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The blue hole

No, not the world’s deepest sinkhole, in the South China Sea, but a design approach from architect Holder Mathias. The firm has picked up on a yoof vibe and dropped the ‘g’ for its Livin’ student housing development of 136 studios in the centre of Cardiff for developer Modra. In an area that was once part of the city’s ‘Gallows Field’, there’s a different kind of ‘slaughtered’ going on now, with the road being regenerated as a new student residential enclave. The six-storey scheme has a facade of finely profiled, blue metal sheet punctured with striking large portholes with deep aluminium reveals, signalling the atomised nature of the studios within. It should prove popular with Chinese students –   in Feng Shui round windows symbolise peace and tranquillity.

 

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