The Riverfront

Plans were discussed for a theatre as early as 1995 but was delayed due to the reorganisation of local authority finances. Plans were ultimately made for the new arts centre at the same time as Newport made its bid for city status in 2002, at an estimated cost of £15 million. The centre was supported by Arts Council of Wales funding and National Assembly for Wales grant funding. Construction began in May 2002, and took two years, partly delayed by the discovery of a medieval ship estimated to be 500 years old. The building's design was described as a celebration of deconstructivism in the style of Zaha Hadid, whose Cardiff Opera House design had recently been rejected nearby. The design…

The centre has been proposed as the home to the Newport Ship, a 15th-century vessel found immersed in the mud banks of the River Usk, although it has been suggested that the basement space may be too small to view the ship in its entirety. The remains of the ship were discovered whilst excavating for the orchestra pit for the Theatre. Around 25 metres long and dating from 1465 the find's importance has been equated to that of the Mary Rose. During its six-month excavation, a vast new exhibition space was designed and built in self-compacting waterproof concrete beneath the foyer to house and display the discoveries, presenting the ship's unearthing, its history and eventually the fully…