Work on the University of Bristol’s new £500m Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus has started.

Opening in 2026, the campus at Cattle Market Road, next to Temple Meads Station, will enhance the University of Bristol’s reputation as a global destination for world-leading research, education and innovation. The site will be home to 4,600 students and 650 university staff who will come together with business and community partners to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges. Residential accommodation on Temple Island will provide living space for around 900 students.

At the heart of the campus, on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office, a 38,000 sqm academic building will be home to the University’s Business School, digital engineering research groups, the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Quantum Technologies Innovation Centre. Mike Keys, Partner at FCBStudios said: “Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus is the most significant development in the recent history of the University of Bristol.

It represents a major engagement in the city, redeveloping a prominent, but long-derelict, brownfield site by Temple Meads Train Station, the chief arrivals point of the city. Through ecologically sensitive public realm, community engagement, and new city connections, the campus will become an integral part of Bristol and the significant regeneration to the east of the city.” Sited on a car-free campus and designed for long life and future adaptability, the building is rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’. Approximately 22% of the building’s regulated energy consumption will be generated on-site from renewable sources, and a further 1,400 MWh will be exported annually to a new District Heating Network.

The campus, a minimum of 50 percent of supplies for which will come from within a 30 mile radius, is a catalyst for the wider redevelopment of Bristol Temple Quarter, the UK’s largest regeneration project. It will create 22,000 new jobs, 10,000 new homes and new purpose built student accommodation developed by third party providers. It will also introduce more inclusive routes into education and bring £1.6 bn a year to the city economy. AECOM has supported the Temple Quarter programme since 2017, working as the University of Bristol’s project and cost consultants. They will continue to support the University through the construction of the new campus.

The AECOM project team is led by Steven Jenkins, National HE Sector Lead. Osborne Clarke advised the University on the construction procurement and contracts for the projects.