Cardiff Bay Opera House

   Planned as the centrepiece of the Cardiff Bay redevelopment, the Cardiff Opera House was the subject of an international design competition in 1994. Against competition from Norman Foster (see Foster Associates) of Britain and Rafael Moneo of Spain, amongst others, the Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid won. Her spectacular proposal, which she described as a ‘crystal necklace’, was a severe, modernist, largely glass structure overlooking the bay. The design was widely praised by the architectural profession, but a local media campaign against the building coupled with hesitant support from local government led to the rejection of the winning design in 1995, and the virtual collapse of the project. A ‘millennium centre’ by a different architect was later proposed for the site.

   See also: modernism

   RICHARD J. WILLIAMS