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Architecture Centre hope to transform HQ into ‘vibrant home for design and placemaking’
A new cafe and cultural and education space will help bring a city centre venue to life this summer.
In its 25th anniversary year, The Architecture Centre is launching a crowdfunder campaign to raise £25,000 to create “a vibrant home for design and placemaking” within its historic headquarters.
Architecture Centre bosses hope to transform 16 Narrow Quay – a former sailmaking workshop – into “a new cultural landmark”.
is needed now More than ever
The Architecture Centre’s three-storey building on 16 Narrow Quay was previously a sail loft but stopped making sails in the late 19th century – photo: Visit Bristol
A new design-themed cafe and bar, to be known as The Architect, will be based on the ground floor, with a new outdoor terrace overlooking the Floating Harbour.
The first floor will become “the cultural heart” of the venue with the space kitted-out to host regular events about the design of our cities, homes and neighbourhoods, as well as being the control room for Bristol Open Doors.
The first floor will also house the charity’s Shape My City programme, an award-winning diverse talent acceleration programme for 15- to 18-year-olds from across Bristol and the South West.
In the 1990s the Bristol Centre for the Advancement of Architecture obtained funding to restore the building to house the new Architecture Centre – photo: Architecture Centre
The Architecture Centre director, Dr Anna Rutherford, said that “design has a profound effect on all of us every day, from the design of our commutes to our communities, of our homes to our hospitals and green spaces”.
She said: “We’re asking you to join us to create a new venue on the harbour, a place for people, politicians and professionals to come together to shape our city and our region.
“Help us raise the final £25,000 the charity needs to bring this new venue to life.”
Visit Bristol’s Kathryn Davis added: “A new centre for design is an incredibly attractive offer and of benefit to the visitor economy.
“By creating a cultural hub we can safeguard our historic harbour and create a vibrant family friendly and ‘European’ feel, similar to Wapping Warf.”
Narrow Quay in the 1960s contained mostly derelict buildings – photo: Bristol Archives
Main photo: The Architecture Centre
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