Wales Millennium Centre – Cardiff, Wales

Wales Millennium Centre (Welsh: Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru), which also has a nickname locally as The Armadillo, is a centre for the performing arts located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. It was opened during the weekend of the 26-28 November 2004 and has hosted performances of opera, ballet, dance, comedy and musicals. The 37,000 square metre (398,000 square foot) building currently comprises two theatres and a smaller hall, shops, bars and restaurants, and seven resident Welsh arts organisations. The total area of the site covers 4.7 acres (1.9 hectares).

The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, holds 1,897 people and the second theatre, the Weston Studio Theatre, has a maximum capacity of 250 people. The Urdd Hall holds 153 people and the seating is retractable when not in use. By the autumn of 2008 the building will also incorporate the BBC Hoddinott Hall, which will hold 350 people, and will be home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Background

Cardiff Bay Opera House

The Centre is the successor to a previous project on the site, the Cardiff Bay Opera House. This was aplan, supported by the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation, to construct a permanent home for the world-famous Welsh National Opera. However, the project failed to win financial support from the Millennium Commission, the body which distributed funds from the UK National Lottery.

International competition

An international design competition was established by the Cardiff Bay Opera House Trust to decide on the architect for the project. The competition would eventually be in two rounds. The first round of the competition attracted 268 international competitors; it was won by Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid. The list of architectural practices that took part in the competition included Itsuko Hasegawa, Mario Botta, Rem Koolhaas, Rafael Moneo, Manfredi Nicoletti, Pietro Marcozzi Architect, Rusli Associates, Percy Thomas Partnership and Greg Lynn FORM. Her avant-garde design was radical glass structure that surrounded the main theatre. However, her design was so radical that Lord Crickhowell as chair of the Cardiff Bay Opera House Trust, asked Hadid to submit her design again along with Norman Foster + Partners and Manfredi Nicoletti, who were asked to submit revised designs, for a second round of competition. But she again won this round too.

Aftermath

The decision to reject the bid for lottery money by the Millennium Commission was announced on 22 December 1995. Many claim that the bid failed because of the widespread unpopularity of the Millennium Commission support for the Royal Opera House in London, which was seen as elitist. Others say that the project was destroyed by conservatism and provincialism in relation to the modern architecture, and by Cardiff Council’s support for the Millennium Stadium.

Design and Construction History

Phase I (Donald Gordon Theatre, Weston Studio Theatre & Urdd Hall)

The centre was designed by Jonathan Adams, of local architects, Capita Percy Thomas, with Arup Acoustics providing the acoustic design. His first concept drawings were made in the spring of 1998, by 1999 his design was starting to look more like the building is today.

Construction began on 25 February 2002, the main contractor being Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd and Kelsey Roofing Industries Ltd being the roofing contractor. Carr and Angier were the theatre consultants. Other contractors included Stent (foundations), Swansea Institute (glass), GH James Cyf (stonemasonry), Rimex (stainless steel), Alfred McAlpine (slate), Coed Cymru (wood), Ann Catrin Evans (door furniture), Amber Hiscott (etchings on glass walls).

The architect’s concept of the building was to design a building that expressed “Welshness” and that was instantly recognisable. The building was designed to reflect the many different parts of Wales with local Welsh materials that dominate its history; slate, metal, wood and glass. All the materials used come from Wales and was built from 1,350 tonnes of Welsh slate, 300,000 concrete blocks, a million metres of electric cable.

• Slate

The exterior of the building is clad in multi-coloured slate collected from Welsh slate quarries. Narrow windows are built into the layers of slate to give the impression of rock strata they depict the different stone layers in sea cliffs. The purple slate came from the Penrhyn Quarry, the blue from Cwt y Bugail Quarry, the green from the Nantlle Valley, the grey from Llechwedd quarry, and the black from the Corris Quarry. The slate industry in Wales changed the landscape of North Wales forever and is a part of Welsh heritage.

• Metal

The structure is dominated by a huge dome, clad in steel which has been treated with copper oxide to give it a bronze colour. It has been designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the waterfront, and to look better with age. The steel industry was once a major employer in Wales, which is why it was decided to use bronze coloured textured stainless steel for the shell dome. The architect decided against using copper and aluminium because they would both change colour with weathering.

• Wood

Both inside and outside the building, including the main Donald Gordon theatre, the balconies and the rear of the building, is dominated by bands of hardwood lining the walls. Like the exterior of the building, the principle internal spaces are designed to make the best use of natural materials in their natural state. The structure and detail of the concourse galleries echo the form of the exterior, with the curving strata formed in native hardwoods.

