Bristol’s long-awaited science park, which has been more than 20 years in the making, has reached another milestone in its development with its focal point, The Forum, now ready for occupation.
The 11,000 sq ft building will act as the social and collaborative hub of the £300m park at Emersons Green, providing a space for businesses to meet and share ideas.
It will also be open to the wider community and feature a high quality café and networking space.
The building, which has a striking floor-to-roof glass design, is the centrepiece of the Bristol and Bath Science Park (Spark) and also acts as the focal point of its first phase, the £10m SPark One which also includes the Innovation Centre and the Grow-On building.
The 25,000 sq ft Innovation Centre will provide space for small companies of up to 15 employees, with professional conference facilities and business support to help young companies grow and access advisors, mentors, partners and funders.
The similar-sized Grow-On building will be for bigger companies of up to around 40 employees and will be ideal for companies needing flexible terms as well as the support of a lively business community.
These buildings, along with the new National Composites Centre, are the first to be completed on the Science Park.
Bristol and Bath Science Park chief executive Bonnie Dean said: “The Forum has been designed to be an open and attractive space with a prominent location on the new Blackwell Common. We would like it to become the focal point not just of SPark One but of the whole of the Bristol and Bath Science Park. It will be a place to meet, share ideas to inspire and be inspired.”
The 59-acre (24-hectare) science park has been designed, developed and managed by Quantum Property Partnership – a joint venture between Quintain Estates and Development plc and Aviva Investors, the UK’s largest investment group. The South West RDA has invested £40m which helped unlock the project, which is backed by Bristol University, the University of the West of England and the University of Bath.
It will be a hub for the region’s science and technology businesses, bringing together a wide range of companies including entrepreneurs, fledgling businesses and established brands to form an inspiring scientific and technology community where ideas can be shared and taken to commercial scale.
