My Green City outreach workshops at Bristol Family Arts Festival

As part of the 2015 Bristol Family Arts Festival the Architecture Centre, Watershed and Children's Scrapstore  hosted two creative family outreach workshops at Junction 3 Library, Easton and Lawrence Weston Community Farm. Families were asked to help populate a green city full of eco-friendly buildings, green transport and sustainable energy solutions. Some great creations were made!

Learn more about projects around Bristol that are helping the city be more green at our City Ideas Studio

Visit our website for information on upcoming events

City Ideas Studio: Resources

We are a few weeks into our third City Ideas Studio residency, Resources, where we are addressing the question: How can we make more of the things we have? Visit the gallery 11-5 Wednesday-Friday and 12-5 Saturday-Sunday to explore all aspects of resourcefulness.

Seat made by Round Wood Design, based at Bower
Ashton Woodyard

The exhibition explores not only how best to use finite resources such as building
materials, land and money, but also how cities should harness the powerful resource
of human inventiveness and action.

There is a lot to find out about and explore:

• BuroHappold Engineering's range of global and local resourceful initiatives
• Our touch screen where you can learn about our previous exhibitions, projects and organisations that are exploring solutions for a sustainable future, we’re gradually adding all our City Ideas Studio content onto the touch screen so have a read up on our previous residencies.
• Watch videos and read up on local resourceful projects including: Bristol Green Doors, Bristol ReUse Network and Ecomotive SNUG Homes
• Take part in our SNUG Homes family activity - can you design a 'snug' home (a compact and environmentally friendly house)
• Add your comments and ideas to our map on resourceful projects in Bristol
• View UWE Department of Architecture and the Built Environment's installation, that offers a thought-provoking response to the exhibition theme
• Learn about Bower Ashton Woodyard and Round Wood Design and try out the wood furniture
• Visit our foyer to learn about the Architecture Centre's Shape My City #livebuild sustainable building project

Visit the Architecture Centre website for information on events and exhibitions coming soon.

Visit the City Ideas Studio resources exhibition after hours in our special twilight opening on 30 October, part of Art Weekender: Bristol & Bath

Bristol Green Doors: The Route to Retrofit

Add your comments to our map

City of Ideas touch screen

Early prototype design of a SNUG Home by Ecomotive

UWE Department of Architecture and the Built Environment display

Shape My City #livebuild foyer exhibition

City Ideas Studio: Resources - the private view

Wednesday 30 October saw the official launch and private view of our Resources residency at the City Ideas Studio. A great turn out gathered to learn all about how we can be more resourceful, showcasing projects and ideas from our thematic partner BuroHappold Engineering and local resource projects such as Bristol ReUse Network, Ecomotive SNUG Homes, Bristol Green Doors, Bower Ashton Woodyard and responses by staff and students from the UWE Department of Architecture and the Built Environment.

In the foyer of the gallery there is also an exhibition about the Architecture Centre's Shape My City youth programme summer project #livebuild. This was a community, sustainable building project where a shelter was built for the Asylum Seekers Allotment Project in St George, East Bristol.

The City Ideas Studio Resources residency is on until 8 November, open 11-5 Wednesday-Friday and 12-5 Saturday-Sunday.

Visit our website to find out more about events happening soon

Images © Frances Gard

City Resources: BuroHappold Engineering

Last week saw the launch of our Resources residency at the City Ideas Studio. The Architecture Centre welcomed Gavin Thompson from BuroHappold Engineering to lead the City Resources talk. Sharing ideas around resourcefulness when designing and delivering projects, drawing upon a range of local and global initiatives and discussing how cities of the future can make the most of their resources.

Gavin discussed how:

• Cities will play a huge part in shaping the future well being of our planet
• We must close the hungry resource loop as much as possible
• Achieving standard of living at density will be key
• Managing demand is important
• Behaviours are as important as good systems and infrastructure
• Engagement is key and date provides a useful way in
• Cities that encourage resourceful innovation will prosper

Representatives from local resourceful projects then joined the discussion: Jackson Moulding from Ecomotive SNUG Homes, Jessica Hodge from Bristol ReUse Network and Dan Weisselberg from Bristol Green Doors.

