Construction work will soon be completed at the Riverview Court development at Onega Place in Bath, with external works expected to finish in the next two weeks.
Riverview Court is a development of 44 contemporary riverside apartments and a cafe, sandwiched between the Upper Bristol Road and the River Avon.
Designed by Nash Partnership for Watkin Jones Homes, the new development replaces low rise industrial sheds with four-storey, high-density residential apartments.
Lying within a conservation area and world heritage setting and adjoining Victoria Bridge, the site presented the design team with many tricky challenges to unlocking its potential.
However, developers say the final design is sensitive to these constraints and to the local ecology, taking cues from historic industrial mills and malthouses to make sure the development is distinctive.
Materials were chosen to reinforce and reference the character of the conservation area.
The design also reflects the Council’s vision to form an activity node by the river. Rather than doing this by just opening up the site, the design team focused on a more intelligently designed public realm solution.
The creation of river-fronting public space is the first of its kind on the north bank of the River Avon in recent times, and the result is expected to set the benchmark for future regeneration on this side of the river.
Commenting on the project, Architect Richard Mather-Jones from Nash Partnership said: “We’re very excited to see this bold Bath project come across the finishing line.
“The end result is the culmination of lots of collaborative working with the Council to achieve a development that’s fitting for this site.”
Berwyn Evans, Managing Director of Watkin Jones Homes, said: “We’re passionate about creating wonderful places to live that really enhance and reflect the local surroundings.
“It has been great to work alongside Nash Partnership and the local authority to deliver this sensitive and high-quality scheme.”
Interest in the development has been significant, with 13 of the 1-, 2- and 3-bed apartments already sold.