UWE Bristol has received planning permission for a new state-of-the-art studio building to provide industry standard production and post-production facilities for film and journalism students.
Based at Bower Ashton Studios, the new facilities will allow students to develop their talents and skills with the latest equipment and technology used in the industry. 
The new building is part of a phased redevelopment of the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries and Education. It will replace the Print Centre, which has already been moved into upgraded accommodation on site.
The new studio facilities will complement existing locations including Spike Island, Arnolfini and the Watershed, forming a network of connected spaces known as City Campus.
Construction work on the building, designed by Cardiff architects Austin-Smith:Lord, will take 16 months. The construction contractors are Willmott Dixon.
Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries and Education, Alex Gilkison, said: “The new studio facilities will support the faculty’s ambition to develop a modern, digitally-enabled studio campus close to the heart of Bristol’s creative and digital economy. 
“The Faculty has partnerships with BBC, Watershed, Encounters and Wildscreen Festivals, Aardman Animations, M Shed, Spike Island and Arnolfini.
“These links are central to the faculty’s practice-oriented strategy where students learn in industry relevant settings and with industry partners.”
Austin-Smith:Lord partner Martin Roe added: “In collaboration with the client and the contractor Willmott Dixon, we worked hard to ensure that the design enhanced the conservation area setting, while providing a modern facility which would meet the needs of the university.
“Our solution was a design aesthetic which draws on the typology of agricultural barns and local materials.”
The building will provide facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across a range of art, design, film and journalism disciplines. As well as the new studios, a second building is planned that will provide new art and design facilities for all students in City Campus.
