B Bond Warehouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids B Bond Warehouse |
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Bristol |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°26′46″N 2°37′10″W / 51.446186°N 2.619482°W |
| Completed | 1908 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Reinforced Concrete |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Docks Committee engineer |
| Engineer | William Cowlin and Sons |
The B Bond Warehouse is a large building in Bristol, England. It used to be a special storage place for goods like tobacco that were brought into the city by ships. This type of building is called a bonded warehouse.
It was built in 1908 to help with the huge amount of tobacco coming into Bristol in the early 1900s. Two other similar warehouses, A Bond (built in 1905) and C Bond (built in 1919), are also nearby. All three are now important buildings, protected by law as Grade II listed buildings.
Contents
Building a Strong Warehouse
B Bond Warehouse was very special because it was the first big building in Britain to use a new way of building called reinforced concrete. This method makes buildings super strong by putting steel bars inside the concrete. It was a new idea at the time, first used by a person named Edmond Coignet.
The building was put together by Cowlins Construction. It has nine floors and many windows, making it look very open inside. The warehouse was built in two equal parts, with a strong wall down the middle. Besides concrete, it also used different kinds of bricks and a Welsh slate roof.
What is it Used for Now?
For a long time, even into the 1990s, B Bond Warehouse was still used to store things like wine and spirits. Today, the building is owned by the city of Bristol.
Bristol Archives
The western part of the building is now home to Bristol Archives. This is where many important old documents and records about the city of Bristol are kept safe. It also has other city offices. The outside of the building was carefully fixed up to look just like it did when it was first built.
The CREATE Centre
The eastern side of the warehouse is where you'll find the CREATE Centre. This center is all about helping the environment and finding ways to live more sustainably. It even has a special "Ecohome" inside, which is a house designed to save energy. Many groups that work on protecting the environment and making cities greener have their offices here.
Books and Learning
In 2015, a huge number of books and study materials (about 250,000!) were moved to B Bond Warehouse. They came from Bristol Central Library to make space for changes and a new school at the library building.
Gallery
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From the New Cut
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Create Centre including the Ecohome
