who we are
Design Circle is a voluntary group of creative and construction professionals engaged in the built environment, with active participants ranging from architects and artists to planners and project managers.
Design Circle promotes excellence in the spaces and places formed in and around our built environment, and delivers exhibitions, competitions, charrettes, seminars and wider social activities to support this outcome.
Design Circle was established in 2008 and is formally constituted as the southern branch of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales, itself part of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
upcoming events
examples of what we do
Metro
Urban
Density
Design Circle ran a successful design charrette in 2016 called “MUD”, Metro Urban Density, which looked at the potential positive impacts that could be generated around the new Metro proposals for the South Wales Capital Region. We also ran a mini follow-up focused on the Rhiwbina station in 2017 called #flashMUD.
These events have all highlighted the need for creative thinking about the benefit that the new Metro could bring to the people and communities within the region. Design Circle continues to champion this approach and launched #MyPerfectMetro in June 2019.
For further information, including the full MUD report, film and link to the #MyPerfectMetro game click below:
Make sure you submit your entry for #MyPerfectMetro We need as many submissions as possible...
plus you may win a fantastic prize!
Skyline
Every year we launch our popular Skyline drawing competition. Open to all, we set a different challenge each year but with the same running theme... you have to represent your vision with a single, continuous hand-drawn line on A3 paper and prizes are awarded to the best entries.
This year's theme is 'the future of the high street' so get your thinking hats on! Previous years themes have included 'borders', 'great welsh interiors', 'iconic welsh landscapes' and 'future view of a welsh skyline'
To help kick off the New Year and get everyone back into the right frame of mind, Design Circle hosts a film night in January as an ideal social and cultural experience. The films are usually architectural or design-themed but unusual to the offerings you might normally expect.
Last year we showed 'My Architect'; Nathaniel Kahn was still very young when his father, the influential American architect Louis Kahn, died in a New York railway station, however his few memories of the man had a big impact on him. This film follows him on his journey to better understand the man by meeting with the clients, friends and extended family with whom he had to share his father's affections. This intriguing, funny and at times moving film was produced by Nathaniel, himself an experienced filmmaker, making for a slicker and frankly less weird watching experience than we have come to expect from films about architects.
Check the upcoming events section or our twitter feed for the next date.
Film Night
