CTW |Civic Trust Awards 2003

Astral Court, Baglan, Neath Port Talbot

Astral Court is an advance factory situated in an award-winning industrial park being developed on brownfield land, adjacent to a chemical plant. Next to the M4 between Cardiff and Swansea, it has excellent road, rail and sea communications. The development of this site for employment is crucial for the future economic prosperity of Neath and Port Talbot and south Wales as a whole.

The building is elegant, with its form and structure integral to the resolution of the passive environmental control system. The plan form is both simple and rational. The use of fibreglass panels within the façade has created a delightful quality of natural light internally.

The building has been designed to the highest architectural and sustainable standards as a benchmark for the future development of the park. Careful consideration has also been given to the future expansion of the building. Its energy-efficient standards have been recognised by the award of an "excellent" rating under the BREEAM scheme. The approach to environmental control was developed in collaboration with the Centre for Research in the Built Environment at the Welsh School of Architecture.

The project itself is the result of a fruitful partnership between Neath Port Talbot CBC, the WDA, and BP; the success of Astral Court should inspire more projects to be developed and realised in this way.

owner/developer/architect/designer/quantity surveyor/structural engineer/services engineer/landcape designer Neath Port Talbot CBC

About the WDA The Welsh Development Agency seeks to put good design at the heart of its economic development agenda, the two being inextricably linked. It seeks to raise the design quality of the developments it promotes and undertakes to increase Welsh economic competitiveness and productivity, to improve the quality of life for the people of Wales and to further promote sustainable development.
This award will be given to the best regeneration project that achieves the highest quality of design and promotes broader sustainability objectives. It includes: employment schemes; city centre, town centre and village revitalisation initiatives; improvements to the built environment, such as mixed used projects and public realm (including public art). It takes into account issues of local distinctiveness and will reflect local opinion. This award is only open to schemes in Wales.

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