Swindon & Wiltshire News
New office building offers a warm Welcome – but beware of the crocodile on your way in
A new 2,000 sq ft office building has opened in the centre of Bristol – complete with its own crocodile.
Developers Trammell Crow Company say the Welcome Building at Temple Quarter offers “the largest, flexible floorplates in the city” and boasts that it is also one of the most sustainable.
International law firm DAC Beachcroft – which has 800 staff working in the region – will be the first occupier, taking 45,000 sq ft across levels six and seven.
Welcome Building was designed by Darling Associates Architects, and constructed by Wates, to create a landmark in the city centre.
Floorplates range from 22,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft, all reconfigurable to suit different requirements.
A standout feature of the building is a unique ‘street’ on the ground floor, a huge lobby area with a café bar, breakout seating areas, touch-down workspace, events space and specially commissioned public art by Dorcas Casey.
The artist’s crocodile is based on a Bristol urban myth – the story of the crocodile sighted in 2014 in the river Avon.
A life-sized bronze crocodile, crafted in community workshops, lurks at the entrance with its babies.
Welcome Building is highly sustainable: one of only three buildings in Bristol to have achieved a NABERS Design for Performance Target Rating of 5 Stars.
It is all-electric, with PV cells on the roof and will be Net Zero Carbon in operation. It also sets new standards for occupier wellbeing as the first Bristol office development to target Well Platinum Certification, alongside BREEAM Outstanding and Five at Heart Platinum.
The building is connected to the Bristol Heat Network, from which it will extract all of its heat load. This naturally sourced and low carbon heat is procured from the zero-carbon water source heat pump at Castle Park energy centre resulting in no polluting combustion.
Toby Pentecost, senior vice president and head of UK offices at Trammell Crow Company, said: “Welcome Building is our first completed office development in Europe and is a major milestone for TCC as we continue to increase our footprint in the region. It is an exemplar development providing high-quality, ESG focused workspace in a thriving part of the city centre.
“This building sets a new bar for sustainability in Bristol and boasts an exceptional location with great amenities and connectivity.
“With some space still available and a shortage of large floorplates in the city, we are experiencing high demand and look forward to making another letting announcement very soon.”
Mark Craig, regional managing director for the South at Wates Group, said: “Welcome Building represents our commitment to reimagining places for people to thrive.
“Designed as a climate-friendly, user-focused, and inclusive office space for Bristol, not only is this landmark project truly sustainable but it delivers meaningful impact on the local community, setting a new standard for development in the city.”
Chris Darling, founder and chair at Darling Associates Architects, added: “The Welcome Building project gave us the opportunity to design an exemplary workplace that would push the boundaries forwards in terms of offices design.
“In our approach we have prioritised attracting people back into an office environment post pandemic, and have sought to create a low carbon building that provides a sense of community, ownership and belonging – we have for example provided cafes, pop ups, a town hall, yoga, contemplative space, a fitness studio and so on.”
Welcome Building has already been shortlisted for two awards, including Development of the year at the Props Awards 2025 and Green Building of the Year in the UK Green Business Awards.
