Cardiff

Cardiff

VU.CITY Cardiff has been readily adopted by built environment specialists to address fundamental questions around planning and development: what will a development look like, who will it affect, and how?

VU.CITY's accurate 3D model of Cardiff is transforming design and planning, by helping de-risk projects through a more inclusive design and planning process, so that the best possible decisions can ultimately be made for the future of the Welsh capital.

#N/Asq km
MODELLED TO 15CM ACCURACY
143,948
TREES, ACCURATE TO HEIGHT & CANOPY
37,817
Buildings
sq km
MODELLED TO 15CM ACCURACY
TREES, ACCURATE TO HEIGHT & CANOPY
Buildings

Cardiff is one of the UK’s fastest growing cities with a leisure and tourism sector that generates significant economic and cultural benefits.

Cardiff is introducing a Replacement Local Development Plan 2021 - 2036 to benefit communities and the economy, and set out which areas need to be protected. Supporting a vibrant, mixed-use city centre and regenerating Cardiff Bay as a high density, mixed-use destination are key issues to address.

Cardiff has around 1,000 listed buildings therefore understanding development opportunities and constraints clearly at an early stage, through using VU.CITY’s data layers, can help inform local policy and avoid unwanted hurdles, costs and delays for all.

Cardiff’s population is growing fast, with a long waiting list for housing: the City Council recognises the need to work out the right number, type and location of homes to be built. As Cardiff continues to grow, new infrastructure will also be needed alongside the new homes and jobs. VU.CITY’s 3D platform makes it simple for developers and architects to check for approved schemes and evaluate the likelihood of getting planning approval in the future for proposals.

In its aim to create a greener city, the council is currently progressing a range of strategies including One Planet Cardiff, Clean Air Cardiff and a Transport White Paper. A digital platform can enable all stakeholders to work towards a common goal in finding the best possible solutions in making Cardiff the best city possible.

Users of VU.CITY Cardiff are using the model’s many benefits, from being able to understand and assess a site’s opportunities and challenges, testing refined designs in context, enhancing pre-app conversations and planning submissions, to improving how everyone involved collaborates.

Get your Free 7-day Trial

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

VU.CITY Cardiff: Highlights

Create, edit and assess massing

Easily test massing to understand design feasibility.

VU.CITY Consented Schemes Timeline. View all major consented schemes across Cardiff.
Consented Schemes Timeline

Realise a site’s potential by viewing and assessing recently consented developments across Cardiff.

Assess multiple initial massing options at an early stage and GEA potential quickly with VU.CITY Cardiff.
Test Massing

Assess multiple initial massing options at an early stage and GEA potential quickly.

Easily import your designs from external 3D software (such as Revit, Rhino, SketchUp & 3ds Max) into the Cardiff model and test how they will work in situ.
Import Designs

Easily import your designs from external 3D software (such as Revit, Rhino, SketchUp & 3ds Max) into the Cardiff model and test how they will work in situ.

Quickly view and assess the initial impact of light from your proposed developments in VU.CITY’s model of Cardiff.
Sunlight Analysis

Quickly view and assess the initial impact of light from your proposed developments.

place your camera anywhere in VU.CITY Cardiff and see the views, whether out of a window, on top of a building or at street level.
Camera Studies and Presenter Tool

Conduct high-level townscape and visual impact assessments. Agree on key views to analyse further. Select key views and confidentially present your proposals to take stakeholder on the journey of design.

Use an accurate 3D model of Cardiff to assess where your scheme can be seen from with Zone of Theoretical Visibility.
Zone of Theoretical Visibility

Save time by eliminating unnecessary views for analysis. Understand where your scheme can be seen from and which views are critical to assess.

Work more collaboratively on designs with VU.CITY's 3D model of Cardiff
Annotate with Tags

Mark up comments and actions and easily collaborate on a site or scheme with project team members.

Cardiff_Hub
Scope, Design & Collaborate

VU.CITY's project collaboration space, the Hub, allows you to seamlessly communicate with stakeholders, to make better design & planning decisions, faster.

   Data Layers

   Data Layers

Air Quality Management Areas

   Data Layers

Consented Schemes Timeline

   Data Layers

Conservation Areas

   Data Layers

Flood Zone 2

   Data Layers

Flood Zone 3

   Data Layers

Historic Landfill sites

   Data Layers

Land Registry Query

   Data Layers

Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Seas

   Data Layers

Scheduled Monuments

   Data Layers

Trees

   Data Layers

Energy Performance Certificates

Cardiff Coverage

Can't see your area? Get in touch.  
VU.CITY is constantly expanding in coverage.

SUBMITTING A SCHEME FOR ANALYSIS

How can using VU.CITY benefit my application?

Create smart cities the smart way

VU.CITY helps organise, visualise, and analyse city data in the clearest and most accessible way to make better decisions.

VU.CITY covers the whole of London and 25 major UK and international cities.

Quickly identify and appraise sites.  VU.CITY's visualization, design functionality and planning data, allow you to optimise your designs.

Transform design and planning

Now everyone involved can have a clear, universal understanding of what’s proposed and why, in a single, secure place. VU.CITY makes decision-making democratic and fair.

Build trust and collaboration

Remove barriers and minimise risks early. Have confidence in your designs and plans. Increase buy-in for project success.

Improve
outcomes
Test out ideas in situ, from one building to a masterplan. Create your vision and submissions with confidence.
Collate site information in one place
Communicate complex spatial arrangements
Make documentation stand up and stand out
Speed up planning conversations
Strengthen relationships
Create winning submissions
Discover where there is potential for change, and help everyone easily understand what’s involved and why.
Collate site information in one place
Communicate complex spatial arrangements
Speed up the planning process
Speed up planning conversations
Strengthen relationships
Create winning submissions
Reduce guesswork and unwanted costs – make the right decisions for the right outcomes, faster.
Appraise site capacity and viability, faster
Save time and costs through collaboration
Reduce planning uncertainties; increase buy-in
Speed up the planning process with better informed decisions
Sell or lease earlier to realise profits sooner
Understand designs and plans with ease, and make decisions with clarity to benefit your city and your communities.
Make the best possible decisions, quicker
Collate site, scheme and planning information in one place
Standardise decision-making
Have informed and transparent conversations
Improve how you consult on policies and plans
Understand the cumulative effects of planning changes

In your words

“We’re bringing in architects and our clients and different consultants in one room and we’re viewing the drawing, the architecture and the massing through VU.CITY.”
Charlotte Orrell
Senior Planner at Iceni Projects
"VU.CITY gives us the full visual story in a matter of seconds."
VU.CITY logo
Paul Finch
Editor - Architects Journal
"VU.CITY provided a valuable resource on our work for Southwark Charities for an emerging scheme along Blackfriars Road in central London where, working with Fathom Architects, we were able to test different versions in context, have live discussions, and conclude the best approach."
VU.CITY logo
Rosa Gonzalez
Consultant, Landscape, Townscape & VIA - Turley
"VU.CITY allows us to convey ideas when physical engagement is not possible, assisting the decision-making process in a way in which all stakeholders can relate to the proposal and its impact in the surroundings."
VU.CITY logo
Rosa Gonzalez
Consultant, Landscape, Townscape & VIA - Turley

Get your Free 7-Day Trial

VU.CITY is all yours to try out. Let your imagination run free in designing, planning and seeing an entire city develop right before your eyes. 

No download. No ties. No credit card required. 

See for yourself why leading architects, developers and planners across the UK and Ireland trust VU.CITY to help them understand projects in context and bring everyone, everywhere together.

If you are a student please fill in our free student licence form.