A recording of the talk will be available soon.

Visit our City Ideas Studio Resources residency to learn more about BuroHappold's initiatives as well as Ecomotive SNUG Homes, Bristol ReUse Network, Bristol Green Doors and other resourceful projects happening in Bristol. Plus a response on the theme by staff and students from the UWE Department of Architecture and the Built Environment. 

The gallery is open 11-5 Wednesday-Friday and 12-5 Saturday-Sunday.

Visit our website for more events happening soon at our City Ideas Studio.

The City Ideas Studio is part-funded by a Bristol 2015 Strategic Grant and is sponsored by Alec French Architects, Amalgam, Barton Willmore, BDP, BuroHappold Engineering, RISE Structures, Solarsense and West of England Initiative.

The City Ideas Studio touchscreen is supported by Autodesk, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Max Fordham and Bristol City Council Design Group. 

With additional support for City Ideas Studio: Resources from Ferguson Mann Architects

BeeBristol and At-Bristol's live beehive

BeeBristol are currently being featured in our Nature residency here at the City Ideas Studio. BeeBristol communicate the value of pollinators and their protection, importantly, creating food and nesting sites across the city. BeeBristol have kindly lent us the hexagonal planters that you can see outside our gallery, later to be donated to community growing groups.

We were pleased to hear that At-Bristol have welcomed some new residents to their green roof - in the form of a hive of European Honey bees or ‘Apis mellifera'.

Supported by a grant-making trust, At-Bristol have been working closely with BeeBristol, to get things ready for the bees, who moved in to their new penthouse hive recently.

The bees will be able to gather pollen from At-Bristol’s wildflower rooftop garden, as well as neighbouring green spaces such as Brandon Hill and At-Bristol’s own community gardens out on Millennium Square, and will hopefully be able to produce their first honey this year.

The hive will be tended by BeeBristol beekeepers in the first 12 months, as well as 2 newly appointed in-house beekeepers from At-Bristol, who will be trained by BeeBristol and will eventually take over looking after the hive themselves. The new urban bee hive will be used both as a learning tool for both school and general visitors, as well possibly providing honey for At-Bristol’s café and shop.

A webcam will be installed by the hive to broadcast images of the bees live to the Greenhouse in the At-Bristol Food! exhibition, as well as on the Big Screen on Millennium Square. 

We are very pleased to hear the bees are settling in nicely and think they may be what are pollinating our wildflowers in our hexagonal planters.

Visit our Nature residency before the 13th September to learn more about BeeBristol and other great projects helping Bristol become a nature-rich landscape.

We will be launching our third City Ideas Studio residency, Resources, on the 23rd of September.

City Ideas Studio: Nature

Knitted hedgehogs by Knitiffi

We are now over half way through our second City Ideas Studio residency, Nature. We've had many visitors enjoy our exhibition so far, learning all about projects helping Bristol and the surrounding area become a nature-rich landscape and how we can all get involved. It's been a busy time so far in the gallery, with it being the summer holidays, on one Wednesday we welcomed 70 families and 150 children into our gallery!

There are plenty of things to explore and get involved with at our Nature residency including:

• Explore our touch screen, organised into the five European Green Capital themes. Learn about our previous exhibitions, projects and organisations that are exploring solutions for a sustainable future, we’re gradually adding all our City Ideas Studio content onto the touch screen so have a read up on our previous residencies.
• Share what’s happening in your local area on our map, or share your ideas on what we can do to support a nature-rich landscape on a comment disc.
• Learn about Avon Wildlife Trust’s #MyWildCity project, view the Parkhive app on our tablet and see Tom Poulsom, professional LEGO artist's nature creations that are on display.
• Look closely at our Insect Hotel and see what insects you can see living in the cracks and crevices.
• Join in on our family activity and design your own wild pavilion, with the chance to be entered into our competition to win two green poetry books by Martin Kiszko, illustrated by Nick Park.
• Read Andrew Grant’s keynote provocation Human:Nature and learn more about ecological and sustainable landscape design.

