How can we create housing through an adaptive reuse of our industrial heritage?

A key theme was the reuse of an existing building to create a more site-specific and contextually aware housing scheme that would minimize disruption and displacement in its area. Due to the location of the site, it was important to improve the public realm and foot traffic through the area.

There is a current trend in Cardiff that is seeing its industrial heritage demolished and replaced with standard apartment blocks. I wanted to see if there was a way of providing housing without the demolition or displacement of any businesses.
In addition, when looking at housing provisions within Cardiff, there is a distinct lack of council housing near the center. As such, the tenure of the housing will be council-owned.

The scheme arose from a deep understanding of the building's past and its current state. The proposal keeps the existing route down the center of the building and uses it as a modern arcade. This is accessed from the east by a new entrance and the west by a new pedestrian bridge crossing the River Taf.
The dwellings were designed around the existing structural grid. The trusses determined the dimensions of the homes and in turn, become a feature in some of them.

The project aims to integrate itself into the community through an understanding of the demographics. The typologies have been designed around the average household sizes and occupancy, which is a split between young single professionals, and small families.
In addition, it fills in the gaps in the facilities and amenities of the area such as small commercial spaces for local businesses, live/work apartments, and coffee shops.