Meridian Gate ( cy, Porth Meridian) is a hotel and residential skyscraper complex in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It has two buildings, the taller of which is 63 metres high, has 21 floors, and is operated by

Radisson Blu Radisson Blu is an international chain of hotels operated by Radisson Hotels. With roots dating back to the 1960s, the Radisson Blu brand name came into existence in 2009 with a rebranding from Radisson SAS. Its hotels are found in major cities, ...

. It is the joint-fifth tallest building in Cardiff. The smaller building, Meridian Plaza, is 33 metres high, has 11 floors, and contains luxury residential apartments.

History

The building was proposed in early 2004,January a positive start to 2007 for Cardiff
/ref> obtaining planning consent shortly afterwards. A full application was submitted in 2006 after a change of developer. The site was bought by

. The building

topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...

in mid-2008.Miller , Meridian Gate
/ref>

Architecture and design

The public open space is a mix of hard and soft landscaping. The Barcelona lights were retained but moved, and a statue of

Jim Driscoll James Driscoll (15 December 1880 – 30 January 1925), commonly known as Peerless Jim, was a Welsh boxer who learned his trade in the boxing ring and used it to fight his way out of poverty. Driscoll was British featherweight champion an ...

was placed on an elevated stone plinth. A few parking spaces are allotted, given the central location: 40 spaces allocated for residents, and 35 for the hotel in anticipation that 80% of hotel users use public transport. The hotel tower has a glazed curtain walling with solar reflective glass and aluminum projecting fins. The intention was to broadly follow the finishes and colors on

Callaghan Square Callaghan Square ( cy, Sgwâr Callaghan) is a large public plaza in Cardiff, Wales, previously known as Bute Square. It was developed as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme to link central Cardiff with Cardiff Bay. History Card ...

and Kingsway.

Review recommendation

A concern of the review panel of the Design Commission for Wales was that the building needed to respect the height of the neighboring Altolusso building, another of Cardiff's tallest buildings. Consequently, a slight change in the spacing between the westernmost wing of the Altolusso and the new residential tower was made.

Hotel facilities

The hotel has 215 rooms on 21 floors, two bars, a restaurant, and health spa. There are six meeting rooms and a ballroom that provide a capacity of 350 people. The pre-conference area has a capacity of 150.Radisson Blu Cardiff , Meetings
/ref>

References

External links