Posh loos – take two

Posted on by
Reply

The refurbished WCs were opened to the public on 26th March – just ahead of the opening of the DaVinci exhibition. They have retained many of the historic features whilst being overhauled and modernised and the provision is now much better for those with accessibility needs, babies and young children.

The extract ventilation ductwork is in place within these spaces but will not be connected up until additional work has been undertaken on the exterior of the building as part of the main lift shaft construction.

Tree Planting

Posted on by
Reply

A warm, sunny day in March? What better to do than to plant a new hedgerow…

Part of our environmental management systems entails calculating our carbon footprint on a bi-yearly basis. To offset our 2010 emissions we teamed up with the Forest of Avon Trust who coordinated our inaugural tree and shrub planting event. Thanks to Jon Clark of the Forest of Avon Trust, who found an ideal site for us over in Trendlewood Park, Nailsea, Bristol and liaised with the Friends of Trendlewood Park and the owners, North Somerset Council to make the event happen.

The hedgerow and dispersed planting scheme consisted of over 200 native shrubs and trees to form a screen to the edge of the park. The shrubs and trees were chosen for their biodiversity and included; Field Maple, Buckthorn, Guelder Rose, Dog Rose, English Oak, Hawthorn and Hazel. Thanks to the good weather and North Somerset Council who had rotivated the ground in preparation, it only took a few hours for us to dig in the new trees and shrubs, complete the planting and retire to the nearby pub!

With the success of our inaugural tree planting, we are now looking to spread our roots with a bigger planting scheme to offset our 2011 emissions.

For more news and information;

Forest of Avon Trust news blog: http://forestofavontrust.org/

North Somerset Council twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/NorthSomersetC

Posh loos – take one

Posted on by
Reply

The temporary toilets arrived last week and are being installed by B&S in the Wills Hall, they are a mains fed vacuum system plugged into the existing drains, so although temporary should be pleasant to use. These facilities will be in place whilst the refurbishment of the historic WCs is undertaken, it is hoped that the newly refurbished toilets will open in conjunction with the Da Vinci exhibition at the end of March.

Installation of a new ventilation system and new sanitarywear will greatly improve the existing toilets; the changes to the layout include a new fully compliant accessible WC, baby change room with parent and child toilet and separate baby feeding room, all of which will greatly enhance the museum’s accessibility and family friendly status.

Meanwhile in the basement B&S have undertaken the site set up and begun a limited strip out of the lightwell and redundant services. Full scale demolition will commence when the remainder of the areas are certified to be free from asbestos.

About to Start

Posted on by
Reply

Bray and Slaughter have now been appointed by Bristol City Council to undertake the lift installation, reconfiguration and refurbishment works, they will begin site familiarisation and setup before Christmas with a start in earnest on the 9th January 2012, it is anticipated that the work will take 6 months to complete.

The Museum have been preparing for the work to start and have protected the precious Assyrian Reliefs from vibration and moved various displays and staff facilities so that there is enough space for the contractor to establish work areas and set up the protective hoardings.