Some comments we’ve received on our Nature residency so far include:

• Fantastic making table! Grandchildren (five and three) loved it. Inspirational, quality displays with so much to learn and do. Helping older generation inspire children. Thank you so much!
• This was very informative!
• Loving it! I love all this stuff and the knitted animals!
• This is amazing! Inspiring and educational. I'm going to make a nature hotel in Glagow now!

Get involved with our upcoming nature events:

• My Wild City: Meet a wildlife expert – Saturday 5 September 13:00-16:00 (read our blog post on the first session here)
• Meet Bristol Parkhive – Saturday 12 September 13:00-16:00

Visit our Nature residency before the 13th September. We will be launching our third City Ideas Studio residency, Resources, on the 23rd of September.

For information about other Architecture Centre events, please visit:
www.architecturecentre.co.uk/events

Parkhive app

Insect Hotel by Avon Wildlife Trust

My Wild Pavilion: Family Activity

Our gallery is filling up with great nature-related models and drawings that visitors have created on our family activity table, visit our Nature residency to get involved with our Wild Pavilion fun.

Taking inspiration from the drawings and ideas on display by Andrew Grant and the A3 image montage sheets on our activity table, your challenge is to design your own nature inspired pavilion. Think about how your pavilion can include nature, how it can be 'wild', the size, shape and use of your pavilion. Create some design drawings of your pavilion or a model with the materials provided.

There's also an opportunity to enter our My Wild Pavilion competition here at the gallery by Sunday 13 September to be in with a chance of winning two fantastic green poetry books - Green Poems for a Blue Planet and Verse of the Earth, written by Martin Kiszko and illustrated by Aardman Animation's Nick Park. One copy is signed by the author and the illustrator. The competition is open to under 16s. Please give your entry to a member of staff and provide contact details to be entered into the competition.

You can also enter your pavilion design to the national Build Your Own Pavilion competition by uploading to: www.buildyourownpavilion.serpentinegalleries.org if you are aged 8-14.

Visit our Nature residency before the 13th September. We will be launching our third City Ideas Studio residency, Resources, on the 23rd of September.

Visit the Architecture Centre website for more information about us and upcoming exhibitions and events: www.architecturecentre.co.uk

Event Reminder: Urban Wanderings - Wildlife Friendly: Horfield Common

Guided walk: Wednesday 19 August, 18:00, £6/£4
Places limited - book now: 0117 922 1540

Don't miss our next Urban Wandering walk, find out how people are supporting a nature-rich landscape at the community-driven green space Horfield Common. This circular guided walk will be led by Matt Collis from Avon Wildlife Trust and Sam Thomson from Bristol Parkhive, UWE, Bristol Parks Forum and Friends of Horfield Common.

These groups are all working to improve Horfield Common. From encouraging wildlife, growing food, improving sports facilities to opening a café, come and hear stories about the variety of initiatives planned and in place to look after and encourage use of this green space.

The walk will last up to 90 minutes. The walk passes over some uneven ground. Please wear suitable footwear and clothing.

The walk will start from the Café on the Common, by the Ardagh pavilion, please check you know how to get there before travelling.

Getting there

A variety of buses travel from Bristol city centre to Horfield Common including the 70, 72, 73, 75, 76. Depending on which bus you catch (check before you travel), it may be best to get off at either Nevil Road or Ashley Down stops on Gloucester Road. Walk up Gloucester Road and turn left onto Church Road, left onto Maple Road, then first right onto Ash Road up to the park; once in the park, walk straight up alongside trees with tennis courts on your left. At the top there is a car park which follows round to the café area where we will meet before the start of the walk.

More information about using public transport to reach Horfield Common can be found at Traveline Southwest. Please consult a map before travelling to ensure you know where the meeting place is on the Common.

There are also limited car parking spaces at the Ardagh, by the Café on the Common; access via Kellaway Avenue.


