In 1975 a conservation area was proposed by the City and County for Cambrian Place and the Assembly Rooms, which was granted an 'outstanding' category by the Welsh Office. This was extended by 1980 to cover the entire historic core of the Maritime Quarter. Since then the Council has facilitated a refurbishment programme of the key buildings within the area.
Re-use of Historic Buildings
The Council began the conversion of the former Coast Lines warehouse into the Industrial and Maritime Museum in 1975. The former Hydraulic Pumphouse built in 1901 was partly renovated by the City Council in 1981. A former Seaman's Chapel was converted into an art gallery and a former garage became the Dylan Thomas Theatre. This image is of the old Guildhall, a Grade 2* listed building which was refurbished in 1995 to create the Dylan Thomas Centre, the architectural centrepiece of the UK Year of Literature celebrations in 1995. The Georgian Terrace in Cambrian Place was converted into 34 flats by the Gwalia Housing Association, who have added another 66 flats since.
The Assembly Rooms is a Grade 2 listed building built after 1810, the facade of which has been retained as part of a £700,000 housing association development.
The Environment Centre, Pier Street
Opened by HRH Prince of Wales on the 12th April 1995, the first Environment Centre in Wales is housed in a converted 96 year-old former city telephone exchange.
Located in the heart of the Conservation Area, it is the result of an alliance between the City Council, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Prince of Wales Committee. The Centre offers a range of conference, administrative and meeting areas for use by local and regional organisations. Its role is to raise public awareness of environmental issues, to encourage involvement in environmental projects and to demonstrate practical energy efficiency measures. Workshop space for artists in residence has been provided and a cafe and shop are planned.
Environmental Enhancement This was all part of a Council-sponsored programme that operated between 1985 - 1990 and was designated "architectural enhancement". Conceived to focus attention on the main public walkways, its aim was to arouse interest and give pleasure. The "enhancement" was not intended to be simply decorative. It is an important element of the whole project and every developer had to agree to its incorporation as part of the planning conditions for the site. Once agreement had been reached, the City Council then organised the design and manufacture of the artwork for the developers to install as part of their building programme.
Perhaps the most original features in the Maritime Quarter is the amount of public space decorated by sculpture and carved-stone panels, set into and around the new buildings..
Sculpture A second example is the Lighthouse Tower Sculpture by Robert Conybear. This sculpture has a painted and galvanised steel, brass and polycarbonate superstructure. It sits atop a Portland stone column that is hung with both static and flashing neon lighting. The third sculpture, by George Young, was carved from a single massive block of Woodkirk sandstone and is called the Mermaid. It can be found immediately behind the Tower of the Ecliptic Public Observatory, at the most easterly end of the promenade. All three sculptures were installed between 1987 - 1988.
The first example can be found in St Vincent Crescent and is the Globe sundial by the artist Wendy Taylor. It is a cast bronze sphere whose axis lies parallel to the axis of the earth. and reproduces in miniature the way the earth is bathed in sunlight. The time is indicated by the fin which casts the least shadow.
Tower of the Nets
The name has classical origins and refers to the Tower of the Winds at Athens. This small hexagonal structure is something between a free standing monument and an orthodox small building.