October 7, 2021

2C Flowers Hill, Bristol

Project Summary:

Location: Brislington, Bristol
Sector: Office
Client: 299 Lighting
Interior Architecture Interior Design & Styling: Fable and Form
Project Manager/Quantity  Surveyor: MODE Consult
Principal and Main Contractor: Chalk Design & Build
Electrical Contractor: Tandy Electrical
Fitout value: £250K
Lighting Package Value: £35K
Duration: 7 months
Size: 2,000 sq. ft
Photography: Rebecca Faith 

In December 2020, after years of search, 299 Lighting purchased the 7,000 sq ft commercial property in Brislington. Seeing what potential this tired and dilapidated building had and by reimagining this into a new office space and creative hub for the team. We think we achieved exactly what we set off to achieve, if not more.

The recently completed £250,000 refurbishment and CAT B fit out of 2c Flowers Hill in Bristol sees an ambitious transformation of a run-down industrial building, offering approximately 2,000 sq ft of contemporary office space completely tailored to our needs.

2C Flowers Hill boasts a great location with a quick connection to the centre of Bristol and Bath. The forward thinking scheme was designed by Bristol based Fable and Form and brought to life by the Principal and Main Contractor Chalk Design and Build. The project recognises the industrial heritage of the building whilst focusing on smart features and sustainability.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

The earliest mention of the building dates back to the 1930’s. A decade later, it was used as a bakery for the famous Cadena Cafe chain. The Bristol branch of the cafe chain was located at 15-17 Wine Street.

The building is a steel frame reinforced concrete building, quite typical of its era. Over the time, the property has undergone several alterations and its recent use was a showroom for furniture business Silkox and Son.

In January 2021, we cleared the site, removed all dropped ceilings and all existing fixtures and fittings. The surplus timber was donated to the local Bristol Wood Recycling Project. We exposed the concrete ceilings, which have been shot blasted to its original look. Some of the existing block work has been removed and the building was completely stripped to Shell and Core.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

At this stage, we appointed a design team to help us with transforming the empty shell into a destination office space.

In order to support local business and trade, we teamed up with the Bristol based architectural designers Fable and Form to help us deliver the vision. Working closely with us, the Principal and Main contractor Chalk Design and build turned the vision into reality. The project was managed by Mode Consult, who also acted as the quantity surveyor.

THE DESIGN BRIEF.

Our vision was to create a destination workplace, where the team would get together and bounce ideas off each other. We wanted to deliver a sustainable and smart office with the team having a varied and inspiring environment. Throughout the design process, we drilled down into all materials and finishes, to make sure we understood the story behind them.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

SUSTAINABILITY IS MORE THAN A WORD.

To ensure the building was watertight and efficient, we thermo insulated the roof and replaced all windows and doors. Next, we started the installation of solar panels. Our current setup enables us to generate 27kW/h at peak capacity, which allows us to run our operation off solar power on most days. Wireless communication with Smart Power Sensor is giving us data in real time. Using the online application, we can see how much power we are generating, storing in our battery or how much power we are sending back to the grid. 

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

We asked the team, what is it like being in the new office?

Having been involved with setting up the solar power infrastructure has been an interesting learning curve and a very empowering experience. Seeing how much energy we consume in real life as a business is definitely making an impact on how we think.

Elman Lewis, Senior Technical Project Manager

We asked the team, what is it like being in the new office?

Having been involved with setting up the solar power infrastructure has been an interesting learning curve and a very empowering experience. Seeing how much energy we consume in real life as a business is definitely making an impact on how we think.

Elman Lewis, Senior Technical Project Manager

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

Sense of arrival.

The idea behind the stairwell space leading up to the upstairs office was to create a sense of arrival. We imagined a space where people arrive from the outside world and tune into the 299 brand. The dark and dramatic interior of the staircase enhanced by the bold neon sign on the wall and lush greenery creates exactly that. In this relatively small space, we used the natural light to our advantage. The stairwell is lit by the circular luminaires Talla surface mounted. The Talla with its timeless circular shape references the porthole windows in the doors leading into the main office and creates a visually strong feature in the stairwell.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

A peek into 299’s world.

