Swansea building news, Welsh architecture designs, Architects projects, Masterplan, Museum
Swansea Buildings : Architecture
Contemporary Architectural Developments in Swansea, Wales, UK
post updated 31 March 2024
Welsh Architecture Designs – chronological list
Swansea Building News
Swansea Architecture News, chronological:
4 Mar 2022
Swansea Arena Building, Copr Bay, central Swansea, South Wales, UK
Design: ACME
photo © James Newton / Swansea Council
Swansea Arena Building
A new multi-million pound arena in Swansea clad in shimmering gold-coloured panelling and nearly 100,000 lights has become the UK’s first major music, performance and events venue to complete since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The new Swansea Arena, which has been under construction since 2019, is capable of showcasing dynamic visual content – using 93,000 individual LED lights which form a giant wraparound display – and is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
7 Jun 2019
Institute for Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies
Design: AHR Architects
photos courtesy of AHR Architects
Institute for Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies
The Institute for Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies (IMPACT) is part of the University’s strategic expansion of the College of Engineering and, as a Centre of Excellence, will provide a unique colocation facility for academia-industry partnerships in ambitious research and development.
18 Jun 2018
Swansea University Bay Campus
Aluminium manufacturing and installation company AB Glass has been contracted by Kier Construction to provide its services at a new development at Swansea University’s Bay Campus.
The IMPACT (Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies) building forms part of the university’s college of engineering and will deliver a high impact, transformative research environment for conducting world leading science and technology development. IMPACT is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government.
Swansea University Bay Campus IMPACT Building:
image courtesy of AB Glass
AB Glass will provide a range of aluminum systems for the development, including Kawneer AA100 curtain walling, Kawneer AA540 windows, AA190 doors and Vitral UK roof lights. The Swansea-based company will deliver the design, manufacture and installation services at the approximately 6000 square metre site.
The contract value is worth £867,000 to AB Glass, with the company starting work on the state-of-the-art research institute in May 2018.
Nigel Harvey, operations director at AB Glass, said:
“We are thrilled to have been appointed to offer our services at Swansea University’s prestigious Bay Campus. The research undertaken at the university is renowned all over the world and so contributing to this new research facility is an honour.
“Our involvement in this innovative development also extends our working relationship with Kier Construction and we are proud to continue our work with such a principal construction firm on yet another education-based project. We look forward to beginning our work on site in coming weeks.”
AB Glass has established a strong reputation for delivering success on projects within the education sector. In addition to this latest project, the firm has also provided its services to Briton Ferry School, Neath Port Talbot; Route 39 Academy, North Devon; Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera, Neath Port Talbot; Ysgol Bae Baglan, Neath Port Talbot; and the new University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) campus being developed in Swansea Waterfront.
30 Jan 2018
SA1 Swansea Waterfront Development
UWTSD welcome the first students to our new £300million SA1 Swansea Waterfront development in September.
The construction of SA1 Swansea Waterfront development has been underway for 18 months and will provide a home for the faculties of architecture, computing and engineering, education and communities, as well as a new library. With a total of 22 welsh subcontractors working on the project, to date around £19million worth of contracts have been secured by Wales-based businesses.
The architects are Stride Treglown Architects.
photo courtesy of UWTSD
The SA1 development will also be home to the Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC), which will also open this autumn. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and a consortium led by UWTSD, are working in partnership to deliver (CWIC) state-of-the-art facilities and training for individuals and construction companies, with CITB investing £6.5m. The centre will see a minimum of 1100 students trained at the SA1 hub each year.
Situated in phase one of the SA1 Swansea Waterfront development, the building is being constructed by Kier. It will cover 1,000 square metres of floor space, providing a ConstructZone, classrooms, dedicated IT suites and conference facilities. A dedicated scaffolding training facility will also be sited close by.
To date the partnership which includes Coleg Sir Gâr, Coleg Ceredigion, Coleg Cambria and Coleg y Cymoedd has delivered training to around 1,200 people and organised over 170 events.
