Brandon Yard is a fascinating area of Bristol’s dockside formally associated with the processing of whale oil which was used for street lighting before coal gas and most recently natural gas. Located opposite Brunel’s SS Great Britain in the Floating Harbour the site was once dominated by latticework gasometers alongside the incredibly robust processing buildings designed to withstand explosions. HBA were appointed alongside Architects AWW and contractors Speller Metcalfe to coordinate the repair of the extant structures before their conversion into over 50 apartments as part of a multi-million pound development of the site. The project was particularly challenging due to the partial collapse of the harbourside which had caused the buildings to distort, the extremely contaminated nature of the site and the shear size of the structural elements involved.
The project required working very closely with the masonry contractors to stabilize the structure and repair of the stonework alongside replacement of missing architectural features. The processing of the stonework using stone axes in the traditional manner was an essential part of the success of the project which was highly commended by British Stone Federation. The project went on to win multiple other regional and national awards.