• Glass

Glass was used to incorporate into the bands of slate. The glass is 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) thick and was cut and installed by the Architectural Glass Department at Swansea Institute. Glass is used not in the contemporary British architectural style of the glass curtain. Jonathan Adams said, “The glass veins in the external walls of the Wales Millennium Centre make use of conventional glass in a unique way: the sheets of glass are stacked together and fused in a kiln to form solid blocks.”

• Calligraphy

Inscribed on the front of the dome, above the main entrance, are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis. The Welsh version is Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen, which means “Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration”. The English is In These Stones Horizons Sing. The lettering is formed by windows in an upstairs bar area; these are internally illuminated at night, giving spectacular reflections in the water features.

Phase II (BBC Hoddinott Hall)

The new extension to the Wales Millennium Centre will be completed by autumn 2008 and will be the new home for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The new theatre will be named the BBC Hoddinott Hall, in recognition of the late Welsh classical composer Alun Hoddinott CBE (August 11, 1929 – March 12, 2008). It will also include a custom-built broadcast, recording and performance facilities and will hold 350 people, together with a second space for practice rooms, administration offices, a music library and backstage facilities.

The BBC Hoddinott Hall was also designed by the same architectural team of Capita Percy Thomas, now called Capita Architecture and the main contractor has again been Sir Robert McAlpine.

Resident Organisations

The Wales Millennium Centre is currently home to seven resident arts companies:

• Academi – The Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society For Writers
• Diversions – the Dance Company of Wales
• Hijinx Theatre – an award-winning, innovative theatre company that promotes community work, aiming to bring together people of all ages
• Touch Trust – providing educational touch and movement therapies to people with profound disabilities and autism
• Tŷ Cerdd – music information centre for Wales’ amateur and professional musicians
• Urdd Gobaith Cymru (The Welsh League of Youth) – The Welsh language youth movement
• Welsh National Opera – The international touring opera company

When the BBC Hoddinott Hall is opened, it will also be home to:

• BBC National Orchestra of Wales – The only professional national symphony orchestra for Wales

They all have office and work space in the Centre, with performance spaces, rehearsal halls, a fully equipped recording studio, and a dance house.

Corporate Financing and Rebranding

The total cost of the project was GB£106.2 million. The National Lottery Millennium Fund provided £31.7 million, a further £37 million came from The National Assembly for Wales and £10.4 million was donated by the Arts Council of Wales. In addition a private investor, South African businessman Donald Gordon donated £20 million to be shared equally between the Royal Opera House and the Wales Millennium Centre. The centre also received a £13.5 million loan from HSBC. The remaining funds for the project came from a major sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society. Today the Centre has many corporations and public bodies who provide sponsorship to the Centre.

The National Assembly for Wales announced on 6 November 2007 that it was to pay off the outstanding loan of £13.5 million from HSBC and also increase the annual funding. This would only repay the capital debt and not any ongoing operating loss as the Centre remains profitable. The money used to pay the debt came from unallocated funds from the Assembly’s previous budget and it was said by the Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, that the new money allocation would not come at the expense of other art projects from other parts of Wales.

In November 2006, Wales Millennium Centre announced that they would begin a two phase rebranding project. The project was won by a local Cardiff company, Sweet. The first phase of the project would involve a new corporate logo, the second phase would include the complete redesign of other marketing tools, such as brochures and advertisements.

Facilities

In addition to the 2 theatres (Donald Gordon Theatre and Weston Studio Theatre), the building also has six function rooms: Victor Salvi Room, The David Morgan Room, The Sony Room, The Seligman Room, The Japan Room and Function Room 6.

The building includes rehearsal rooms and orchestral facilities for the Welsh National Opera, dance studios for Dance Diversions, including the Blue Room with seating for 80 – 100 seats. The Urdd Gobaith Cymru houses a 140-bed hostel, as well as performance and teaching space. The Urdd Hall has 153 seats and is controlled by the Urdd.

Technical Information

• Name: Wales Millennium Centre; The Armadillo
• Location: Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales
• Broke ground: February 2002
• Opened: 26-28 November 2004
• Owner: Wales Millennium Centre
• Operator: Wales Millennium Centre
• Construction cost: GB£106.2 million
• Architect: Percy Thomas Partnership, now called: Capita Architecture
• Tenants: Academi, Diversions, Hijinx Theatre, Touch Trust, Tŷ Cerdd, Urdd Gobaith Cymru and Welsh National Opera.
• Capacity: Donald Gordon
• Theatre: 1,897
• Weston Studio Theatre: 250
• Urdd Hall: 153 (retractable)
• BBC Hoddinott Hall: 350 (still in construction)

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