Bristol Harbourside
Bristol, UK
Bristol Harbourside is a £120m mixed-use development on the edge of the city’s floating harbour. We developed and implemented the public realm masterplan of this major waterfront regeneration project over 15 years, reactivating the heart of Bristol’s historic waterfront.
Working closely with masterplan architects Cullinan Studio, we have transformed the derelict 6.6 hectare brownfield site of former docks and gas works into a vibrant collection of new streetscapes, waterfront walks, and public open spaces.
The landscape treatment of the public realm opens up the historic waterfront by accommodating key views, including those of the cathedral and the SS Great Britain, which strengthen the site’s visual connections with the city.
An innovative sustainable urban drainage story celebrates the passage of rainwater from the roofs of the buildings to the harbour, visible through a series of collection dishes, channels and rills, and irrigating the planting along the way. Floating reed beds along the harbour edge filter rainwater and surface water before it enters the harbour. The floating reed beds have also created valuable habitat opportunities and provide an attractive waterside setting.
Other habitat opportunities include an extensive green wall, fronting onto the central public square. A comprehensive programme of public art has been established with internationally renowned artists including Tim Knowles, Richard Box, Janice Kerbal and Daphne Wright working to integrate individual pieces with the wider landscape.
The work undertaken by Grant Associates on the Bristol Harbourside scheme has skilfully re-connected the city centre with its historic waterfront. They have done an excellent job bringing together an eclectic mix of public art, heritage, open spaces and green initiatives to perfectly reinforce the city’s status as European Green Capital 2015.
Debbie Aplin, Managing Director Crest Nicholson Regeneration Ltd
Awards
- Landscape Institute Awards – Design for Large Scale Development
- Highly Commended
- BALI - Soft Landscaping Construction (non-domestic): cost under £300K (for the Millennium Promenade)
- Winner
- CABE Building for Life Standards
- Gold Award
- Sunday Times British Housing Awards
- Winner
Project Info
- Client:
- Crest Nicholson
- Architect:
- Edward Cullinan Architects, Faulkner Browns Architects, Stride Treglown Architects, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
- Engineer:
- Arup, Hoare Lea
- Quantity Surveyor:
- Gleeds, Cyril Sweet Associates
- Artists:
- Tim Knowles (lead); Richard Box, Janice Kerbal, Dale Behennah, Langlands & Bell, John Pym, Sans Facon, Simon Faithful, Julie Verhoevan, Daphne Wright, Matt Calderwood