Depart: 14:00
Return: 17:00

Swansea Maritime quarter is the former Swansea south dock which underwent significant brownfield development from the 1980’s onwards. It houses a mix of modern development, including much sensitive or even adventurous re-use of historic buildings. The redevelopment has included a mixture of housing and there is a significant proportion of social housing.
As well as housing the area includes

• The National Waterfront Museum
• Mission Gallery
• Dylan Thomas Centre
• Dylan Thomas Theatre
• Swansea Museum
• Swansea observatory
• The Environment Centre
• the tallest building in Wales, the Meridian Quay Tower
• And the University of Wales Trinity St David IQ campus home to the Annual School.

The Georgian Terrace at Cambrian Place was built at a time when it faced a sandy beach and the area was a place of leisure. The industrial revolution changed all that and brought about development of the docks. With Swansea Marina as its neighbour Cambrian Place is once again at the heart of a place of leisure.

The project lead by social housing provider Pobl Housing follows BS EN 16883: 2017, the European Standard for retrofitting historic buildings and involves extensive testing and modelling. This is against the backdrop of achieving challenging Welsh Housing Quality Standards and performance meeting fuel poverty objectives.
Then tour will look at:

1. Researching significance and history
2. Assessing the building and it's context
3. Setting objectives and developing proposals

Accessibility
The tour involves walking between different sites and on some uneven surfaces but the terrain is generally flat

Tour leaders
Trefor Thorpe
John Edwards
Sally Edwards

Resources
Swansea Maritime Quarter
https://museum.wales/media/24814/Swansea-Maritime-Quarter.pdf

Cambrian Place
https://edwardshart.co.uk/projects/cambrian-place-swansea-major-refurbishment/

Depart: 14:30
Return: 16:30

A walking tour of Swansea city centre examining recent regeneration projects and looking at restoration, refurbishment or sustainability.

Albert Hall
The Albert Hall, opened in 1864 as a public assembly and concert venue known as The Music Hall, Swansea. After the music hall closed in 1922, it has served as a cinema and a bingo hall and then stood standing empty and deteriorating since 2007. Plans to convert the building into student accommodation and retail space fell through. The 156-year old building was then sold to local property developer LoftCo in May 2020.

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery which underwent a £6 million refurbishment and recladding of the 1974 extension in 2011.

Project Alex
£6 Million Refurbishment & Extension to Grade II Listed 19th Century Former Library Building to create the new Institute of Sustainable Design (Industrial Design, School of Architectural Glass, Automotive Design) for the University. The project comprises new workshops, teaching spaces and design studios and incorporates a twin wall facade to the new extension and a new entrance off. The original circular reading room will be restored and made available as a public venue for conference and performance.

Police station- Old Swansea Central
The former city-centre police station in Swansea is a Grade II listed building, acquired in 2003 by the housing association, Grŵp Gwalia Cyf, and was redeveloped into Llys Glas. It provides student accommodation for Swansea Metropolitan University, an art gallery and a conference studio.

The central police station, was built in 1912-13, with later alterations. It was designed by Ernest Morgan, architect of Swansea in the Baroque revival style and was constructed of Portland stone with red brick dressings.

Swansea Foyer
The Swansea Foyer provides accommodation, support and training for 30 – 35 young unemployed people in a building which seeks to avoid the typical institutional features of a hierarchy of corridors, stairs and lobbies.

The scheme is a redevelopment of the former Swansea Working Men's Club, with which retained the elevation only with a new interior configured into a street of individual houses, occupied by four or five young people. The internal street has a glazed, lightweight steel framed roof forming a central atrium. Detailing, mosaics and colour are intended to an optimistic and fun environment. The internal street creates a communal space as well as being a passive solar collector.

Accessibility: The tour involves walking between different sites and on some uneven surfaces but the terrain is generally flat.

Tour leader: Moira Lucas

Resources
https://www.swansea.gov.uk/citycentreimprovements

Albert Hall
https://www.savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/item/690/Building-of-the-Month-January-2021-Albert-Hall-Swansea
https://www.business-live.co.uk/commercial-property/plans-revealed-transform-swanseas-historic-18194875

Project Alex
https://www.leewakemans.com/our-work/project-alex/1/
https://www.powelldobson.com/en/projects/further-and-higher-education/school-of-industrial-design-project-alex

Police Station
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/31764/

Foyer Project
https://thewallich.com/services/ty-tom-jones/
https://world-habitat.org/world-habitat-awards/winners-and-finalists/swansea-foyer/
https://www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/3337

Depart: 15:00
Return: 17:00

A walking tour of Swansea High Street including the Palace Theatre (Swansea’s own flat-iron building!).

The Palace Theatre is a Grade II listed building recognisable for its distinctive wedge shape. It is Wales' oldest surviving theatre.

The building is one of just two purpose-built music halls left standing in the whole of the UK,[5] and was the first place in Wales to show a silent picture, It stood empty and derelict for many years but in late 2019 a plan emerged to convert it into offices with community and performance space provided.

Amongst other sites the tour will also look externally at the Bethesda Chapel recently converted into a centre for the NSPCC and Swansea Castle

Accessibility
The tour involves walking on uneven surfaces between different sites

Tour leaders
Ashley Davis
Steve Smith

Resources
The Palace Theatre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Theatre,_Swansea
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/swansea-palace-theatre-renovation-redevelopment-24743917
https://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/news/palace-theatre-swansea

Depart: 14:00
Return: 17:00

Circus Eruption has bought and restored St Luke’s church, 1889, on Stepney Street, Cwmbrwla from where circus skills sessions are now being held. Having completed initial basic accessibility and amenity works and brought together a heritage-experienced design team, this year, Circus Eruption are embarking on installing a new air-to-air heating system, repointing the masonry with lime, and developing proposals for a new capital project. At the back of the church is the Mission Hall first erected on the steeply-sloping site, where they hope to undertake a sustainable build to convert the space for ancillary and community uses and create a link with the adjacent upper-level memorial garden. They are planning to work with a local sustainable building social enterprise and to use the project to develop experience of building skills training.

Circus Eruption was founded in 1991 as the first integrated youth circus in the UK. The learning and sharing of new circus and performance skills helps to empower all participants by increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem.


Accessibility
The tour involves walking on uneven surfaces between different sites

Tour leaders
Alfie Temple Stroud
Karen Chalk

Resources
http://www.circuseruption.co.uk
http://www.circuseruption.co.uk/our-new-building