CRITICS of a controversial Cardiff building have expressed their shock at its inclusion on a shortlist for a top design award.
The Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) headquarters on the city’s Western Avenue has divided locals since its completion in February.
The steel-clad structure stands sandwiched between one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares and grade two-listed Llandaff Fields.
Critics branded the building “ghastly” and “like an upturned sandcastle” after yesterday’s Echo revealed it was in line to pick up an award from the Royal Institution of British Architects (Riba).
Elaine Davey, chair of the Victorian Society’s Wales branch, said: “I’m surprised it’s on the Riba shortlist. It is right next to Llandaff Fields, which is a grade two-listed park and on a really visible route into Cardiff. Plus there seems to have been no attempt to match it to the height of the building opposite.
“I think it looks like an upturned sandcastle. It’s massively overdeveloped and they have over-egged it with this hideous red brick facade on one side.
“It’s a horrendous overdevelopment on a sensitive site.”
Peter Cox, chairman of the Cardiff Civic Society, said he was “surprised” by the judges’ decision to include it alongside buildings like the new Cardiff Central Library and the Skypad Teenage Cancer Trust Unit.
He said: “I think it’s interesting that they should have chosen this particular building because I personally think it’s pretty ghastly for a number of reasons that don’t have anything to do with taste.
“It continues an invasion into Llandaff Fields that was started when the WJEC first converted the original smaller building into offices and then carried out continuous extensions until they could extend no more.
“I would rather the building wasn’t there at all, but if it had to be there I would have liked to see it take into account its surroundings – one of the first principles of good architecture.
“I helped commission the architects for the Chapter Arts Centre’s £3.8m revamp so I have to declare an interest, but I think it’s up to architects and clients to set the bar really high for what is an acceptable building and what’s not.”
The WJEC building’s architect, Jonathan Adams of Capita Percy Thomas, defended his creation.
He said: “I think, obviously, it’s a building that’s designed to be eye-catching and it’s right by the side of the busiest road in Cardiff and that is the context in which it is designed.
“I think a building which is as eye-catching and contemporary as this one makes a positive statement about the city.
“We think it’s wonderful to be included on the shortlist with so many other excellent buildings – it’s about attempting to achieve a level of quality and it’s great news to have so many submissions from Cardiff.”
* See the entries for the RIBA Awards 2010, below, then just click the button on the voting system on the one you think is the most deserving. We'll let you know in around a month the one with the most votes.
