List of tallest buildings in Cardiff facts for kids

Cardiff is the capital city of Wales. It has many tall buildings that make up its skyline. This article lists the tallest buildings in Cardiff that are at least 40 meters (about 131 feet) high. You'll find everything from beautiful old buildings like Cardiff Castle to modern skyscrapers.

Cardiff is growing, and so is its skyline! Like many cities in the UK, some of Cardiff's tall buildings were built in the 1960s and 1970s. These were often apartment blocks or offices. Today, new tall buildings are usually fancy apartments or modern office spaces.

Cardiff is the biggest city in Wales and has the most tall buildings in the country. The tallest building in Cardiff is Bridge Street Exchange. It stands 85 meters (279 feet) tall. It was finished in 2018. Before that, Capital Tower was the tallest for a long time, since 1970. It is 80 meters (262 feet) high.

Cardiff Council, which is like the city's government, has rules for tall buildings. They consider a building tall if it's 8 floors or more, or at least 25 meters (82 feet) high. They prefer new tall buildings to be built near other tall buildings. This creates a "cluster" or group of tall buildings that look good together.

Tallest Habitable Buildings

These are buildings where people live or work, either all the time or for a short visit.

Rank	Name	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors	Year Built	What it's Used For	Image	Notes
1	Bridge Street Exchange	85	279	26	2018	Homes and shops		Student apartments
2	Interchange Tower, 4 Central Square	83.5	274	22	2023	Homes		Part of the new bus station area
3	Capital Tower	80	262	25	1967	Offices and shops		Tallest building from 1967 to 2018
4	Stadium House	78 (without spire)	256 (without spire)	17	1976 (Updated 2002)	Offices		Has a large spire on top
5	Zenith	75	246	26	2019	Homes		Student apartments
6	The Copper Works (Y Gwaith Copr), Capital Quarter	75	246	23	2023	Homes
7	Altolusso	72	236	23	2005	Homes
8	Tŷ Pont Haearn	63	207	21	2005	Homes		Student apartments
	Meridian Gate	63	207	21	2009	Hotel
10	Tŷ Admiral	61	203	14	2015	Offices and shops		Designed by Glenn Howells Architects
	Premier Inn (Stadium) Hotel	61	200	18	2023	Hotel and restaurants
12	Holland House	60.3	198	15	1968 (Updated 2004)	Hotel		Used to be an office building
13	William Morgan House	58 (about)	190	12	2020	Offices		Named after William Morgan, a famous Bible translator
	Helmont House	58	190	12	1984	Offices and Hotel
	Brunel House	58	190	16	1974	Offices and shops		Was once the main office for British Rail in the area
16	Horizon, Pendeen House	56	184	19	2014	Homes
17	Vita Student Cardiff, 11 Park Place	55.2	181	18	2022	Student apartments
18	Admiral House	55	180	16	2006 (Updated)	Homes		Not to be confused with Tŷ Admiral
19	Landmark Place	51	167	17	2004	Homes and shops
20	Cardiff University Tower Building	50	164	12	–	University
21	Verse, 47-53 Charles Street	50.5	165	16	2023	Homes
22	Vega House, Celestia	48	158		2007	Homes
	Southgate House	48	157	13	1978	Offices and shops		Has two parts, one 13 floors, one 11 floors
24	Loudoun House	47	154	16	1964	Homes		Located in Butetown, a part of south Cardiff
	Nelson House	47	154	16	1964	Homes		Also in Butetown
26	ISIS 3D	46	151	15	2007	Homes
	McKenzie House	46	151	12	–	University		Used to be called NPI House
	Eastgate House	46	151	14	1969	Offices
29	The Aspect	45	148	15	1960s (Updated 2003)	Homes and shops		Used to be an office building
	Century Wharf: Strata	45	148	15	2009	Homes
	The Neighbourhood	45	148	11	–	Homes and shops		Was once a college campus
32	Marriott Hotel	43	141	12	1986	Hotel and restaurant
33	Channel View Flats	42	138	14	1965	Homes		Located in Grangetown, a part of south Cardiff
34	2 Central Square	41 (about)	135	10	2018	Offices

Tallest Uninhabitable Buildings

These are tall structures where people don't usually live or work. Their height often comes from things like spires, masts, or clock towers.

Rank	Name	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Year Built	What it's Used For	Image	Notes
1	Stadium House	125 (with spire)	410 (with spire)	1976 (Updated 2002)	Offices		The spire was added in 2002. It is the highest point in Cardiff.
2	Principality Stadium	90 (masts)	295 (masts)	1999	Sports Stadium		Famous for rugby and concerts
3	Llandaff Cathedral	59.40	195	1290	Cathedral		Located in Llandaff, a suburb of north Cardiff
4	Cardiff City Hall Clock Tower	59	194	1905	City Government Building
5	St Andrews United Reformed Church	46	150	1900	Church
6	Cardiff Castle Clock Tower	40	131	1873	Historic Castle
	St John the Baptist Church	40	131	around 1490	Church

Buildings Under Construction or Planned

This list shows buildings that are currently being built, or have been approved to be built in the future (as of April 2024).

Rank	Name	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors	Approved (Year)	Being Built Now	Image	What it will be Used For
1	Custom House Street Tower	132	433	42	2016	No (building stopped after early work)	-	Student apartments and shops
2	5 Central Square	113	370	35	2023	No	-	Homes
3	Harlech Court, Bute Terrace			35	Proposed	No	Current building	Homes
4	John Street Tower (John Street - North)	99			2018	No	-	Mixed use (homes, shops, offices)
5	Hallinans House	99		32	2017	No	Current building	Mixed use
6	Apartment tower, 1-6 Guildford Crescent	96		30	2021	Yes	In progress	Homes
7	Plot 1, Central Quay	90.5	296	29	2022	Yes	In progress	Mixed use
8	Friary House			Up to 28	2024	No	Current building	Mixed use
9	Gramercy Tower, 6 Curran Road	84	275	27	2020	Yes	In progress	Homes
10	The Embankment			25	2023	No	Current buildings	Homes
11	Plot 2, Central Quay	76	249	24	2022	Yes	In progress	Mixed use
12	Plot 5, Pierhead Street			18	2023	Yes	Current plot	Student apartments
13	Anchor Works, Dumballs Road	52	170	15		Yes	In progress	Homes

Tallest Demolished Buildings

This list shows buildings that were once among Cardiff's tallest (over 40 meters) but have now been taken down.

Name	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors	Completed	Image	Demolished	During Demolition	What it was Used For
Phase 2, Government Buildings, Tŷ Glas	73	239	18	1969	February 2023	2024	February 2024	Offices for the tax department (HMRC)
Gleider House, Phase 1 Government Buildings, Tŷ Glas	44.50	146	11	1968	March 2020	2024	April 2024	Offices for HMRC and a cancer charity

Cancelled Developments

These are buildings that were planned and approved to be built, but the projects were later stopped.

See also

• Cardiff city centre
• Architecture of Cardiff

Images for kids

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  Part of Cardiff's skyline during 2020