Located in central Cardiff’s Grangetown district, the city’s largest and most ethnically diverse ward, Grange Pavilion is a community-led redevelopment of a former bowls Pavilion. Supported by extensive partnerships and social value objectives, the project aimed to significantly improve the community’s future wellbeing and social cohesion with co-created community facilities and public realm for a high-quality urban environment.
Key principles underpinning the redevelopment include community-led activation; co-production instead of consultation; concept-testing prior to developing the design brief; partnership design workshops at each stage; a long-term commitment supporting the project long before, and long after, design stages; and the pursuit of design quality.
Three Winning Facts:
- People using the Grange Pavilion describe it as a friendly, inclusive, accessible resource at the heart of the community, calling it a ‘a space of belonging’, ‘an essential, dynamic new space’ and ‘an awesome hub for the community to sit, work and play side by side, breaking barriers.’
- The project represents a commitment to the long-term care and management of a civic space, with the role of the architect embedded in the project long before design began and continuing into occupation to support the longterm success of the Pavilion. This building represents a deep collaboration and commitment to community-managed civic space.
- Community members of all ages, faiths and interests in Wales’ most diverse ward co-produced the design brief and detailed design decisions at every step over a ten-year period, working in a deep collaboration with the design team.
