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The University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s new creative and digital centre, Canolfan S4C Yr Egin, was officially opened by the Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales on 26 October.
The contemporary and exciting vision is to bring together creative, digital and cultural practitioners within the same building, to exchange information, to innovate and to create jobs.
Located on the university’s Carmarthen Campus, the design is based on the close relationship between the university, prospective tenants of the centre and the wider community. This relationship, or trinity, is reflected in the design of the building: a simple triangular form that grows from Carmarthenshire’s soil. It is linked to the main campus by a large public square which allows for the staging of a variety of outdoor activities.
The 4,000 sqm building is designed around a public foyer and atrium that overarches the three floors. There is a specific focus on broadcasting and performance on the ground floor, with main tenant S4C based on the first floor and a range of companies from the creative industries based on the second floor.
A spacious café is the heart of the building’s ground floor, alongside the performance space and auditorium, as well as resources for the use of community groups. This creates a friendly and relaxed space where audiences can experience a variety of films and performances.
The First Minister said: “We are pleased to be backing this project which will see an innovative hub for the creative industries being established in Carmarthen. Yr Egin very much supports both the Welsh government and S4C’s vision to grow our creative industry whilst also developing the local economy.”
BDP’s architects collaborated with Rural Office for Architecture on the £10m project which opened to the public in September 2018. BDP was also civil and structural engineer, landscape architect, interior designer and acoustic consultant.