issue that required careful design solutions from our team.
Social value
Social value
The project generated more than 3,987 weeks of training opportunities, which included 834 weeks of training for individuals who were long-term unemployed, 957 apprentice weeks, and 201 weeks of work experience. Additionally, the project prioritised local employment, with 67% of the workers residing within a 40-mile radius of the site. Over 60% of the project’s expenditure was also within a 20-mile radius. Overall, the project produced a social return on investment of £12.6m.
The development has been highly commended in the British Construction Industry Awards. It has won awards for Transformation, Winner of the Winners, Creating Economic Growth, and Development of the year. Furthermore, the development has exceeded expectations by achieving a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.
Client: Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council
Location: Pontypridd, Wales
Value: £44 million
RIBA Stages: 1-8
Making Healthy Places to Live, Work and Play
Making Healthy Places to Live, Work and Play
DB3’s work in urban design is diverse and we are experienced in a wide range of types of development, from residential led master planning schemes to long-term property strategies, phased commercial site development, retail and leisure facilities as well as wider urban development plans.
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