The roof has been raised on a forthcoming modern working space in Bristol as construction work continues to transform a derelict warehouse near the city’s harbourside.
The building, which was used by chocolate manufacturer J S Fry and Sons and was also once part of the Old Bristol Gaol, is set to be transformed into more than 20,000 sq ft of offices, called CARGO Work.
The complex, located at the mixed-use Wapping Wharf development which is home to a hub of independent businesses, will be able to accommodate 230 people when complete.
In an update, contractors Halsall said that “significant progress” had been made on the project in recent months, with new drone footage revealing the structure’s new top.
The company said the building’s concrete floor decks, load-bearing internal walls and steel frames had been completed, with the restored warehouse now visible following the removal of the roadside walls that previously ran along Wapping Road.
The firm added that with the roof installed, attention would turn to building the external façade.
The new offices will be clad in components from shipping containers and set within the stone walls of the former warehouse on the corner of Wapping Road and Cumberland Road, near The Louisiana pub.
Developers Umberslade, which are behind the project as well as the surrounding mixed-use Wapping Wharf neighbourhood, have said that the facility would be suitable for one or multiple smaller organisations.
It added that it would be able to work with future tenants to help them design their working environment to their own specification.
CARGO Work is designed to be low in energy use, with sustainability features set to include solar roof panels, around 50 bicycle racks and seven parking spaces with electric vehicle charging provision.
Stuart Hatton, managing director at Umberslade, the developer of Wapping Wharf, including CARGO Work, said: "Over the past couple of months, CARGO Work has really started to take shape and you can now truly envisage what this unique building will offer, once complete.
Mr Hatton added: "We're now really looking forward to working with a future tenant, or tenants, to bring the interior design to life, breathing life into this striking, sustainable building."
CARGO Work has been designed by the architects behind phases one and two of Wapping Wharf, Alec French Architects.
The Wapping Wharf area already comprises premises of more than 40 independent businesses, many of which are situated in CARGO, a network of converted shipping container units.
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