Lewins Mead, Bristol : 167 bedrooms in 18 Months

A landmark project designed by Allison Pike has recently been completed in Bristol’s city centre.

Located on the A38 Lewins Mead and Lower Maudlin Street corner, the building is an eight storey steel frame structure. Accommodation within the new building comprises 167 Premier Inn bedrooms, of which 9 are fully accessible, with the upper floors served by 3 lifts and with a Brewers Fayre restaurant at street level. The striking and well-proportioned façade uses a mix of rainscreen cladding, stone, aluminium, glass and brick as external facing materials.

The design responds to the site's prominent location on the A38 and the adjacent St. George's Church. Constructed to high standards of thermal and energy performance, the building achieves a BREEAM Very Good rating, with consultancy provided by Rickaby Thompson. Services consultants Thorley & Lumb utilised a VRF system coupled with central extraction and heat recovery to contribute towards the energy rating.

Main contractors Carter Lauren used a responsible materials sourcing strategy and all timber utilised in the build was FSC certified. QS and Project Management for the project was carried out by Baqus Fletcher McNeill. Structural Engineering services were provided by Simpson Associates. Allison Pike liaised with the Police in the adoption of Secured by Design principles. From start on site in September 2014 the construction period lasted a total of 18 months for this significant investment by Whitbread.