Bristol Bicycle Rest, Hotel and Walled Garden Feasibility

East Bristol was, at the time, disconnected from the city centre. Our feasibility proposal would see the formation of a new pedestrian-orientated corridor, or ‘Green Lung’, that would stretch from the outskirts of the city to the city centre, uninterrupted. Activities within the Green Lung would reflect and embrace the cultures of Bristol. A series of glass houses would be created, each unique to a particular part of the city.

Our proposal would see Temple Way, a substantial main road that separates the city centre from east Bristol, be covered in order to form the development site. The proposal would take existing characteristics of the area - confusion and aggression - and make them lively but calm.

At its most simple, this is a proposal for a walled garden. It was inspired by Lewis Carrol and ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Intrigue of the unknown, praising shadows, twists and turns - a playful place. It is only when one passes through the thick, 4m wide wall that the garden is revealed. The new cycle path ends at the site. It is hoped that a cyclist would park their bike, shower, change and then move through the garden to get to where they need to be.

The garden is a destination with a rolling landscape that would connect the ground floor external areas with the 1st floor interior spaces which, in this case, would be a public restaurant that overlooks the garden. The 2nd and 3rd floors are dedicated to a ‘Pod’ hotel. All room’s would be small and extremely basic. But this is only a ‘rest’ - ‘transition’ is the key word.