Finnish developer Nordic Urban planning five schemes across the UK and Ireland
Finnish leisure developer Nordic Urban has unveiled plans to turn Cardiff’s grade II-listed Mount Stuart Graving Docks into a £17m outdoor bathing and sauna destination.
A planning application for the Allas Cardiff scheme is set to be submitted to the local council next month with Finnish practice OOPEAA in the lead architect role alongside UK landscape practice GROSS.MAX and specialist leisure practice Space & PLACE.
The proposals, revealed in a public consultation this week, would transform the late 19th century former dry docks into a year-round wellbeing attraction centred on a 25m heated outdoor pool.
Hot and cold pools, four saunas, changing and relaxation spaces, a restaurant, a cafe and outdoor terraces with views across Cardiff Bay would also be created, bringing the docks back into public use for the first time since they were closed to shipping in 2001.
The 2,000sq m complex is envisaged as the first of five destinations Nordic Urban is planning to build in the UK and Ireland based on a model which the firm has established in Helsinki.
The company is understood to see the UK as a significant growth market for sauna and pool destinations amid increasing demand for outdoor swimming and leisure activities, partly due to the recent succession of very hot summers.
The original Allas Pool Helsinki, opened in 2017, now draws around 800,000 visitors a year and ranks among the Finnish capital’s most popular wellbeing and leisure destinations.
The site operates as more than just a sauna complex, offering a programme of live music and events alongside its leisure facilities, an approach Nordic Urban is planning to replicate in Cardiff to attract visitors outside of the summer months.
The company’s chief executive Raoul Grünstein said: “Cardiff Bay has one of the most striking industrial waterfronts anywhere in Britain, and these docks have stood empty for decades. Our plan keeps the dock and its structures intact and puts them back into everyday use for local people to enjoy.”
“Our aim is to play a role in revitalising the waterfront and create a development where people can swim, sit in a sauna, eat and meet by the water, open all year and open to everyone. We believe this will be a real asset to Cardiff for years to come.”
The Cardiff scheme would be open to the public rather than operating as a member’s club, with the plans including a waterside walk around the dock which will remain open without an admission charge.
Nordic Urban has already agreed a long-term lease for the site with Cardiff council which will start if the planning application is approved, with construction of the scheme expected to take around two years.
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