October arrives, and with it the influx into Cardiff of clever cats from far and wide. Apparently these days it’s all about the academic value for money, as opposed to the Old Git’s days when it was the price of a pint! So, perhaps an apt question to be asking is where are all those £9000 fees going to?

Well, locally it would seem that blue skies will soon fade into the memory, as the University of South Wales have been busy investing in shiny expansion…

For students of architecture, the last year has been a visual progression of modernist form and style. Whilst the Lloyds Bank building in the City of London pioneered the placement of internal organs on the outside of the body, we could have been forgiven for thinking the lifts here were an intellectual after thought, so why not tack them on the outside?

IKEA may have pioneered the flat pack way of constructing things, but there was an early hint that building costs could be managed if a large order was put in for colourfully packaged prefab slabs. Just peel and reveal seems to be the new construction technique.

Back in the day, the two-legged possession of Juno & Bella harboured the usual dreams of being a train driver or some kind of construction engineer. Blame could easily be laid on the gift of meccano for temporarily providing a distraction from the explosive attractions of a chemistry set. Yet, hindsight suggests that budding architects of the age were equally influenced by toys of apparently limited appeal…

Until we speak again, it appears that the University of South Wales is putting those fees to funding buildings that at least offer some visual interest.  

The Atrium is spreading it wings. Now, what is the price of a pint?