Bristol-based structural engineers Clarkebond have been appointed to help design a student accommodation development which will be the tallest building in Wales.
A planning application for the 42-storey building in Cardiff’s new city centre enterprise zone has just been submitted. Called Custom House, it will also be the tallest student accommodation block in the UK. 
The scheme looks set to become a landmark building for Wales and a significant addition to the Cardiff’s cityscape. Wales’ current highest building is the Meridian Tower in Swansea which has 29 storeys.
Subject to planning, it will include 450 apartments with retail space on the ground floor and a glazed public viewing gallery on the top floor. It is expected to open at the start of the 2018 academic year.
Clarkebond, which has worked on a number of student accommodation schemes, have provided site investigations, flood risk assessment, draining strategy and structural design on the scheme, which is being developed by Bangor-based Watkins Jones, one of the UK’s leading developers of student accommodation. The architects are Cardiff-based Rio.
Clarkebond executive director John Pavey said: “We are delighted to be working on such a prestigious, landmark scheme.”
Last month Clarkebond announced its turnover and headcount had grown by 15% over the past 12 months and expects similar growth in the coming year.
Over the past 12 months the firm, which also has offices in London and Exeter, has secured contracts on a number of landmark projects through England and Wales, including the £20m 15-storey Bridewell student accommodation and mixed-use scheme under construction in central Bristol.
