Cader Idris Sculpture, Station Square, Cardiff

The brief was to provide a substructure for this massive stone sculpture on a site with difficult ground conditions. The site was immediately in front of Cardiff Central Station, and geotechnical studies indicated that the site was underlain by fill to significant depth, probably resulting from the construction of wartime air raid shelters. The solution was to create a stiff reinforced concrete raft under the whole sculpture, therefore limiting the possibility of differential movement and damage to the stonework. Reinforced concrete was also used to form a structural core to the stone superstructure.

Architect Pawson Williams Architects