page_title: Architecture of Cardiff
section_title: 21st-century architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Cardiff / 21st-century architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: The 8 photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energy to provide up to 800 watts of electricity, enough to light this eco-house at St Fagans, UK.
context_page_description: Architecture in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, dates from Norman times to the present day. Its urban fabric is largely Victorian and later, reflecting Cardiff's rise to prosperity as a major coal port in the 19th century. No single building style is associated with Cardiff, but the city centre retains several 19th and early 20th century shopping arcades.
  The city is noted for its fantasy castles, Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, both by the Victorian architect William Burges. The well-preserved early 20th century Civic Centre, surrounding Cathays Park, was described as one of the best examples of civic planning in Britain.
  The city contains a number of notable modern buildings and engineering projects. These include the Millennium Stadium in the city centre and several examples in the major urban regeneration project of Cardiff Bay, for example the Wales Millennium Centre and the Senedd.
  The western suburb of St Fagans contains an open-air museum of Welsh vernacular architecture, the St Fagans National History Museum.
context_section_description: Cardiff began the new century in 2000 with the completion of a House of the Future at the St Fagans National History Museum. It was a joint initiative between BBC Wales and Malcolm Parry of the Welsh School of Architecture and aimed to create a zero carbon house on a reasonable £120,000 budget, using the latest technologies.
  Cardiff Bay underwent an urban regeneration scheme in the late 20th century and its Barrage was a major civil engineering project. New buildings of note in this area include:
  The Senedd, the debating chamber of the National Assembly for Wales (Richard Rogers, 2006), shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize.
  The Wales Millennium Centre (opened 2004), awarded the Wales Eisteddfod Gold Medal in 2005. – this project was preceded by the Cardiff Bay Opera House scheme which, if built, would have been the first building by Zaha Hadid in the United Kingdom. The building was refused a Lottery grant as one had already been granted to the Millennium Stadium (HOK Sport, 1999).
  260m 'post modern' facade to the BBC TV Production Centre (2011), by Fashion Architecture Taste.
  Cardiff city centre is approximately 1 mile north of Cardiff Bay. Notable modern buildings in the city centre include:
  The new Cardiff Central Library (opened in March 2009) is an example of sustainable architecture. The building was specifically designed to be energy-efficient, and includes a sedum grass roof to improve insulation and reduce rainwater run-off, coloured glass panels and solar shading to prevent excessive heat gains, and a full Building Management System to provide climate control to individual floors. As a result of these measures the building was awarded a BREEAM rating of 'excellent'.
  Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, North Road, completed a £22.5 million redevelopment in 2011. The impressive exterior blends with the nearby Civic Centre and parklands using Portland stone cladding and vertical cedar louvres. The interior contains an art gallery and a new recital hall.
  The Cardiff International Sports Village and St David's 2 shopping centre are large leisure complexes underway as of 2009.
caption: House of the Future
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