News / redevelopment
Planning approved for retrofitting two-decade-old office block
An office block with over 20 years of history is set to receive a new lease of life, featuring a “touch of Byzantine Revival,” under a newly approved planning proposal.
Bristol City Council planners have recently approved the development, emphasising that the building is in a “highly sustainable location” and that the project will help bring a vacant structure back into use.
The five-storey building at 2 Temple Back East, near Bristol Temple Meads, is poised for a major transformation, having previously been under threat of a complete demolition.
The retrofit will see the exterior of the building clad in distinctive red, textured material as a nod to Bristol’s Byzantine Revival movement – photo: Sheppard Robson
The comprehensive overhaul, designed by Sheppard Robson, will see the removal of the upper slab and roof plant to make way for three additional storeys, which will include two terraces.
Sheppard Robson, an architectural firm renowned for its expertise in urban planning, healthcare, and office buildings, expressed its delight in saving the building from demolition and reimagining it while preserving the core aspects of its structure.
Mark Kowal, partner at Sheppard Robson, said: “This project demonstrates an evolving approach to the retention of late 20th-century buildings that, until recently, would have been at risk of demolition.
“Our design reimagines this outdated structure into a workplace that aligns with the demands of modern tenants and their sustainability ambitions.”
The design will retain 88 per cent of the existing structure, with the aim of “drastically improving its sustainability and wellness credentials,” targeting BREEAM Outstanding, NABERS 5 Star, and WELL Platinum ratings.
According to the plans, the scheme aims to create flexible, subdivisible workspaces by rationalising the internal layout around a new central core – photo: Sheppard Robson
Under the plans drawn up by Sheppard Robson, the revitalisation will include a new colonnade and a double-height reception area, with the ground floor being activated and leading out to new planting.
Originally completed in 2002, the building will have its upper slab and roof plant removed to accommodate the three new storeys, two of which will feature terraces.
A joint venture between Ardstone Capital and CBRE, the retrofit will see the exterior of the building clad in distinctive red, textured material as a nod to Bristol’s Byzantine Revival and the warehouse architecture found in buildings such as Granary on Welshback.
According to the plans, the scheme aims to create flexible, subdivisible workspaces by rationalising the internal layout around a new central core.
The unused office block at 2 Temple Back East was completed in 2002 – photo: Milan Perera
The redevelopment is also part of Bristol’s Temple Quarter regeneration, a large-scale project aimed at delivering 10,000 homes and 22,000 jobs in the brownfield area, which spans some 300 acres.
“The transformative nature of the project is balanced by its resourcefulness. We have retained as much as possible while employing bold architectural ideas to signal the arrival of a major new development and public spaces for Bristol,” said Kowal.
The five-storey building at 2 Temple Back East, near Bristol Temple Meads, is poised for a major transformation – photo: Milan Perera
For Sheppard Robson, the current planning approval comes after another planning proposal which received green light last year for a £70m construction project at ‘Plot 3′ at Temple Quay on the Temple Meads side of the Cheesegrater Bridge.
Main image: Sheppard Robson
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