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NEWS CULTURAL BUILDINGS
Nissen Richards Studio gets an encore for legendary Cardiff music venue’s expansion, three years later
Ambitious plans to expand and refurbish legendary Cardiff grassroots music venue Clwb Ifor Bach, drawn up by architects Nissen Richards Studio, have been granted planning permission by Cardiff Council almost three years after the initial submission went in.
The new vision for the venue, whch is in a historic city centre Conservation Area, has been subject to complex legal agreements and was also the focus of a major funding drive by the club’s owners, with the venue fi rst becoming a Registered Charity in 2019 to help further its ambitions not only to host the best in new music but to support the development of the club’s local audience, artists, skills and community. Clwb Ifor Bach’s importance in the
Welsh music scene “can’t be overstated,” said the practice, having helped launch the careers of many big-name Welsh bands, from Stereophonics to Super Furry Animals. The new designs by Nissen Richards seek “above all to retain Clwb Ifor Bach’s character, charm and heritage, whilst modernising and future proofi ng it for generations to come, to ensure it is a fully- accessible venue, welcoming to all.” The revamped 1,270 m2 venue will also include improved facilities such as green rooms, increased toilet capacity, new bars, offi ces and workshops, plus increased capacity to allow for higher- profi le acts. Committed to improving
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opportunities for younger audiences, Clwb Ifor Bach supports aspiring technicians, promoters, performers, photographers, and more. “The work now goes beyond music event programming and the redevelopment will help take this to a bigger scale,” said Nissen Richards.
A remix for Clwb Ifor Bach The scheme proposes the removal of the site’s existing fi rst fl oor and the creation of a double-height performance space, comprised of a standing area/dance fl oor that accommodates 375 people, plus a wrap-around mezzanine balcony, creating a total capacity of 500. The scheme will also enable two venues to operate simultaneously, with an additional 200-capacity space on the upper fl oor that allows for intimate live music shows, events, exhibitions and conferences, with the overall venue capable of holding up to 750 people across four fl oors.
The architectural treatment refers to the local city architectural vernacular, from Cardiff Castle and the semi-glazed bricks of the Victorian terraces to the render of the local Art Deco cinema. The new building’s faceted front features a “slightly abstracted look facing in the direction of the castle, with its verticality more pronounced from the other direction.” The verticality “refl ects the Art Deco infl uences, but with a more industrial feel that’s right for the venue.”
On the building’s fi rst fl oor, there will also be a new cloakroom and an education room, created for use by local schools as a practice room. This space features two major glazed walls, ensuring it links to the local streetscape below. The space represents part of the venue’s commitment to having more varied activities going on at different times of the day and night. The upper fl oor will be signifi cantly upgraded with a new bar and better acoustics in the form of acoustic window shutters, as well as better toilets, band rooms and offi ces. The proposed roof terrace plan includes a covered bar space overlooking the castle from the windows, as well as a retractable roof terrace canopy and smoking area. At the front, there will be a main and a secondary entrance, which also serves as a fi re escape. A backlit AV screen will be located where the main entrance used to be. The venue’s new identity, designed by Nissen Richards Studio, features twice on the new exterior, recessed into the exterior wall of the reclad existing building. It will face in two directions, each with a different treatment, referring to the two different exterior treatments. The front- facing identity will be in frosted, backlit glass, whilst the side-facing one will be in patinated steel. The logo ‘marque’, which features on the new building fascia, will also be in patinated steel.
ADF JUNE 2026
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