If you have come down the M32 into Bristol recently, you can’t help noticing the dramatic changes in Bristol City Centre (see projects page).
Construction of the new sections of Newfoundland Street and Bond Street, on which David and Roger have worked continuously since 2000, is progressing apace. The first road diversion is already open to traffic with the rest to follow in late spring 2006. It’s great to see a project that has been such a big part of our working lives for so long now under construction.
Tollgate House and Tollgate car park are currently shrouded in rather spooky white sheeting, onto which you may be lucky enough to see various moving images occasionally projected, although at the current rate of progress, not for long! This temporary installation is part of an ongoing project on which the Alliance is working in partnership with the Arts Projects Officer and Public Art Officer at Bristol City Council. There will be opportunities for a wide range of artists to work in a variety of ways, across the lifetime of the development. The idea is to create work of national / international significance innovative, high quality and challenging, which will be unique to Broadmead and contribute to the identity of the development and make meaningful links with residential communities local to Broadmead.
Meanwhile, we’ve been getting on with preparatory work on other aspects of the scheme, helping with a review of the design of the new multi-storey car park and compiling an inventory of existing direction signing that is needed to help decide which signs need to change to accommodate the new scheme.