Kingsway (Public Realm Works and 71/72)
Converting a congested thoroughfare into a thriving green street and modern commercial hub
Project information
Partners
City & County of Swansea Council, WSP, Bouygues UK, and Architecture 00
Location
Swansea
The Challenge
The Kingsway had evolved into an unpleasant, vehicle-dominated city centre environment, driven by a declining retail and entertainment sector and an over engineered highway network. Despite its strategic importance within central Swansea, the area lacked a sense of place. A core challenge was reversing this decline by converting the street into a green urban park, while also ensuring new landmark developments successfully integrated on-building greening, internal courtyards, and vibrant public realm connections to inject fresh energy into the area.
Our Role
Serving as urban designers, landscape architects, and planning consultants, our team worked as an integrated part of the project team alongside City & County of Swansea Council, WSP, Bouygues UK, and Architecture 00. We led initial feasibility studies to prove the proposals were deliverable, served as lead Quality Auditor, and collaborated closely with Council officers, members, and external stakeholders. Our scope spanned from devising the overarching public realm concept to detailing the Landscape Architecture for individual sites, handing over retained knowledge across project phases to deliver a cohesive pedestrian- and cycle-focused vision.
The Outcome
A £13m transformation that successfully converted a congested thoroughfare into a thriving green street and modern commercial hub. The completed urban park incorporates expanded pedestrian walkways, dedicated cycle routes, single-lane two-way vehicle access, and landscaped parkland. Seamlessly tied into this framework, 71/72 The Kingsway delivers generous roof gardens and green terraces that significantly enhance the workplace experience for occupiers. The resulting scheme provides a high-quality, resilient public realm that integrates smoothly into the wider city centre environment.
