One Redcliff Street, Bristol, England, formerly known as the Robinson Building, is a modernist high-rise built in 1964 as the headquarters of local paper and packaging manufacturer E. S. & A. Robinson. The company had been based on the site since 1846.[1]
The names of the building and its associated street are often misspelt as "Redcliffe" from confusion with the alternate rendering of the word, used for the enveloping Redcliffe district.
History
Illustration of the E. S. & A. Robinson building on Redcliff Street in Bristol, constructed 1876 and demolished in 1961.
E. S. & A. Robinson commissioned the tower after bombing in the Bristol Blitz damaged their former Victorian neo-gothic offices. The firm required space for over 1,000 employees and conference facilities, prompting a state-of-the-art design with open-plan floors and air conditioning, among the first of its kind in Britain.[6] A temporary full-scale mockup of the building's façade was constructed in 1962 before work began in earnest, completing in 1963. Staff moved into the completed tower in 1964.[3]
The frieze from the original building, now in the Robinson Building, Bedminster.
A frieze from the original building depicting industrial workers was preserved and donated to Bristol Museums upon demolition in 1961,[6] and was later relocated to the atrium of the former Robinson warehouse in Bedminster following its conversion into apartments.[7]
Following a 1966 merger, the building became part of the Dickinson Robinson Group, before ownership passed to successive landlords.
In 2016, a £15 million refurbishment added a 16th floor and created new reception and client areas for law firm TLT LLP.[4] The redesign introduced sustainable features such as rooftop solar panels and improved thermal efficiency. The firm now occupies approximately 90,000 sq ft across multiple floors.[8]
Design
The building was designed in a utilitarian modernist style, with an exposed concrete frame clad in prefabricated panels. Conference and training rooms are housed in a podium structure and a fully glazed foyer set behind external columns. The building features structural mullions and precast wall panels finished with white Carrara marble aggregate. Bronze-framed glazing is recessed behind the façade. Its segment-headed windows intentionally emulate the Victorian warehouse vernacular of post-war Bristol, in a nod to the Robinson company's heritage.[9]
Though its boxy form and its height were divisive, it exemplified 1960s attitudes toward urban renewal and functionalist architecture and was the first building of its kind in Bristol.[6][3] Although receiving positive feedback from Basil Spence, who called it “a gift to the city”, the design was executed entirely by the in-house team at Group Architects DRG (Dickinson Robinson Group).[3][9] Group Architects DRG was later acquired by BGP Group Architects.[10]
Tenants
One Redcliff Street is home to several major firms. Law firm TLT LLP occupies the 4th, 7th, 8th and 10th–16th floors of the building and Patent & Trade Mark Specialists Withers & Rogers LLP occupies the 9th and part of the 5th with the rest of the floor being vacant. The 2nd floor is occupied by HP Inc..[11][5][needs update] Refurbished upper floors were offered for lease in 2024, featuring exposed service ceilings and flexible office configurations.[5] Other tenants include Booking.com and Aon.
1 2 3 4 5 Duterloo-Morgan, Ms F (24 December 2007). "Adviser's Report"(PDF). English Heritage. Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
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