Hope Rise Heron Mural

The Bristol Housing Festival is a five year program to pilot innovative housing technologies and models, to showcase and test alternative ways of living in our cities. Bristol Housing Festival’s ZEDpod scheme, is a 100% affordable, low-carbon, eleven-unit housing development in St. George, East Bristol. Through Upfest, Bristol artist Kin1 was commissioned to design and install a piece of artwork on the gable wall of the building, working through a digital (due to Covid) engagement process with local residents the final design refecences the Herons at near by St Georges Park, the coal mine in the background is a nod to the history of the area and geometric paterns a relfection of the technology used within the development.

This ZEDpod scheme is innovative in three ways:

• Design - This is the first scheme in the UK to create housing above an existing (and functioning) car park. The ZEDpods homes themselves were precision manufactured in a factory and then delivered to the site.
• Environmental sustainability – The homes are built from cross laminated timber and were installed with solar PV cells, battery storage and heat pumps, to minimise their embodied and operational carbon and energy usage.
• Social structure and mix – An innovative tenure mix and allocations policy has been agreed between YMCA Bristol and Bristol City Council. This development will provide move-on homes for nine young-people (under the age of 35), otherwise living in emergency accommodation or at risk of homelessness, and two community leaders (trained and supported by the YMCA).