National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff, Wales · 2005
Photo · Photo by Katsuhisa Kida
A precedent for civic architecture featuring a dramatic, floating timber canopy and a monumental slate plinth that integrates public outdoor space with a highly transparent government building.
- What we like about this project
- The underside of the canopy curves smoothly inward to form a central light funnel or wind scoop.
Materials
- timber
- slate
- glass
- steel
Visual identifiers
- timber-canopy
- slate-steps
- glass-facade
- slender-columns
- public-plaza
Style tags
- high-tech
- expressionist
- regionalist
- sustainable
Visual tags
- civic-architecture
- monumental-canopy
- transparent-facade
- public-space
- waterfront-development
- Geometry
- A massive, sweeping timber-clad canopy with an upturned, saucer-like profile is supported by slender steel columns. The canopy floats over a highly transparent glass facade and a stepped slate plinth.
- Facade system
- Suspended glass cable-net facade system.
- Structural guess
- Steel-framed roof structure clad in timber, supported by circular hollow section steel columns.
- Spatial scale
- Grand civic scale, with the monumental canopy and steps dwarfing the pedestrians.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casts sharp shadows under the deep timber canopy, highlighting the contrast between the warm wood underside and the cool slate steps.
- Atmosphere
- An open, democratic, and welcoming civic atmosphere under a grand protective shelter.
- Environmental context
- Located on a waterfront public plaza with neighboring civic buildings and construction visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The design creates a seamless transition from the public plaza up a monumental flight of slate steps, sheltered by the dramatic overhanging timber roof before entering the transparent interior.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal sweep of the timber canopy balances the verticality of the slender columns and the stepped rhythm of the slate plinth.
- Style reading
- High-tech expressionism with regional materiality
- Program
- Government assembly building
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- timber, slate, glass, steel
- Visual identifiers
- timber-canopy, slate-steps, glass-facade, slender-columns, public-plaza
- Style tags
- high-tech, expressionist, regionalist, sustainable
- Visual tags
- civic-architecture, monumental-canopy, transparent-facade, public-space, waterfront-development
- Geometry
- A massive, sweeping timber-clad canopy with an upturned, saucer-like profile is supported by slender steel columns. The canopy floats over a highly transparent glass facade and a stepped slate plinth.
- Facade system
- Suspended glass cable-net facade system.
- Structural guess
- Steel-framed roof structure clad in timber, supported by circular hollow section steel columns.
- Spatial scale
- Grand civic scale, with the monumental canopy and steps dwarfing the pedestrians.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casts sharp shadows under the deep timber canopy, highlighting the contrast between the warm wood underside and the cool slate steps.
- Atmosphere
- An open, democratic, and welcoming civic atmosphere under a grand protective shelter.
- Environmental context
- Located on a waterfront public plaza with neighboring civic buildings and construction visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The design creates a seamless transition from the public plaza up a monumental flight of slate steps, sheltered by the dramatic overhanging timber roof before entering the transparent interior.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal sweep of the timber canopy balances the verticality of the slender columns and the stepped rhythm of the slate plinth.
- Style reading
- High-tech expressionism with regional materiality
- Program
- Government assembly building
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture