House of Fraser, Cabot Circus
Broadmead, Bristol
Bowers Roach & Bowers Whitbed
RIBA Award - 2009
- Architect: Stanton Williams
- Client: Bristol Alliance & Land Securities
- Main Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine
- Precast Contractor: Techrete
- Material: Bowers Roach & Bowers Whitbed
Architects Stanton Williams created a landmark building for the Bristol Alliance's £500m Cabot Circus development. The dramatic £22m department store for House of Fraser is part of the £500 million project that involves the creation of a new city quarter at the entrance to Bristol, comprising around 1 million sq ft of high quality retail and leisure space.
Bristol's House of Fraser department store seeks to integrate with the city and to provide a striking beacon from the M4 gateway.
Artist Susanna Heron, in collaboration with Stanton Williams Architects, helped to design the facade. Heron responded to the architect's proposed facade of fossil stone, glass and cast bronze. Portland Bowers Roach was specified for the main elevation and once she was sure the grid of the building was set, she began work on the design, which took a year to complete
She produced 18 unique drawings using black acrylic paint. The Portland Bowers Roach sample with its fossilised texture was critical in helping to formulate her design. The organic, tactile theme introduced by the Roach bed stone is continued in the palette of materials used elsewhere on the building, the plinth level features panels of bronze.
Above plinth level, the elevations are principally clad in stone-faced precast concrete panels, arranged in portrait format. The largest is some two metres by nearly ten
Albion Stone supplied stone faced panels which comprised of 140m³ of Portland Bowers Roach and 45m³ of Portland Bowers Whitbed.
In total, Techrete produced the Architectural Cladding in 730 panels.
The geological theme is developed in the use of Portland Roach as the principal facing material.
Hard and durable, Roach is noteworthy for its high fossil content: where the shells have long since decomposed within the stone there are now holes – negatives, or moulds, which gives it with a lively, textured appearance.
At the principal corner of the building, smoother Whitbed stone from the same quarry is used, contrasting with the Roach.
Cabot Circus was officially opened on Thursday 24th September 2008. The official opening marked the completion of a project which has been 10 years in the planning and building. Drummers, dancers and high-wire performers entertained the crowds, until a circus master announced the opening of the stores at noon.
