Hall & Woodhouse’s striking new £2.4 million pub-restaurant, designed and built using 28 recycled shipping containers by Mackenzie Wheeler, at Portishead Marina, opened to a reaction of amazement at the structure and respect for the designer and construction team.
The building took 10 months to complete and has a total gross floor area of 2,400 sq m. The pub and restaurant accommodation is characterised by glazed and open spaces with a strong horizontal emphasis. These contrast with the more solid and enclosed areas which form the back-of-house accommodation.
The building is further enlivened by the contrast between the organic and irregular profile of the tensile canopies across the frontage with the more rectilinear constructions of the main building. The tight composition of building, landscaped areas and tree planting provides further contrast and variety to the overall form of the completed development.
Rupert Wheeler of Mackenzie Wheeler, based in Putney, London said: “Portishead Quays operated as commercial docks for many years so we felt that it provided a perfect setting for a development made with shipping containers. These containers not only set the venue apart in terms of style and the wow-factor but they also provide a reference to the site’s past.”
The Hall & Woodhouse development faces the Bristol Channel and the use of containers reflects the idea of travel by sea. This theme is further emphasised in the cargo-like signage and other graphics designed for external walls and within the rooms and corridors.
David Hoare, Retail Director at Hall & Woodhouse says: “Constructing this magnificent pub-restaurant is the culmination of a plan to build something truly special.
"Hall & Woodhouse is a family owned brewery, with great hospitality at its core, but with the vision and guidance of Mackenzie Wheeler we have really pushed the boundaries to create a destination venue that is completely relevant to its setting. The building has to be seen to fully understand the way it fits within the surrounding maritime landscape.”
The units arrived fully insulated, decorated and fitted out, ready for stacking. This self-supporting structure needs no other framework; its plug-in-and-go services make for a simple build method and rapid installation.