COPPER BUILDING, BRISTOL


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Photos © Urban Splash


On the Copper Building, the highly air-tight envelope includes triple-glazed windows, and the south facing elevation maximises useful solar gain and daylighting. The footprint of the new building is within that of the previous factory building so the ecological impact has been minimised, and surrounding vacant and underused areas have been repurposed as allotments for the residents, while the lake has been decontaminated to benefit biodiversity.


Conclusion


This is a project which tackled a hiatus and being split into two, but architects used it to their advantage, reengineering for a better end product. Another piece of pragmatic design is that in choosing copper, the design


doesn’t quite replicate, but works with the now fashionable weathered looks of a worthy example of 1970s commercial architecture, retained for the future. Now the two buildings sit comfortably together, metal-clad relations with differences and similarities, and in that sense replicating the natures of the office and factory that were inherent to the personality of the site. Brown concludes that the architects felt they “would have a conversation with each other without having to be an exact replica of the materials used.” The warm new copper look has gained the project strongly positive feedback from locals, which speaks to the carefully controlled specification as well as design by FMA. 


PROJECT FACTFILE


Architect: Ferguson Mann Architects Client: Urban Splash & Places for People


Structural engineer: Buro Happold MEP consultant: Hoare Lea Project manager: Broadfield Project Management Employer’s agent: AECOM Main contractor: WRW Construction


ADF DECEMBER 2020


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