Drone video shows Swansea’s ‘living building’ rising above city skyline

Woolies reborn

Commissioned by Powell Dobson architects, the aerial video shows the former Woolworths site transformed into the Biophilic Living Biome, a development led by Hacer Developments in partnership with housing group Pobl.

The footage captures the adjoining 13‑storey tower climbing above the city centre. While the structure is visibly taking shape, the green planting and rooftop gardens promised as part of the scheme are yet to be installed.

A UK first

The project has been described as the UK’s first “living building,” designed to blend homes, workplaces and nature in the heart of Swansea. Once complete, it will accommodate up to 500 people through the jobs and apartments it creates.

Earlier this week, Swansea Bay News reported on new grant funding pledged to support the commercial elements of the development, part of wider investment in Welsh town and city centres.

Greenhouse in the sky

Due for completion in the first half of 2026, the scheme will feature a four‑storey urban greenhouse, rooftop gardens, wildflower borders and green spaces. Apartments managed by Pobl will sit alongside an education facility, retail units and around 32,000 square feet of commercial floor space.

The building will also incorporate a bio‑solar roof, ambient loop heating and sustainable drainage systems, powered by solar energy and an air source heat system.

Wider regeneration

The ‘living building’ is part of a wider programme worth more than £1bn that is reshaping Swansea city centre. Other projects include the nearby office scheme at 71/72 Kingsway, developed by Swansea Council and part‑funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal, which is already 80% let.

Funding

The Biophilic Living Biome is being funded by a mix of private sector investment, the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme, Pobl and the Development Bank of Wales.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Millions pledged to revive Welsh centres
Grant funding announced to support commercial elements of Swansea’s ‘living building’ and other town centre schemes.

City centre Biophilic Swansea scheme a UK first
Developers say the Oxford Street project will set a new benchmark for green regeneration.

City centre living building scheme set for late summer finish
Construction milestones revealed as the tower rises over Swansea’s skyline.

University expertise to help residents grow food on roof
Swansea University teams up with developers to support rooftop food production at the Biome.

Plans revealed to turn Llanelli town centre office block into ‘biophilic living’ apartments

The five-storey 1970s brutalist building built has remained empty since the DWP moved out of the office in 2018.

In 2021, television company Tinopolis submitted plans to move their existing town-centre headquarters on Park Street to Crown Buildings, with plans to refurbish and extend the building, which sits next to Llanelli Magistrates Court.

Those plans never came to fruition however, and now new proposals by construction company Hacer is for a residential-led development, with 30 apartments all of which would be classed as “affordable”.

This includes 13 one-bedroom apartments, 9 two-bedroom three-person apartments, 7 two-bedroom four-person apartments and one five-bedroom five-person apartment.

The redevelopment of the building would see the demolition of a three-storey structure for “associated parking use”.

Hacer have proposed a “biophilic living” approach to the development, in a similar way to their Swansea development on Kingsway in the city centre.

Planning documents say this approach “enables residents to reconnect with nature, and to create a cohesive community to address increasing issues relating to social exclusion, and moreover, respond to the climate emergency with innovative technology.”

Hacer has proposed to call the development “Biophilic / Bioffilig Llanelli”.

GJP planning consultants currently have a public consultation open on the plans, with anyone who wishes to make representations about the proposed development needing to do so by 4 June 2025.

Question marks now surround the future of Tinopolis in Llanelli, with the company’s current Park Street building said to be in a poor state of repair, and the firm looking to potentially move out of the town to Carmarthen or Swansea.

Swansea Bay News has approached Tinopolis for comment.

(All images: Hacer / GJP)

#biophilicBuilding #construction #featured #Hacer #livingBuilding #Llanelli #regeneration #socialHousing

City centre ‘living building’ scheme set for late summer finish

A new video, shot by Calan Films on behalf of the Welsh Government, shows the considerable progress that’s being made on site at the former Woolworths building and a new adjoining 13-storey tower.

Located between Oxford Street and The Kingsway, the scheme is being led by Hacer Developments.

The development includes an urban-style greenhouse set over four floors, an education facility featuring an aquaponic system along with rooftop gardens, wildflower boarders and green spaces

Nine floors of apartments are to be managed by housing association, Pobl with close to 32,000 square feet of commercial floor space for businesses and retail.

The eco-development also features a landscaped courtyard and a bio-solar roof with ambient loop heating and sustainable drainage systems.

Once complete, the development will accommodate up to 500 people, thanks to the jobs and homes it will create. It’ll be powered by solar energy and an air source heat system.

Carwyn Davies, Managing Director of Hacer Developments, said: “These are unprecedented times for Swansea city centre with so much funding being invested by the council, the Welsh Government and the private sector.

“This is important because city centres now need more people living and working there to create the numbers needed to support city centre businesses and encourage more shops and other businesses to open up in future.

“Our scheme is aimed at creating a new way of urban working and living – one that connects residents and workers to nature. This has been proven to benefit health and happiness.

“The building will also be powered in a renewable way that will help cut Swansea’s carbon footprint and fight climate change.”

Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council Leader, said: “Swansea’s £1bn transformation is continuing at pace to create more jobs for local people, support local businesses and raise Swansea’s profile across the UK and beyond for investment.

“Swansea Arena has been completed, the Palace Theatre building has reopened, the Albert Hall has been transformed, and the 71/72 Kingsway office development will soon be open with a number of tenants confirmed and advanced discussions with many other tenants ongoing.

“It’s fantastic news that the groundbreaking, innovative ‘living building’ scheme led by Hacer Developments will be following suit by the end of the summer.

“Our new ‘Y Storfa’ community services hub at the former BHS unit on Oxford Street is due for completion by the end of the year too, and work will soon start to transform Castle Square into a greener destination at the heart of the city centre.”

The ‘living building’ is being funded by a mixture of private sector funding and funding from the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme, Pobl and the Development Bank of Wales.

#biophilicBuilding #construction #Hacer #livingBuilding #Pobl #Swansea #SwanseaCouncil