A Study and Evaluation of the Metropolis

‘Architecture as Synthesis’ is a project based in Cardiff, a city with a developing metropolitan landscape that lies in the boundary between city and ‘large town’. Similarly, the project’s site is situated at the rear of the Cardiff Central train station, in the boundary between the inner city and the outside, as well as adjacent to the developing Central Quay masterplan which seeks to introduce multiple, large-scale buildings that range in programme, including residential and office buildings as well as a new university campus and student accommodation.

Stemming from semester one’s site analysis exercises, the basis of the project lies in providing an intermediary space to synthesise the different aspects of site, leading to the creation of the thesis titled ‘Outrospective’, produced in semester two and serving as the brief for the rest of the design’s development.

The proposal itself can be separated into two fundamental components – tower and plinth, which was decided through a rigorous form-testing exercise; the monumentality of the tower allows the building to relate to the developing masterplan’s similarly large buildings, whereas the comparatively smaller-scale plinth allows the building to relate to the scale of the existing buildings. The traditional tower and plinth relationship was then subverted by raising the plinth, providing more public street space at the ground floor. In-line with the unit theme of indeterminacy, the building is designed to be able to accommodate an array of programmes, with different ‘scenarios’ being tested against the proposal which has largely informed the layout, form and façade of the resulting building. The tower features a square plan, inspired by a study of ‘Capital Tower’, an omnipresent, yet unknown building in Cardiff, with a central core. The plinth features an open plan, conceptualised as a social condenser, where various programmes can be accommodated in unison, inspired by architects such as Lina Bo Bardi, OMA and Toyo Ito.

The expressive vertical circulation elements and support structures of the plinth are envisaged as ‘architectural objects’ that intersect the plinth and hit the ground floor plaza. The abstract architectural expression of these elements provide the proposal with an aspect of autonomy that does not relate to the surrounding situation but simultaneously allows it to become a ‘locus’, a landmark within the site to invoke interest and encourage use over a long period of time. Through use, the building will also start to reveal its nuance and surprises through its materiality and façade strategy and their references to surrounding buildings.