The National Centre Of Harmony

IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS OF THE CATHEDRAL

Situated North of Cardiff city centre resides Llandaff Cathedral; a site of great importance to the Anglican community in Wales and a historical marvel that has a vibrant past. A site that has been through varying tempos on its historical journey, from the highs of its popularity; when crowds would travel from near and far to visit the relics of St Teilo; to the lows of its ruined state as a result of the wars.

The client requires a proposal with updated facilities to resurrect the importance of the cathedral within the community on the next step of its journey. The administration of the cathedral require a Music Centre which will attract visitors back to the site. It will act as a cultural and communal amplifier and reinstate the need for a pilgrimage back to Llandaff. The combination of music and spirituality in the proposed Music Centre will revive the declining popularity of the cathedral and assist the administration to realign itself with the current needs of the community.

SUMMARY OF BRIEF

The project aims to provide an Educational Music Centre with specialist equipment and awe-inspiring architecture that will draw in the local and wider community back to Llandaff (Phase 1). This centre will then help to fund the redevelopment of the existing Prebendal house and evoke interest back to the cathedral, thus drawing back the idea of pilgrimage to the site (Phase 2).

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

The overall strategy of the Music Centre focuses on a number of key aims which are relevant to this project:

The proposed Centre has a commitment to the community to become a regional and national Centre of musical excellence. The provision of high quality, flexible space has been identified as the key quality for a successful Centre with state-of-the-art facilities which will attract diverse talent and encourage a harmonious financially thriving community

The Next Note in the Cathedrals Melody

LLANDAFF + THE CATHEDRAL

THE CATHEDRAL

The timeline above shows how the Cathedral was a life force of Llandaff for centuries. It has brought spirituality, wealth and community to the site, and established itself as the most important location in Wales for the Anglican community, serving as an inspiring historical site for all who visited.

The journey the cathedral has taken from its humble beginnings as a small parish church to its crescendoing importance as a pilgrimage site where the relics of St Teilo were preserved, has seen its identity meander throughout the ages. Although there have been numerous situations where it would seem the cathedrals melody was reaching its last verse, it has carried on its historical voyage to teach another generation the importance of spirituality through the Christian teachings and the music it has encouraged.

The aim of the Music centre is to create a place where worshippers and non worshipper can come together to LEARN, PRACTICE and PREACH music. Music can bring people from diverse, upbringings, backgrounds, ages, race, genders and orientations of any sort together through

STU DY

PRACTI CE PREACH

LEARN PRACTI CE

PLAY

a few collections of notes. The Harmony centre aims to become the catalyst of this process and enhance the future of Llandaff and Wales in order to create a more beautifully diverse, community minded, appreciative and excepting world through the medium of sound.

SITE ANALYSIS

TRANSPORT LINKS

HISTORIC CONTEXT ANALYSIS

Llandaff is positioned central in Cardiff and is a 45m minute walk from the city centre. Due to its location any proposal in Llandaff has great potential to grow and spread throughout Cardiff.

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Llandaff has great existing facilities due to the highstreet. The schools and community could benefit from the proposed Harmony centre LISTED BUILDING ANALYSIS

The site is close to the river Taff and is situated on the Llandaff highstreet. The sunken in nature of the cathedral ensures lighting conditions for neighbouring buildings aren’t affected.

The neighbouring facilities could be part if a larger masterplan that will draw visitors to the site and act as beacons which lead you to the music centre.

LLANDAFF SITE ANALYSIS

The area surrounding the cathedral and Bishops palace in Llandaff is brimming with luscious gardens, and quaint cobbled streets which create a picturesque fairly-tale scene. The varying aged buildings which surround the cathedral and ruins around the site create a sense of mystery and wonder, begging you to discover the area further. However due to the Cathedral itself being the only major landmark in the area, it has not made its way to the top of the tourist lists.

By proposing the Music Centre, the aim to bring visitors to the site and encourage movement around the beautiful streets of Llandaff can be fulfilled.

A brief site analysis was undertaken to address any concerns with transport links, historic context, listed buildings and environmental factors at the site. The site is seen to be well linked to Cardiff centre and a soon to be proposed cycle link from the train station passing the cathedral will assist with further bringing visitors to the site. Additionally once the Harmony centre is built, there will be an abundance of buses, trains and boats which could easily bring tourist to the site. Furthermore, the historic context of the site has been analysed and shows a real mixture of aged and listed architecture that create a patchwork quilt style of architecture which is also present at the cathedral. This mixture of new and old will play a key part in the architectural language of the proposals to the site in order to stay in context.