Tŷ Pont Haearn (meaning: 'Iron Bridge House') is a residential building and is also seventh tallest building in Cardiff, Wales. The building is currently managed by Unite Students. A previous management company temporarily renamed the building commercially as 'Liberty tower' however this name has since been removed. The 21-storey building comprises 17 floors of 144 student flats on top of a four-storey public

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park ( British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

.Skyscraper News , Ty Pont Haern
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Construction

The building was proposed in 2003. Construction began in 2004 and was completed in September 2005.

Site

The site was formerly a cold storage facility demolished into the basement of the building and capped as a surface car park, which meant

Carillion Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018. Carillion was created in July 1999, following ...

had to undertake extensive groundworks prior to construction. The project was rendered more complex by its restricted city-centre location on a triangular site, with two sides bound by live railways and very narrow access via Pellett Street.Carillion , Ty Pont Haern
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Structure design

The building has a piled structure and was constructed using traditional building techniques. UNITE sometimes uses modular construction methods on their projects, but this was unsuitable here due to the tight site constraints. The high-rise building has a repetitive design which meant the team became increasingly efficient at the process as the project progressed.

Drywall

During construction, subcontractor Baris installed 50,000 m² of Knauf plasterboard and systems throughout. Up to 90% of the available wall space throughout Tŷ Pont Haearn has been fitted with 12.5 mm and 15 mm Soundshield fixed to 70mm 'C’-Studs and high performance Twin Frame Partitions to enhance sound reduction values. 12.5 mm Moistureshield is in place throughout all the wet areas of the building, providing protection in internal areas of high humidity, with Shaftwall used for the stairwells and lift shafts.
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Completion

On-time delivery of the project was achieved allowing the client to move in the students in time for the new academic year as planned. Handover took place on a Friday night and the students began moving in on Saturday, two days earlier than the scheduled Monday move-in date.

Accommodation

Owned by Liberty Living, Tŷ Pont Haern accommodates 642 students in 144 flats, each with a communal kitchen. The bedrooms are situated in apartments or clusters of three, four, five or six beds and there are also several larger premium bedrooms. 629 students are housed in single study bedrooms and 14 in studio apartments. All rooms include an en-suite shower, toilet and washbasin plus data points for high-speed Internet access. All study bedrooms share a fully fitted kitchen and living area.Liberty Living , Tŷ Pont Haearn
/ref> Tŷ Pont Haearn is staffed with an on-site management and maintenance team, along with 24-hour security including a CCTV system monitoring the site, electronic entry systems to access the residence plus a manned reception area 24-hours a day. The residence also provides wheelchair access, a communal living area with Internet access and vending machine, an on-site laundry facility and bike storage.

Location

Tŷ Pont Haearn is in close proximity to higher educational establishments including

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

and

Cardiff Metropolitan University , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...

. Located on Pellett Street in the heart of the city centre, the residence is close to

Cardiff Central railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Cardiff Central station (26526139271).jpg , caption = 1930s frontage of Cardiff Central station (northern entrance) , borough = Cardiff, City and County of Cardiff , country = Wales , coordin ...

. and Cardiff International Arena. The residence is accessible from Junction 29 (Cardiff South) of the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

. Tŷ Pont Haearn is the most popular halls of residence for Atrium students due to its location directly opposite it. 350 bedrooms are specifically reserved for Atrium Students, and 179 for UWIC studentsUWIC , Nomination Agreements with private halls
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References

External links

Wales Online article: ''Sky-high living for city's students''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ty Pont Haearn Landmarks in Cardiff Buildings and structures in Cardiff Residential skyscrapers in Wales Apartment buildings in Wales Residential buildings completed in 2005