Bristol Arena moves one step closer to reality

Populous, the architectural firm behind London's Olympic Stadium and the O2 arenas in London and Dublin, as well as a variety of impressive venues across the globe, was selected to design Bristol Arena from a shortlist of five.

Panel member and legendary promoter Harvey Goldsmith CBE spoke about the Arena:

“Bristol needs a fully integrated, multi use and flexible arena. The winning team have presented a concept that fits the criteria. They understood how an arena works not only from the public’s point of view, but also from the promoter and artist stand point. I think their understanding of the site combined with their knowledge of building arenas made it easy for us to choose this team as the winners. I believe that the new Bristol Arena will rank amongst the best in the UK.”

The £91 million building is set to open in 2017 and have a maximum capacity of 12,000. It's been a long time in the planning process, but constructing will finally start - in the upcoming Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone development - in early 2016.

It's expected to be the UK's most sustainable arena, which fits in with Bristol's current status as the Green Capital of Europe. With the advent of the high-speed rail, linking Bristol and London by a journey of approximately 40 minutes, it's set to be quite the draw.

Populous' Nicholas Reynolds said of the design: "It delivers a world-class live concert venue for 12,000 fans, and with seamless conversion the atmosphere and intimacy of a 4,000 seat amphitheater... the adaptive façade will provide the canvas, which defines the identity of the building within the Bristol skyline, as it transitions between an ephemeral form by day, to a dynamic event backdrop by night.”

Bristol's Mayor, George Ferguson, added: "the Populous team has presented an innovative design for a horseshoe shaped arena that will allow us real flexibility for programming, for now and into the future, offering both performers and audiences an outstanding acoustic and visual experience."

While it will be primarily used for live music and theatrical performances, sporting events, conferences and exhibitions will also be catered for.

[via BBC]