Skanska has completed work on One Portwall Square in Bristol.

The building, which provides provide more than 33,000 sq ft of category A commercial office space, is located in the heart of Bristol's prime commercial zone close to Temple Meads Station. It is being handed over to Nord, ready for their first tenants to move in.

The space puts both occupant wellbeing and sustainable operation at the centre of its design – to create somewhere to not only enable healthy and productive working, but reduce long-term running costs, compared with traditional design.

It's built to a BREEAM Excellent and Energy Performance Certificate A rating, Wired Score Platinum – recognising the building's excellent digital connectivity.


A range of construction innovations have contributed to its healthy, energy efficient credentials including:

• Concrete core cooling – using chilled water pipes embedded in the concrete slabs to cool internal spaces

• A mixed mode ventilation system – intelligently monitoring external conditions to enable use of natural ventilation wherever possible to save energy from mechanical ventilation

• A high-performance building fabric and its connection to the Bristol Heat Network also support reduced energy demands.

Charlie Norris, Operations Director at Skanska, said: "Since beginning work on the building in 2020, the workspace landscape has evolved as tenants’ priorities have changed with new working patterns and COVID-19 safety concerns. What I'm most proud of is that the building more than fulfils occupiers’ needs in the post pandemic environment, providing flexible spaces, plus light, airy and intuitive spaces for tenants, while offering carbon-smart building infrastructure that reduces long-term running costs.

"This is testament to the knowledge and foresight paid into the futureproof design – that when coupled with attentive construction and smart mechanical and electrical engineering – make this a truly sustainable, healthy building where people can feel safe, healthy and productive."

Nord are looking forward to welcoming tenants AHMM architects and specialist law firm Haseltine Lake Kempner.