Bristol is to get more innovative workspace following approval for plans to use around 90 converted shipping containers to create a scheme in the new Wapping Wharf harbourside quarter.
Called CARGO Work, it will be Wapping Wharf developer Umberslade’s first foray into the offices sector on the site best known for its CARGO eating, drinking and retail scheme – also made from former shipping containers. 
Umberslade says it wants to replicate the sense of community and entrepreneurial spirit that has emerged among the independent businesses within CARGO and the wider Wapping Wharf quarter, creating a space where workers can collaborate and make new connections.
CARGO Work, which will be built within the stone walls of the former J S Fry warehouse, will feature an atrium and decking on number of levels including the roof. It will create space for around 250 people across a number of businesses.
Under the plans, drawn up by Bristol architects Alec French, the walls of the disused warehouse – which were originally part of the old Bristol Gaol – will be restored and new workspace will be built inside.
The move will mark the return of the site to commercial use – the warehouse, on the corner of Wapping Road and Cumberland Road opposite the Louisiana Pub, has stood empty for many years.
The scheme – which will have five levels including ground floor – will also include some car parking, a café area with outside seating, a shower suite, 24-hour access, a drying room, lockers and secure bicycle store. Space ranging from 1,500 sq ft up to 22,000 sq ft will be available.
Umberslade director Stuart Hatton said: “We have been overwhelmed by the way Bristol has embraced Wapping Wharf, so it’s fantastic to be able to expand into the workspace sector, meeting the strong demand from businesses for a high quality, unique working environment in the very heart of the city.
“At CARGO Work, we are taking an unusual approach to creating the building as we’ll be adapting the shipping containers and using them as ‘building blocks’ to create a completely unique, bright and airy building with a real industrial dockside feel about it.
“People working at CARGO Work will not only benefit from being close to the vibrant cultural, leisure and economic hub of the city, but will be able to enjoy the incredible array of independent restaurants, cafes, shops and more right on their doorstep, not to mention the beautiful harbourside setting.
“We have already received huge interest in CARGO Work so it’s excellent news that we can now press on with turning our exciting plans into reality.”
Nearly 200 homes have already been completed and are now occupied at Wapping Wharf, with work underway on a further 250, part-funded by a £23.4m investment from Homes England.
Umberslade said it can deliver CARGO Work quickly as it uses the same shipping container approach as the CARGO leisure scheme – meaning work is due to start before Christmas with completion expected towards the end of next year.
Shipping containers have already been used as offices in Bristol. The Boxworks scheme next to the city’s Engine Shed innovation hub, which opened in December 2015, is made up of 20 ‘re-imagined’ containers, creating custom-designed workspace for small firms in the creative, digital and hi-tech industries.