This event is part of the City Ideas Studio programme focussing on Nature, which features projects including Bristol Parkhive and Avon Wildlife Trust's #MyWildCity project.

Visit our website for details of other events happening at the Architecture Centre.

My Wild City: Meet a wildlife expert

On Saturday 1 August we had our first 'Meet a wildlife expert' drop-in session, Avon Wildlife Trust expert Matt offered his expertise on how we can all support wildlife in our area. He offered top tips on how to make your own insect hotel and encourage wildlife to flourish. In our own insect hotel we spotted zebra spiders, aphids and some snail trails, Matt also helped us harvest some seeds and water the meadow. Visitors also got their hands dirty and made free seed bombs to take home!

Come to our next 'meet a wildlife expert' session on 5 September 1-4pm to find out more ways we can do something amazing for nature. More information here

For information about other Architecture Centre events, please visit:
http://architecturecentre.co.uk/events

Visit City Ideas Studio: Nature - 15 July to 13 September

Event Reminder: Urban Wanderings - Green Routes

Guided walk: Wednesday 17 June 2015, 18:00, £6/£4

Meeting place given at time of booking: 0117 922 1540

Urban design and conservation specialist Alistar Brook guides this walk from Brunel's Mile to Temple Meads, using the five Bristol Green Capital themes (Food, Nature, Resources, Energy and Transport) to explore ideas and projects en route that are working to make Bristol a happier, helathier, better connected and more resourceful city.

Pop-up speakers for this event include Melissa Mean (Redcliffe Forum) talking about plans for Redcliffe Way and Claire Raikes from Incredible Edible Bristol talking about that project, food sovereignty and their Urban Growing Trail which runs from Millennium Square to Bristol Temple Meads. 

The walk will last up to 90 minutes. The walk passes over some uneven. Please wear suitable footwear and clothing.

This event is part of BIG Green Week, as is the City Ideas Studio keynote lecture on Tuesday 16 June - find out more and book now.

The Architecture Centre launches the City Ideas Studio, part of the Bristol European Green Capital 2015 programme

City Ideas Studio 1 May 2015-10 April 2016, The Architecture Centre 

For Bristol European Green Capital 2015, the Architecture Centre is becoming a ‘City Ideas Studio’, its programme based around the key Green Capital themes – food, nature, transport, resources and energy – and presented through a series of 10-week residencies. Working with organisations across the city, including grassroots, charities and businesses, the centre’s Harbourside gallery will become a hub of sustainable place-making and a catalyst for green ideas and action. With exhibitions, events and activities showcasing national and international projects alongside the work of local innovators and special ‘pop-up’ guests, the City Ideas Studio will ask five key questions to demonstrate how the ‘architecture’ or ‘shape’ of a sustainable city is about much more than the buildings we build.

The programme and themes:
Food: 1 May to 5 July 2015;
Nature: 15 July to 13 September 2015;
Resources: 23 September to 8 November 2015;
Energy: 18 November 2015 to 31 January 2016;
Transport: 10 February to 10 April 2016

Continuing the centre’s partnership with the Faculty of Environment and Technology at UWE, academics and students will also respond to the five residency themes. The City Ideas Studio will extend outside of the Architecture Centre including children and young people through the My Green City schools’ programme and Shape My City youth project.

The City Ideas Studio is supported by Alec French Architects, BDP, FCB Studios, Ferguson Mann Architects, RISE Structures, Solarsense and West of England Initiative.

About the Bristol 2015 Strategic Grants Fund

A total budget of £1.5m was allocated for strategic grants. Applicants were invited to submit bids for strategic projects which:
• Empower organisations and communities across Bristol to celebrate Bristol’s year as European Green Capital
• Support organisations making tangible progress against Bristol 2015’s outcomes for environmental changes in the city
• Ensure a vibrant set of projects during 2015 which can be shared with other European cities and demonstrate how their work will contribute to the core Bristol 2015 themes: energy, food, nature, resources and transport.
See the Bristol 2015 website at www.bristol2015.co.uk for the full list of successful applicants.