A campus for Bristol

A welcoming place

The new campus will provide more opportunities to connect with Bristol. With an active programme of events and activities, local people will be welcomed to use the space. 

Many of the facilities have been designed in consultation with our civic and community partners and will foster collaboration on shared challenges for the city-region. The Exchange Hall will be publicly accessible and include a café and meeting spaces. Dedicated spaces for community engagement include:

• the Bristol Rooms – a co-working and project space
• the Story Exchange – a circular seating area designed to bring together expertise and experiences from a wide range of communities.

Public art

Public art will welcome people to the new campus and create a sense of place where people feel welcomed. TQEC will be home to three public art commissions and there will be opportunities to get involved in a range of art activities throughout the development.

Charting Change

Bristol-based artists are leading Charting Change - our first public art commission at the new campus. Over the next two years, Charting Change will seek to engage people with the potential of TQEC and has a strong focus on citywide engagement, discussion and dialogue.

Ellie Shipman, a visual and participatory artist, has been appointed as the lead artist for the Charting Change commission and will work with other artists, local people and civic partners to co-develop a series of artworks and events. These will inform the design of a permanent textile artwork in the main building at the new campus once it opens in 2026.

Public realm

Internationally-acclaimed artists, Wood and Harrison are leading the main commission at TQEC. The public realm will be a shared space for Bristol and a major artwork in the area will create a landmark for the new campus, contributing to the arrival experience and welcoming local and international visitors. 

Wild Spaces

Wild Spaces will be led by Room 13 Hareclive - an independent artists’ studio co-run by children from Hareclive Primary School in Hartcliffe. This commission will investigate the natural ecologies around the site with a participatory programme and temporary artworks. It will focus on TQEC's access to the waterfront as a platform for examining the bigger picture of wild spaces across the city. 

Read more about public art at the new campus and the projects that have happened so far in the development.

Improving connections

The campus will be porous, welcoming people to it and those travelling through it. The new Eastern Entrance at Bristol Temple Meads will open directly onto University Square. The development will improve access for people travelling between South and East Bristol and the city centre. An extensive, regenerated landscape around the campus will add to the city’s green spaces.

The micro-campus approach

The Barton Hill Micro-campus was set up by the Temple Quarter Engagement Fund in 2020 and is now managed by the University’s Global Engagement Division. It is a partnership with the Wellspring Settlement and provides a space for us to work with local communities East Bristol.

In 2025, a new Hartcliffe Micro-campus has opened in The Gatehouse Centre, in partnership with Hartcliffe and Withywood Ventures. Supported by funding from the Office for Students, we will be developing a micro-qualification and further initiatives to connect with local communities in South Bristol.

The micro-campuses create a network of civic spaces which are linked to TQEC. They are strengthening our relationships with partners and local people, and allowing us to pilot new approaches to learning and community engagement ahead of the new campus opening in 2026.