A total of 52 University educational engagements have been held at the SA1 site, with the latest event organised by Kier Construction, aimed at teaching construction skills in a live working environment to pupils at local comprehensives.
UWTSD is dedicated to creating a community of staff and students across all its campuses who support sustainability through social, economic, cultural and environmental responsibility. The SA1 buildings will be BREEAM Excellent, featuring renewable technologies such as Solar Photovoltaics and taking a green approach to water conservation, through use of rainwater harvesting and waterless urinals.
Landscaping will utilise local tree species and there will be exemplar quality cycle storage provision.
Significant emphasis has been placed on procuring local contractors and using a local supply chain during construction.
This support also includes the commitment to the use of British steel in the design of the building frame. In addition, the company is providing a range of job opportunities, apprenticeships and work placements linked to the construction work. Such opportunities are being provided for the University’s students across its campuses in Swansea, Lampeter and Carmarthen and particularly students of the Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Engineering who are gaining first hand-experience of a live construction project. In addition, the company is keen to support community and civic projects linked to the development.
Other developments planned for the SA1 site include an exciting box village initiative, which will covert shipping containers to provide flexible, affordable space for start-up companies. It will be enhanced through the City Deal and will further contribute to the other innovative schemes planned across Swansea.
More contemporary Swansea Buildings on e-architect soon
Swansea Buildings 2017
7 Jun 2017
Swansea City Centre Regeneration
Design: ACME Architects
image : ACME, 2017
Swansea City Centre Regeneration
Swansea Central has achieved outline planning approval to create a major new leisure, retail and residential quarter in the centre of Wales’ second city. The project is located on the site of the former St David’s shopping centre and the city’s LC car park.
Swansea Buildings News Archive
22 Jun 2012
Maggie’s Southwest Wales
Design: Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates with Garber & James
photograph : Thore Garbers
Maggie’s Southwest Wales
Kisho Kurokawa gifted the concept sketch for this Maggie’s Centre before his death in 2007. The ensuing design presented a challenge to the architects tasked with delivering the sketch in that the complex geometries had not been defined. The outcome is a special and glorious little building in many ways.
17 Mar 2010
Meridian Quay Swansea
Design: Latitude Architects
photograph : Gilbert McCarragher
Meridian Quay Swansea Tower
Meridian Quay is the development of the last major dockside site in Swansea, Wales. The scheme includes 291 residential units together with 1950 m2 of commercial and retail space.
Swansea Architecture
Key Buildings in this South Wales city, listed alphabetically:
Bridge in Swansea
–
Design: Studio Bednarski Architects
Halfords
1999
Design: Ben Kelly Architects
Maggie’s Centre
2007-12
Design: Kisho Kurokawa
National Waterfront Museum
2006
Design: Wilkinson Eyre Architects
RIBA Awards 2006
Swansea Masterplan
2008-
Design: BDP – Building Design Partnership
Swansea Masterplan
Wilkinson Eyre – Swansea Museum architects
Information on more key new Swansea Buildings welcome
Location: Swansea, Wales
Welsh Architecture
Welsh Architecture – Selection
Aberystwyth Creative Units, west Wales
Design: Heatherwick Studio
Aberystwyth Creative Units
Cardiff Library Building, South Wales
Design: BDP Architects
Cardiff Library Building
Welsh National Assembly Photographs
Swansea
Swansea, “mouth of the Tawe”, officially known as the City and County of Swansea, is a coastal city and county in Wales. It is Wales’ second largest city and the UK’s twenty-sixth largest city.
This Welsh city lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy Southwest Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands. The City and County of Swansea had a population of 239,000 in 2011, making it the second most populous local authority area in Wales after Cardiff.
Queen’s Parade in Bangor Redevelopment
Design: FaulknerBrowns Architects
image courtesy of architects
Queen’s Parade in Bangor Buildings
Cardiff University Innovation Campus
Design: Hawkins\Brown ; HOK ; BDP ; DPP
image from architecture office
Cardiff University Innovation Campus
Buildings / photos for the Swansea Architecture page welcome
Website: Visit Swansea