Callaghan Court Sheltered Housing

Splott has had a long association with the steel industry through the East Moors steelworks, which finally closed in 1978. During my research, I discovered that the Splott steelworks impinged to some extent on the lives of every inhabitant of Splott, and that, in retrospect, its memory was a fond one – in particular, a place where work was always available when needed

My design does not portray the steelworks graphically – no skyline or profile, but illustrates something of the intrinsic nature, and the essential qualities, of so visually powerful an industry

The Foyer windows are based on enlarged images of “the boil” in the molten steel bath, viewed through the charging door, which have a natural window or cave-like effect. This, the beginning of the steel-making process, epitomises the power of the industry. Along the bottom runs a magnified core-section of steel, showing the production of steel billets running hot through the rolling mills.

Framing the central images are familiar sights from East Moors. In the bottom left-hand panels are views of the stockyards, which are mirrored on the right by similar views of the arch-plant. Capping the ground-floor windows are scale-distorted portions of easily recognisable images of furnace charge doors and ladles.

The eye is drawn up into the upper windows by the repeated use of the running hot steel bars motif, which leads on to a more atmospheric design, incorporating scenes from the pouring process. This gives a chimney-like effect, and can also be read as the familiar smoke on the skyline.

I used hand-blown German glass with differing degrees of opacity, which both maintains light-levels and reserves privacy in the Foyer. Some areas remain transparent, to allow the residents to see out. Most of the detailing and pattern work was achieved by acid-etching into the opalised glass.

Commissioner: Moors Community Housing Association Ltd

Address: Splott Road, Splott, Cardiff

Architects: Moxley Jenner Ltd