A tailored PVC membrane sheaths the plywood shell of Will Alsop’s Information Pod in Cardiff Bay housing a permanent display of the development of the Cardiff Bay area. The system, which was extremely economical to build, provides an excellent weather screen and during more than a decade of use the building has established landmark status.

When the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation started the redevelopment of Cardiff docklands in the mid 1990s a model of the planned work was built. They chose one of the UK’s most creative architects, Will Alsop, to design a structure to house the display.

The building, in the shape of a flattened tube, is made of timber with a PVC skin for weather protection and has a most striking appearance.