The challenge
Capturing the Bristol Beacon story
For construction company Willmott Dixon, the refurbishment of Bristol Beacon was a special project. The Grade II listed building is the largest concert venue in the city and, having brought people together through music and the arts for 150 years, it was ready for the next chapter in its story.
To preserve the architecture and its rich history, Willmott Dixon strove to protect or repurpose parts of the original building. The team executed a complex ‘box within a box’ construction plan, and even uncovering some of the building’s lost secrets along the way – such as the surprise discovery of Elizabethan wells underneath the floorboards.
Willmott Dixon wanted to create a premium memento that contextualized its place in Bristol Beacon’s history and show the respect and care they had for the building. We created a coffee table book to capture the project, preserve the venue’s long history and commemorate the refurbishment journey for everyone involved.
Our creative process
Harmony on every page
Music is at the heart of the venue; the Rolling Stones, Ella Fitzgerald and the Beatles have all stood on the Bristol Beacon stage, and it continues to be a platform for showcasing international and emerging talent.
To nod to this musical spirit, the photograph-led content was structured around a graphical timeline that was inspired by sheet music. It stretched backwards from the present day, showing the refurbishment process and all the way back to the building’s opening in 1867. The timeline graphic was based on the sheet music for The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams, an iconic classical piece that has a special place in the city’s musical history as the first performance of the song was in Bristol in 1920.
There were intricate and thoughtful details in the design of the building that paid homage to its history and celebrated local artists and music, and we in turn introduced these aspects of the building into elements of the graphic design. For example, we took inspiration from the distinctive copper cladding and gently sloping curves of the exterior walls, designed to recall the curves and feeling of classical instruments, to create the book’s cover.
The outcome and impact
A standing ovation
The books are very popular with the Willmott Dixon team (we have it on good authority that the books don’t always stay where they are supposed to around the offices). They look fantastic in print and are proving to be a great conversation-starter that commemorates not only the refurbishment project but also showcases the history of this iconic Bristol venue.
