Walk in Bristol
with Richie
5 Nearest Attraction
1. Arnolfini
(4 foot - 1 min walking)
2. M Shed
(0,2 mile - 4 min walking)
(0,1 mile - 3 min walking)
4. Queen Square
(0,2 mile - 4 min walking)
(0,2 mile - 5 min walking)
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Click to the postcode to check the map .
Design West
16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Official website :
https://www.designwest.org.uk/
Founded in 1996, Design West is a centre of excellence for design & placemaking.
Their mission is to inspire the public, politicians & professionals across the built environment to design, better, healthier, places to live, work & relax.
A registered charity they put design & social value at our heart.
Design West is the new name for The Architecture Centre & Creating Excellence.
For details of upcoming events and exhibitions see What’s on.
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The Architect Cafe Bar opening times
Monday: Closed
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am—11pm
Sunday: 10am—6pm
Daytime: Coffee, tea, sourdough sandwiches, cakes
Evenings: Fine wines, cold beers, cocktails, cheese & charcuterie boards
Free WiFi
Nearest Public Toilet
Arnolfini Cafe Bar
(Community Toilet Scheme)
( 4 yard - 1 min)
16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
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Richie's opinion :
" Sorry, but I don't know nothing about the architecture.
I like the old buildings, churches, cathedrals, often impressed me by an architectural masterpiece , but I just make a picture, imagine who build it, who and how lived there the people, what happen there, and that's all.
If you interet more, then me, it is your place. :) ."
History
The Design West occupies a beautiful 18th century former warehouse in the heart of Bristol’s historic docks.
This three-storey building was previously a sail loft but stopped making sails in the late 19th or early 20th century. It then remained empty for several decades, becoming increasingly dilapidated and suffering two serious fires.
In the 1990s the Bristol Centre for the Advancement of Architecture obtained funding to restore the building to house the new Architecture Centre. Architects Niall Phillips, who also redeveloped the Youth Hostel next door, transformed the burnt-out sail loft into a welcoming gallery and office space, preserving its sturdy maritime character and charred wooden supports and beams.
The Architecture Centre now occupies the ground floor of the building, with upper floors occupied by tenants Copper Consultancy and Activation Digital.
History of the Design West
Design West began life as The Bristol Centre for the Advancement of Architecture a group of architects, engineers, academics & passionate citizens who cared deeply about the impact of good design on society.
In the 1990s the charity raised funds to purchase a prominent site on the quayside in Bristol, an 18th century warehouse & former sail loft, that had suffered two serious fires & was standing in disrepair. Preserving its sturdy maritime character, Architects Niall Phillips turned the space into a gallery & office space
Opening its doors to the public on 11 September 1996, 16 Narrow Quay became home to The Architecture Centre, the first architecture centre outside London & a place where anyone could find out about the built world around them.
Sasha Lubetkin, daughter of RIBA Gold Medal-winning architect Berthold Lubetkin, its inaugural director
In 2018 new director Dr Anna Rutherford & chair Nick Childs began raising funds to regenerate the building again.
Always a regional base with international reach, in 2021 the charity joined forces with respected place-maker, Creating Excellence, to extend our work across the South West.
In 2021 Design West launches as a lively new venue for Design & Placemaking on the dockside.
Home to talks, events, education programmes & the co-ordinating hub for Bristol Open Doors.
Learning from our heritage to build our future, Design West shapes better, healthier, places to live work & relax. On the ground floor,
The Architect café-bar will welcome visitors into the building, the charred timber beams of the old sail loft a nod to the past.