The Crown Buildings (Welsh: Adeiladau y Goron), which are also known as the Cathays Park Buildings, are the Welsh Government's main offices in Cardiff, Wales. The buildings were formerly used by the Welsh Office and are situated in Cathays Park. The complex consists of two buildings, Cathays Park 1 (a Grade II-listed building) and Cathays Park 2, joined by two skybridges.
In 1914 foundations were laid for an imposing neoclassical building on this site housing Welsh Government Offices, to a design by R. J. Allison, architect to the Office of Works. Work soon stopped and did not resume for twenty years. In 1934–8, the block now known as Cathays Park 1 (a.k.a. CP1 or old Crown Building) was built by P. E. Hanton, as offices for the Welsh Board of Health.[1] It is a three-storey building in the Stripped Classical style, with 3,599m2 (38,740sqft) of floorspace. It also has an attic and a basement.[2]
Cathays Park 2 (a.k.a. CP2 or new Crown Building) is a five-storey office building with 34,305m2 (369,260sqft) of floorspace, including an underground car park and a central atrium housing a cafe for the office staff.[3] The Encyclopaedia of Wales describes CP2, completed in 1979, as conveying an impression of "bureaucracy under siege".[4] The historian John Davies, however, regarded the complex as being "splendid".[5]
The sky bridge between Cathays Park 1 and 2 'the link' has been the subject of some discussion amongst staff based in the building. People have reported an eerie feeling, a general sense of something "unworldly" with people catching fleeting glimpses out of the corner of their eye which had led to rumours of the area being haunted.[6]
In 1968, Cathays Park 1 was damaged by a bomb explosion, the second in the area in under 12 months following a previous attack on the nearby Temple of Peace.[7][8][9]
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and deputy ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
Mid Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales. From 1974 until 1996 it was also an administrative county with a county council.
The first minister of Wales is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government policy. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Wales in an official capacity, at home and abroad, and responsibility for constitutional affairs, as they relate to devolution and the Welsh Government.
The Welsh National Temple of Peace and Health, known as the Temple of Peace and Health or commonly the Temple of Peace, is a non-religious civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It was designed by the architect Sir Percy Thomas. Since its foundation, the building has served a dual function as headquarters for health and international affairs organisations.
Llanishen is a district and community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the 2011 census was 17,417.
Cathays is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is densely populated and contains many Victorian terraced houses. The area falls into the Cathays ward. It is the third most populous community in Cardiff, having a population of 18,002 in 2011.
Cardiff city centre is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Central and Queen Street – to the south and east respectively. Cardiff became a city in 1905.
Cathays Park or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It includes Edwardian buildings such as the Temple of Peace, City Hall, the National Museum and Gallery of Wales and several buildings belonging to the Cardiff University campus. It also includes Cardiff Crown Court, the administrative headquarters of the Welsh Government, and the more modern Cardiff Central police station. The Pevsner architectural guide to the historic county of Glamorgan judges Cathays Park to be "the finest civic centre in the British Isles". The area falls within the Cathays electoral ward and forms part of the Cathays Park Conservation Area, which was designated in 1975.
Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centre; Alexandra Road, High Street, Wind Street and the Castle; Parc Tawe; and the Maritime Quarter extending down to the seafront.
The Senedd building, in Cardiff, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms of the Senedd. The 5,308-square-metre (57,100 sq ft) Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006, Saint David's Day, and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7 million in construction costs. The Senedd building is part of the Senedd estate that includes Tŷ Hywel and the Pierhead Building.
Sir Percy Edward Thomas OBE was an Anglo-Welsh architect who worked in Wales for the majority of his life. He was twice RIBA president.
Cardiff Crown Court is a historic building situated in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales. The building is a Grade I listed building. As a Crown Court venue it is part of the Wales Circuit of His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. The court house has nine courtrooms in addition to one "virtual" courtroom. The senior judge at the court is Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff.
The University of Wales Registry is the administrative headquarters of the University of Wales, located in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales.
SA1 Swansea Waterfront is the marketing name given to the brownfield development area in the northern part of Swansea Docks, Wales. The area lies directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre. It is bordered by the Fabian Way to the north, and includes the Prince of Wales Dock.
Percy Thomas Partnership was the trading name of the award-winning British architectural practice established some time between 1965 and 1973 as the successor to a series of earlier partnerships originally set up by Percy Thomas (1883–1969) in Cardiff, Wales in 1911/12. Percy Thomas and the Percy Thomas Partnership put their name to a number of landmark buildings in the United Kingdom including the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. It opened offices overseas and completed a number of prestigious buildings in Hong Kong.
BBC Roath Lock Studios is a television production studio that houses BBC drama productions including Doctor Who, Casualty, and Pobol y Cwm. The centre topped out on 20 February 2011 and filming for such productions commenced in autumn of the same year.
Cardiff Central police station is a 20th-century police station located in Cathays Park in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. Previously the South Wales Police's Eastern Division headquarters, the police station is currently responsible for policing the city centre.
The Welsh Revenue Authority is a non-ministerial department of the Welsh Government responsible for the administration and collection of devolved taxes in Wales.
Cardiff Bus Interchange is a new bus and transport interchange, as well as offices and apartments, in the centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.
Tŷ William Morgan is a UK Government building and hub in the centre of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It primarily serves as a base for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and also houses staff from other UK Government Departments including Wales Office, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Ofgem, Valuation Office Agency and the UK Space Agency.
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