City Heights Student Accommodation

Cardiff’s Gaiety cinema originally opened in 1912 and has stood proudly on City Road for more than 100 years. Its use has seen many changes over the years from an 800 seated cinema to a bingo hall and a bowling alley but it is now set to be demolished to make way for an 8 storey purpose built student accommodation.

The former cinema has been closed for more than a decade and due to the lack of occupancy since then it has been deteriorating rapidly ever since.

City Road is a district centre and the immediate surroundings along City Road consists of a vibrant mix of retail, commercial, food and drink premises. It is also a short walk from Cardiff University and Cardiff’s Student Union making it an ideal location for students.

Proposals were put forward with a vision to make the site a desirable and sustainable place to live. The idea was to provide purpose built student accommodation in a safe and attractive environment that compliments character to the surrounding area and town landscapes.

The new building will house 134 students throughout 7 storeys with the ground floor comprising of shops and has utilised a steel framed structure (SFS) for the new build. This modern method of construction is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to reduce project timescales and costs.

Wetherby’s Rail Fix System is an ideal application for this project as it is has been specifically designed for this type of construction and was chosen by Intelle Construction who were awarded the contract along with Wetherby’s recognised installers, Sam Drylining.

Wetherby’s Rail Fix system incorporates a drainage cavity; by using this method it allows the steel frame structure to remain dry protecting the building from any potential weather damage, whilst allowing the frame to breathe. The system incorporated 100mm Stone Wool insulation which was chosen due to its superior fire performance qualities as well as being able to maximise the thermal performance throughout. The building was then reinforced with a basecoat and 1.5mm Silicone K render in white to provide a flexible high impact finish and to visually compliment the surrounding town.

In order to honour the history of the site, the building has been named Gaiety House and is now a great addition to City Road with students already keen to move in ahead of the new university term.