By Dana Datu, News Reporter
In one year, the University of Bristol will be opening the brand new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, planned to be ‘an exciting new destination for education, innovation, and community collaboration’.
Set to open in September 2026, the new campus will specialise in innovation, AI, business, and digital engineering.
The campus is part of a wider regional regeneration of Bristol Temple Quarter, the UK's largest regeneration project.
This project is expected to create 22,000 new jobs, 10,000 new homes, and new public green spaces, resulting in an overall annual boost of £1.6 billion to the regional economy, according to the University.
Sofia Webster
Epigram spoke to Professor Judith Squires, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University and the lead for the Temple Quarter Programme on the day. She said that although many of the University’s iconic buildings are renowned for their historic image, the University needs a campus that is ‘more flexible’ to reflect the modern teaching and learning styles of today.
The new campus will accommodate 4,600 students and 650 staff, especially those from Business and Entrepreneurship-related postgraduate courses, and will provide teaching though new, inventive study spaces and teaching methods.
This includes the Bristol Innovations Zone, which is a dedicated space for around 300 enterprise partners and for students’ focus and development. Squires said these zones would provide flexible, interactive spaces, state-of-the-art equipment, skills training, support services, and events.
Other features for students include round-shaped lecture theatres, rather than the traditional tier-shaped lecture theatres. According to Squires, students found the traditional format ‘a bit lonely’ and believes that this circular format will improve communication and social interaction for both professors and peers.
More social spaces and sensory rooms will be included, similar to those found in the Richmond Building, allowing participants to relax with no surrounding distractions.
The new campus also features four new internal gardens, dedicated to quiet and active reflection.
Squires told Epigram that the reasoning behind the campus' location, adjacent to Bristol Temple Meads Station, is to ‘show the intersection between business and technology.’
Squires also highlighted that the campus will promote diversity and inclusivity as an ‘inclusive hub for local communities’. This would include the Bristol Rooms, a space for international collaboration on shared challenges and issues, and the Story Exchange, a space designed for dialogue between diverse communities. The university has also collaborated with local artists to create special artwork to be displayed once the campus opens.
Cara Hene
Ellen Landale
Currently, Temple Quarter program director Matt Costain and the construction team are now working on what one on-site construction worker described as the ‘nervous system’ of the building, having completed the overall external look.
Since commencing in October 2023, over 450 people have been working on-site and have installed 1,000 glass panels and 150 solar panels, while planting 130 trees across the campus site. The site has completed the necessary landscaping, heating, and decorating work for the campus, keeping to the programme's updated schedule.
The 2026 opening date follows a series of delays. Initially, it had a target date of 2022, which was pushed back to 2023. This was delayed further to 2025 before the current date was announced.
Featured image: Epigram / Dana Datu
