Planning granted for major mixed-use project next to Bristol Temple Meads Station

Image: courtesy of Sheppard Robson

For clients IKB Properties and Marick, Sheppard Robson has received planning permission from Bristol City Council for a key plot underpinning Homes England’s regeneration initiative.

The project brings together a hotel and an aparthotel alongside a Build to Rent (BTR) development. Integrating ground floor retail, extensive greening and pedestrian connection to the floating harbour waterfront, the new urban block will complete one of the last pieces in the jigsaw of Bristol’s Temple Quarter masterplan and integrate with the wider regeneration plans around the Grade I listed Temple Meads Station.

The two hotel buildings define the southern and western urban edges of the site, with the BTR homes facing the Floating Harbour waterfront to the east. The three buildings enclose a courtyard at the heart of the development, designed as a tranquil space that blurs the thresholds of the different uses while providing tree planting and greening to the local neighbourhood.

The BREEAM ‘Excellent’ design has two identities that respond to the different urban characters surrounding the site. Facing the city, the hotel buildings are united by finely articulated brick façades, one in red brick and the other in a lighter buff tone to give each part its own expression.

According to Sheppard Robson their materiality complements the station buildings and the Victorian brick warehouses nearby, with the prominent east and south corners of the development arranged in a saw-tooth configuration. This design move, following and emphasising the site's irregular triangular shape, creates articulated corners that will be enlivened by the interplay of shadows throughout the day.

The residential ‘pavilion’ building continues this theme of articulated corners while materials and detailing act as a counterpoint to the brick edge buildings: its use of bronze-coloured metal cladding will have a more delicate, shimmering quality to the waterfront and complement the green leafy setting of the courtyard. The use of metal is echoed within the metal spandrel and window surround detailing of the brick blocks, creating a relationship between materials throughout the development.

“The project will provide much-needed housing, hospitality and retail spaces to enliven and enrich an area which is currently dominated by office buildings," comments Dan Burr Partner at Sheppard Robson

The eight-storey, 232-room hotel defines the western edge of the development along Isambard Walk, the main pedestrian route to the station. The glazed ground floor, which includes a hotel lobby on the corner addressing the station entrance, will be retail space that faces outwards to activate the civic square that neighbours the development. The first floor will be a new restaurant and bar providing night-time activity to the area. The ground floor of the seven-storey, 168-key aparthotel will continue the active street frontage along Friary to Meads Reach Bridge with retail, café and meeting room spaces.

The residential building, which contains 108 BTR homes, is stepped in plan to create more dual-aspect homes and avoid overlooking between the three buildings. 20 per cent of the homes will be at Local Authority Housing Allowance rates, with the tenure-blind scheme creating high-quality living spaces throughout, including a plan that brings natural daylight into the corridors. The rooftop of the block will be a green amenity space for all tenants.

The site is located on the Floating Harbour close to Bristol Temple Meads and next to the Valentine Footbridge. The development will incorporate a fully accessible connection to the new harbour walkway currently under construction. Seven poor-quality elder trees will be replaced by 70 new trees across the site, and there will also be a dedicated ecological zone along the Floating Harbour to protect the eel and otter habitats.