10 Feeder Road

Proposal for student accommodation at 10 Feeder Road St. Philip’s – 19/01881/F

The site stands on the south-west corner of the junction of Marsh Bridge and Albert Road with the Feeder Road. The scheme would demolish obsolete industrial buildings, to build accommodation for 640 students in blocks of 7, 8 and 14-floors. A separate 5-storey building would offer commercial space. The Society supports redevelopment. This site, next door to the new Bristol University campus, is ideal for student accommodation.

The Society regrets that it does not support a tall building in this location. This is a prominent and highly visible corner site, at a gateway between Temple Quarter and St Philips Marsh. Its contribution to the urban design of the area is crucial. The Society does not oppose the construction of tall buildings in appropriate places but a 14-floor building would be a radical departure in the current streetscape. The Society would support a cluster of buildings of 7/8 floors that would be a transitional height between Bristol University’s student accommodation and the medium height redevelopment area to the east of Albert Road. It is disappointing to make a negative response about the design.

Without imaginative design, student accommodation with its standard rooms, creates repetitive elevations. The buildings would be anonymous and indistinguishable from Bristol’s many other ‘value architecture’ student accommodation. These orthogonal blocks have minimal articulation. The tall building has no ‘top’ or ‘podium’ and rises directly from the ground. The Society dislikes vertical cliff faces that descend directly to pavement level. On this prominent site the developer has an unconstrained opportunity to design a cluster of buildings to create a landmark of contemporary architecture.

John Frenkel

Bristol Civic Society full response (PDF)

 

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