The lounge at the top of the stairwell is a flexible space used as a breakout space, informal meeting room or waiting area. We used the circular decorative pendant Circular by Grok as the main source of lighting, giving the space soft illumination.  Adding another layer of light, the micro linear profiles installed in the black wall paneling create a soft concealed effect.

Cladding the existing metal handrail and balustrade gives a tactile approach to the stairs leading into the lounge. Whilst keeping it’s form and function and a nod to the industrial heritage of the building.

The bespoke made to measure twin laminate doors with porthole vision panels offers a first peek into the 299 brand and creates anticipation of our new environment within.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

The main office space.

The property boasts a generous 3.5 meter ceiling height and the space is flooded by daylight. The main feature of the design scheme is the acoustic perforated perimeter panelling produced by the local social enterprise Knowle West Media Centre, not only does this provide added insulation to the building as well as the acoustic properties, the neutral colours of the timber and exposed concrete ceilings is offset by the bold black panelling and dark hues of black and grey.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

Home is where the cake is.

Eating cake, sharing food and celebrating success is deeply embedded in our DNA and the kitchen area was one of the most important, if not the most important area for our new office space. The shelving in the kitchen was designed around the iconic Eames bird, one of our most treasured possessions. The welcoming space is being used as an informal meeting room, social and collaboration area. Lit by the stunning 15.2m long made to measure linear system Lena, the kitchen is where you experience the 299 company culture most. Lena is a new flexible linear luminaire that can be designed using curves and lines, creating a totally bespoke linear system to your interior design.

The kitchen.

Above the large dining table, we used 3 frosted glass decorative pendants Mist from leds-c4 range. They give the space a soft glow and a welcoming feel. The micro linear profiles used in the shelving add additional soft accent lighting in the kitchen.

The kitchen.

Above the large dining table, we used 3 frosted glass decorative pendants Mist from leds-c4 range. They give the space a soft glow and a welcoming feel. The micro linear profiles used in the shelving add additional soft accent lighting in the kitchen.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

The kitchen area is separated from the main office space by an acoustic curtain. The small track lighting system Esla brings some accent lighting in this area and adds a bit of drama to the space.

Main office.

We used the designer’s favourite Rio Suspended direct/-indirect for the main office lighting. Following the BCO guide on lighting and CIBSE guide, we designed the office lighting scheme to work with exposed ceilings and services. The direct/-indirect light distribution gives the space and extra lift. In the acoustic paneling, we used the concealed micro linear profiles providing an additional layer of light and warm feel to the space.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

Waste not, want not.

In the name of sustainability and reuse, our aim was to make use of any luminaires that we had in stock. Commercial projects don’t always go to plan and products sometimes go to waste. So we decided to implement 3 triangular shaped Turia fittings in our boardroom. Whilst our ceilings are pretty high already, the direct-indirect element of the luminaires give the illusion of even higher ceilings, lifting the space. With the triangular systems spaced evenly over the boardroom table, this provides the optimum light for the task area.

Director's Offices.

The director’s offices have been designed as two almost identical units, but dressed to reflect the personality of their users.

The offices feature a square shaped linear systems Ebro Suspended. These have been made to measure to fit each office. Their square shapes frame the office nicely and create a striking contrast with the black ceilings and provide a comfortable illumination to each office.

All luminaires have been fitted with movement sensors and the whole office is fully Bluetooth Casambi dimmable, meaning the lighting can be easily controlled from the touch of a button on the app. This proves very handy when we have visitors as this can be demonstrated during project meetings.The main office has been fitted with micro prismatic diffusers, and with CRI 95, this creates a highly comfortable and accurate environment. In a combination with 4000K for the office area, it is . Warmer colour temperautes have been used for the break out spaces

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

Wellbeing.

