Cowlin Recognised with Two Regional RIBA Awards in Wales

Two design and build projects by contractors Cowlin Construction, a Balfour Beatty Company, were amongst the seven buildings that won RIBA Awards in Wales this year.

The RIBA Awards are given for buildings that have high architectural standards and make a substantial contribution to the local environment. The awards are annual, and have been running continuously since 1966.

Both Sleeperz Hotel and Skypad, the new Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at University Hospital of Wales, both in Cardiff were seen by the judges as not only outstanding examples of modern architecture, but also intelligent design solutions for two very different spaces and sectors.

The £4.6m Sleeperz Hotel now sits on a 350 square metre triangular site near Cardiff Central Station, which lay empty for fifteen years and contributed to an air of neglect in the area. In its judgement RIBA stated that: “The enterprising development of the bold new 74-bed hotel acts as a high quality catalyst for the regeneration of the wider area. The interior is comfortable, witty and enjoyable and the 74-bedrooms redefine spatial economy without feeling mean.  The planners insisted on the use of real stone and this shifted the project from a budget hotel towards that of a boutique destination. Even so, the construction cost per room is lower than even budget providers, suggesting many more sites could be made to work with this sort of thinking and clever design tailored to small sites.

This is not back to basics architecture but possibly a reinvention of the city-centre hotel model for a money-conscious world.”

In contrast the £2.4m Skypad was described by RIBA as “an extraordinary project, which can take its rightful place in a series of landmark healthcare buildings including the Paimio Sanatorium by Alvar Aalto, which uses sensitive, humane design to improve the physical and emotional environment for patient care.  The architects have drawn on their experience in hotel design to provide attractive and customisable interiors for the treatment of young people with cancer. The two-storey building is on a well placed but highly constrained, landlocked site. The distinctive blue metal-clad form is supported on inclined tubular legs, a familiar architectural device which here is driven by necessity, to step nimbly over myriad existing services, ventilation outlets and fire-escape routes and to connect directly to existing adult and paediatric oncology services.”

David Harris, Cowlin Construction Divisional Managing Director, stated:  “Both buildings demonstrate not only sound architectural design, but also construction design solutions that have dealt with space constraints and provided two unique buildings perfect for the eventual end users.  Our association with Clash Associates and Holder Mathias (Sleeperz) and ORMS Architectural Design (Skypad) has again proved the value of Design and Build contracts to our clients.  The RIBA Awards honour the whole design team and we are extremely pleased to have been recognised.”

 

 

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