Lake Shore Development

Our challenge was to respect the original design and structure whilst creating exciting new homes for those who value both style and the environment. Working closely with the local authority and drawing upon guidance from English Heritage, we have been able to achieve this. Jason Collard, Managing Director, Urban Splash (South West)

Designed by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago and York Rosenberg Mardall of London, the Imperial Tobacco building is a major work of 20th-century architecture. Built in 1973, this former headquarters is noted for its elegant external steel frame on a concrete plinth, and its dramatic location, bridging an informal lake in a purpose-designed modern parkland setting.

The five-storey structure, which had lost its glazing and many other features in the years it was empty, has now undergone a well-executed conversion into flats. This conversion required an understanding of the heritage values of its distinctive modern design. Urban Splash and Bristol City Council worked collaboratively and English Heritage supplied expert advice on how to achieve the desired changes without compromising the historic significance of the building.

The core of the building lacked the ventilation and daylight necessary for residential use. After careful analysis of the impact of different approaches on the heritage values of the building, it was agreed that a ‘slot’ could be cut through it to create an atrium. Urban Splash had an exemplary understanding of the site and worked in the spirit of the original scheme. A sympathetically designed new block was built along the far bank of the lake. It was designed to complement the 1970s building and also screens an inappropriate modern development behind, enhancing the setting of the listed building in its landscape.