The space has been designed to accommodate our way of working, creating a variety of places to carry out work or socialise, whilst keeping the noise levels to a minimum.

With the research showing how important exposure to nature and biophilia is, we wanted to surround the team with plants and encourage people to take care of them. And in our hands-on 299 style, we sourced the plants ourselves, which meant a trip to a local nursery in Wrington and an afternoon spent repotting and bringing the plants in.



I love our new kitchen, but the plants!....literally look forward to spotting if the Monstera has sprouted a new leaf most mornings.

Megan Tranter, Senior Lighting Designer Tweet
Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

No more arguments about who’s hot and who’s cold.

Investing into the state of the art Hybrid VRF system has brought many benefits to our daily lives. This latest technology blends the best features of VRF Variable Refrigerant Flow technology and efficiency, with the comfort of a water based Air Conditioning systems. As half of the system uses water and not the traditional refrigerant, we are reducing our CO2 use and using a renewable heat source whilst enjoying the comfort.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

Comfort first.

The wellbeing of the team was an absolute priority for us. Acoustics have been considered right at the foundation of the project. In order to keep the noise levels down, the Forbo acoustic flooring was installed throughout the entire first floor. The acoustics is further improved by the perforated ply paneling throughout the office space. The tabletops are linoleum and cork, so they don’t create unnecessary noise.

Materials. Materials. Materials.

Not only does the Forbo linoleum look and feel great, but it’s also made from linseed, which is a raw material and carbon neutral. Our new furniture is made by MODUS, a local South Somerset furniture maker, who are a carbon neutral business and a living wage employer.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

The soft seating and chairs are made of recycled fabric and the coffee tables are made of recycled cork, which is a great sustainable material. We also used refurbished Herman Miller chairs for the desk stations. Eco-friendly Lick paint was used throughout the entire space and low VOC grouting was used to minimise the release of nasty fumes.

The shelving and tea point are created by Forest & Maker, one of the UK most sustainable and environmentally conscious commercial furniture who hold Grown in Britain Chain of Custody certificate.

Contemporary CAT A and CAT B development with a focus on sustainability at 2c Flowers Hill, Bristol.

All office lighting was installed in a contemporary matte black or white finish. Integrated, stand alone and track emergency lighting was supplied for the main office areas.

The result is a beautiful office with sustainability at its heart, designed with every attention to every detail. It’s a warm, welcoming space with a lot of personality. The 299 team are proud to have such a cool space to call home.

I really like how open the office space is, it’s nice to be able to see everyone and talk with each other. In the old office it was difficult to talk to some people as they were hidden in the corners of the building. I definitely feel that we have all gotten closer together.

299 Lighting-Showroom299-lighting-employee-in-office
Rob Lees, Technical Sales Advisor


​​We now have a table everyone can sit around, this definitely improves the social aspect at work.

senior-lighting-designer-at-299-lighting
Megan Tranter, Senior Lighting Designer

For the last few years, we have been dreaming/talking about having a lush and modern office with greenery. The aesthetic of the new space with facilities, such as the showers encourage us to cycle to work, the potted plants give a sense of wellbeing and I love the extra space in the warehouse for samples and product modifications. It's a lovely spot for the 3D printer - lots of excitement and a bustling environment. As a designer, we are constantly looking for objects, textures, colours, materials to inspire us, because creativity is the key to our success.

Anna Velarde
Anna Velarde, 3D Designer & Technical Manager

Project in figures:

25.5 Design hours

25.5 design hours were allocated to the interior lighting design for this project.

15.2 Metres

A total of 15.2 metres of linear profiles were used to achieve perfection.

Products used in this project:

Working on a unique or listed building project and need assistance?

Our team has the experience and expertise to help you every step of the way.

get in touch

Working on a unique or listed building project and need assistance?

Our team has the experience and expertise to help you every step of the way.

get in touch
main-office-space-at-299-lighting