RIBA BRONZE MEDAL SHOWCASE: The Hotwells Dock Project

The Hotwells Dock Project explores how wastewater spills in the UK are not only in part due to poor regulation and inadequate infrastructure, but are exacerbated by increased surface runoff due to clearing of wetland landscapes and the expansion of hardscaped developments.

Without natural landscape water retention, surface runoff flows directly into drainage infrastructure which - due to a combined sewer network - leads to overwhelming quantities of water, forcing wastewater spills and illegal discharges that result in detrimental effects on aquatic and riparian habitats.

As a response, the project creates a distributed architectural framework for wetland recovery. The Hotwells Dock building itself reuses industrial steel elements from Bristols past as a base for research, education and stakeholder engagement while filter feeders, molluscs and seaweeds are cultivated for water purification on piers below in the intertidal zone. Here, a living architecture is created where plastic collection and tidal energy systems harness the environments energy while cleaning it simultaneously. Outpost buildings upstream and downstream promote biodiversity to act as a catalyst for wetland repair by healing both the environment they inhabit, as well as expanding wetland areas - thus increasing the sponge effect of the natural landscape which mitigates flooding events, reduces surface runoff and eliminates wastewater spills.

Upon completion of the project aims, the supralittoral zone of the Hotwells Dock building can be dismantled and recycled, whilst permanent elements such as the seed bank and tidal energy system remain in place. Finally, the dock reemerges from under the building and is returned to the community as an outdoor bathing platform.

The Hotwells Dock Project explores how wastewater spills in the UK are not only in part due to poor regulation and inadequate infrastructure, but are exacerbated by increased surface runoff due to clearing of wetland landscapes and the expansion of hardscaped developments.

Without natural landscape water retention, surface runoff flows directly into drainage infrastructure which - due to a combined sewer network - leads to overwhelming quantities of water, forcing wastewater spills and illegal discharges that result in detrimental effects on aquatic and riparian habitats.

As a response, the project creates a distributed architectural framework for wetland recovery. The Hotwells Dock building itself reuses industrial steel elements from Bristols past as a base for research, education and stakeholder engagement while filter feeders, molluscs and seaweeds are cultivated for water purification on piers below in the intertidal zone. Here, a living architecture is created where plastic collection and tidal energy systems harness the environments energy while cleaning it simultaneously. Outpost buildings upstream and downstream promote biodiversity to act as a catalyst for wetland repair by healing both the environment they inhabit, as well as expanding wetland areas - thus increasing the sponge effect of the natural landscape which mitigates flooding events, reduces surface runoff and eliminates wastewater spills.

Upon completion of the project aims, the supralittoral zone of the Hotwells Dock building can be dismantled and recycled, whilst permanent elements such as the seed bank and tidal energy system remain in place. Finally, the dock reemerges from under the building and is returned to the community as an outdoor bathing platform.

The Hotwells Dock Project: NARRATIVE

The stripping away of wetlands not only diminishes habitats for native flora and fauna, but also strips the landscape of the natural water filtration systems designed to protect it. Whilst natural water retention is increased through outpost projects, the hotwells dock building reinstates natural water filters through the cultivation of molluscs, filter feeders and seaweeds on intertidal platforms. These are hung from existing industrial steel dock piles on site, reviving both the built and the living environment whilst physically repairing river health. Filter feeders clean water by straining out tiny particles like plankton, algae, and detritus as they feed. Organisms such as oysters, mussels and clams pull in water, trapping bacteria and pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphurous using specialized structures like gills or filtering appendages before expelling the clean water back to the river. In doing so, they help reduce excess nutrients and suspended matter which can otherwise lead to algal blooms, acidification and eutrophication.

The Hotwells Dock Project: APPROACH

Perched delicately on steel remnants within the intertidal zone, the Hotwells Dock building embodies a striking contrast between vulnerability and resilience. Below, its submerged levels engage directly with the turbulent forces of nature - tidal flows, pollution, and ecological decay - transforming a decaying dock into a living filtration system of molluscs, seaweed and engineered wetlands. Above, the structure rises into the supralittoral zone, a controlled and conditioned realm for human activity: a place of research, restoration, and public engagement. This juxtaposition mirrors the wider ecological dilemma - the dichotomy between built environments and natural systems - while offering a vision of coexistence, where architecture becomes both refuge and remedy.

The Hotwells Dock Project: PROPOSAL

Running parallel to the river’s edge, the adjacent A4 forms a sharp boundary between the constructed urban realm and the dynamic, progressive typology of the wetland centre.Rather than resisting this infrastructural proximity, the building embraces it as an opportunity for public interface - its southern edge oriented toward the road with a clear visitor entrance, accessible exhibition spaces and educational signage visible to passersby. This relationship transforms the road from a site of environmental detachment to one of awareness and engagement, drawing attention to the ecological challenges hidden just beyond the tarmac. Strategically located crossings, landscape buffers, and visual permeability allow the wetland centre to mediate between fast-moving transport infrastructure and the slow, restorative rhythms of the tidal zone.

The Hotwells Dock Project: PROCESS

Concepts from the start heavily focussed on the interaction between the street, the building and the river.

Initial ideas involved a floating building, which would rise and fall with the tide. This would provide a constant physical connection with the river whilst mitigating the potential flooding issues of a static building.

This concept was ultimately abandoned due to difficulties posed by access, servicing and practical functions of a floating building, especially considering the large 14m tidal range. Nevertheless, these weeks proved useful, as studies into materials, structures and wider research on wetland biodiversity was continually carried out.

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