Emily – Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus

To mark World Earth Day on 22 April, we take a look at some of the ways the new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC) will contribute to the University’s overall sustainability goals.

In 2019, the University of Bristol became the first University to declare a climate emergency. Since then, we’ve been making significant and rapid changes to our existing estate and processes, working to reduce our carbon emissions.

The Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus presents a further opportunity to show our commitment to the environment, demonstrating how we can innovate and grow responsibly and sustainably.

The main academic building – ‘CM1’

The main academic building is 38,000m² and stretches over five floors. It has been designed to achieve the industry rating BREEAM Excellent (BREEAM is the world’s leading science-based suite of validation and certification systems for a sustainable built environment).

Much of the interior of the building has been designed to be shared by students, staff and external organisations. Multipurpose spaces increase the building’s efficiency and reduce the chances of the spaces being left empty. The ambition of ‘Twilight Temple Quarter’ is to host events and activities outside of normal teaching hours for a range of people, furthering opportunities for the space to be well used. This initiative is currently in the planning stage.

An extensive public realm will surround the main building. Landscaping and tree planting plans have been carefully considered to provide a welcoming and biodiverse environment, with a central hub space to allow for activities and events. Situated on the banks of the River Avon, views of the harbourside will be seen from many angles. In the heart of the space, the University Square will link the campus to the new entrance at Bristol Temple Meads station.

Research Facilities

The Bristol Digital Futures Institute (BDFI) and MyWorld have a new home in what is currently known as ‘The Sheds’. The renovated industrial buildings on Avon Street once made up the headquarters of the Bristol Gas Company and a Coal Shed.

As a place for innovation since its inception, these buildings are now home to carbon reduction technologies and practices, known as the Sustainable Campus Testbed. This suite of net zero facilities will make the restored 200-year-old building more sustainable and deliver new research capabilities.

Find out more about these innovative facilities on the BDFI blog.

Bristol Dental School

The Bristol Dental School’s new purpose-built facility is a refurbished office building on Avon Street in Temple Quarter. By prioritising the reuse of an existing space, the University made a sustainable choice and significantly reduced the environmental impact of the school’s relocation.

Much of the furniture and equipment was also reused. This includes:

the carpet on the 5^th floor office (approximately 1500m² of carpet tiles) from NatWest, previous tenants;
office desks and chairs on the 1^st, 4^th and 5^th floor office spaces, also from NatWest;
second-hand lockers from Vodafone (coming from another project that the Campus Development Team were working on).

Explore the new home of the Dental School.

A connected campus

TQEC is located next to Bristol Temple Meads Station. It sits at the heart of the wider redevelopment of Bristol Temple Quarter – one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects.

Our new campus will be car-free, except for designated accessible parking. The new Eastern Entrance at Bristol Temple Meads will open directly onto the campus, and the station itself is currently undergoing significant regeneration which will improve sustainable travel options for students, staff and visitors.

Enhanced walking and cycling routes will surround the area, including via the new Floating Harbour walkway currently in development. The facilities include extensive bike storage as well as changing and drying rooms for cyclists.

Teams in Campus Division are currently working on proposals for the full transport plan. The area has multiple existing bus routes and the full scope of appropriate further services is being determined.

Over the last few months, Abdulelah has been on placement with the Temple Quarter Programme Team as part of the BSc Business and Management course.

Abdulelah has been working with the leads for Civic Engagement and Social Purpose, learning more about the civic mission of the University and how the Temple Quarter campus development is helping to progress that in practice.

Abdulelah shares his experiences and reflects on his time on the placement so far.

Why did you choose to do this placement?

I first came across this placement before I became a student at the University of Bristol whilst I was taking my Kaplan Foundation Course. I was keen to gain work experience and this course stood out to me. From the module description and discussions with the unit leader, I thought this module would be a great opportunity to apply my academic knowledge in a workplace setting.

What do you hope to get out of the placement?

From this placement, I hope to gain a firmer understanding of the inner workings of organisational efforts tailored to aiding the community. I have been on this placement for just short of four months and can assess that this goal is actively being achieved as I gain more experience engaging with the TQ work environment.

I am currently working on a business clinic proposal which has helped me understand how business cases are developed. By the end of this placement, I hope to continue using what I’ve learned in my course and apply it in real-world situations for the betterment of the community. I also hope that this experience will continue to enrich my learning experience and future work experience.

“This experience has helped me form a deeper connection with the city of Bristol.”

What has surprised you during the placement?

I was surprised was during my Barton Hill visit with Tara [Engagement and Innovation Manager]. Before this, I had not visited that part of Bristol. During the visit, it became apparent that given the Barton House crisis, local businesses serve a vital role in the community. At Café Conscious I saw provisions ranging from toys, bread, jam to Pampers that were provided to aid the community. Seeing this was one of the first instances where my passion for work that empowers the communities stemmed, as I was touched by the efforts of the local business to aid the community in crisis.

How has this placement developed your future aspirations as a workplace professional?

Prior to this placement, as part of my management reflection and development in practice unit, I did not have a full idea of what field within management I would like to pursue. The field of project management was an area of interest, but I did not have any knowledge of the topic from a standardised learning/workplace lens beyond online videos and websites.

During my time with the Temple Quarter team, my professional prospects have become more identified as I would like to work within the field of project management in the future; specifically, within the realm of community engagement and in an organisation from a project management lens that caters to aiding and empowering the local community.

As an international student, this experience has helped me form a deeper connection with the city of Bristol by conducting research on the local area, the issues faced and speaking with businesses regarding their methods of operation. This has enriched my experience as an international student at the University of Bristol.

Author: Emily

TQEC and Sustainability