Crown Building, Cathays Park
Encyclopedia
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The buildings were formerly used by the Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
and are situated in Cathays Park
Cathays Park
In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...
. The complex consists of two buildings, Cathays Park 1 (Grade 2 listed building) and Cathays Park 2, joined by two skybridge
Skybridge
Skybridge may refer to:* an alternate term for skyway.* The bridge named Skybridge in Vancouver, Canada.* The bridge named Skye Bridge in Britain.* The bridge named Langkawi Sky Bridge in Malaysia.* The Skybridge Building in Chicago, United States....
s.
Cathays Park 1 (aka CP1 or old Crown Building) is an older four-storey building with 3599 m² (38,739.3 sq ft) of floorspace. Cathays Park 2 (aka CP2 or new Crown Building) is a five-storey office building with 34305 m² (369,255.9 sq ft) of floorspace, including an underground car park and a central atrium housing a cafe for the office staff. The Encyclopedia of Wales describes CP2, completed in 1979, as conveying an impression of "bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
under siege".
The sky bridge between Cathays Park 1 and 2 'the link' has been the subject of some discussion amongst staff based in the building. People have reported and eerie feeling, a general sense of something 'unworldly' with people catching fleeting glimpses out of the corner of their eye which had led to rumors of the area being haunted.