Transforming a long vacant site adjacent to the city’s inner circuit road and William Jessop’s Floating Harbour, the Assembly Bristol campus is anchored around a waterfront park, creating a new city place that positively engages with the city, brings colour to the skyline and links the waterside with a restored historic street, Cheese Lane.
A hierarchy of three buildings shape the space and frame a connecting vista from Pip and Jay Church to the waters edge. These three buildings unify the campus whilst possessing a distinct character of their own. Building A, now the Bristol headquarters of British Telecoms, is long and narrow, holding the street edge and protecting the waterfront park from the clamor of traffic. It lifts and spans Cheese Lane with a heroic structure to create a lofty entrance portal into the campus centre.
Building B is the smaller of the trio standing at 7 storeys, enjoying a gentle waterside setting whilst Building C, the tallest of three buildings reaching 14 storeys, brings sculptural height over the public realm.
The new buildings provide a variety of commercial floorplates, with an assortment of retail, restaurant and flexible units at ground level totalling 320,000 square feet.
The campus champions sustainability and innovation, reducing embodied carbon through exposed structures which celebrate the building’s mechanics and efficient construction. The buildings are designed for flexibility, minimising material waste and enabling future natural ventilation. Bold colours celebrate the structure and reflect Bristol’s vibrant neighbourhoods.
