Contractors Beard appointed for historic development of landmark Bristol building

The RWA (Royal West of England Academy) – Bristol’s first public art gallery – have appointed regional company Beard as building contractors for its £3.8m Light and Inspiration project.  This is the most significant development to the Grade II* listed building for more than a century and work is due to start very soon, with the building being handed over to the contractors on 24 May and it is expected to be completed by February 2022.

The project will transform access to the Victorian building, while making urgent structural repairs by replacing the vast roof lanterns in the galleries. The RWA was described by Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England, as one of the most beautiful galleries in the country, and this project will enable people with severe disabilities to access art for the first time, through the inclusion of a large new lift and a Changing Places toilet facility – the only one in an art gallery anywhere in the area. 
After three years of fundraising, the RWA has secured support from many national and local sources, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council and John James Bristol, which has enabled the project to go ahead.  The team are now fundraising to secure the funds required to provide creative facilities for budding younger artists and for some of the most disadvantaged individuals in our community, by converting its basement into a suite of spaces adapted to suit everyone’s needs.
Meanwhile, the future financial sustainability of the organisation will be addressed through significant enhancements to facilities for visitors, the forecourt incorporating alfresco café seating and outdoor social and exhibition areas and inside, enlarging the current café area, with improvements to the retail and reception areas.
Alongside the building works, an ambitious programme of activity is being run working in partnership with some of Bristol’s most vulnerable communities including creativeShift, for people referred with mental health challenges and communities in Easton and Redcliffe.

Alison Bevan, RWA Director says “This is a truly historic moment for us. Not since the façade was remodelled in 1913 has such a major project been undertaken.  We’ve listened to our visitors and to the community we serve and are confident that the changes we’re making will enable people from across Bristol and beyond to benefit from extraordinary encounters with great art, including those with the most severe physical and mental health challenges.

We are delighted to have appointed Beard Construction, who have themselves been operating for well over a century.  We’re really looking forward to working with this family company, and their extensive experience with important heritage buildings means that we know they’ll do a great job for us.”  

Mike Hedges, Director at Beard Bristol, said: “For Beard, this is a project which provides a fantastic opportunity to help ensure the future of one of Bristol’s landmark buildings. 

As a construction partner we will add value by drawing on our great expertise both of logistically challenging projects and sensitive alteration and conservation of historic buildings. 

The replacement of the rooflights over the existing galleries for example, will improve the internal environment. While works to improve the entrance, lower windows and provision of a new lift will ensure an accessible, social, family-friendly space with improved natural light.

This is a project which is very much in line with Beard’s central ethos that buildings are spaces for living, working, playing, and also inspiration.”

The £3.8m project has been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as well as many other Trusts and Foundations and donors.  £280,000 is still needed to complete the project. 

You can find out more at the RWA’s website at https://www.rwa.org.uk/pages/what-is-the-light-and-inspiration-capital-project