International engineering practice BuroHappold’s Bath head office has celebrated the arrival of the festive season with a five-storey animation projected onto the side of the building.
Following the huge success of last year, when the windows of its Lower Bristol Road HQ were used to turn it into a giant Advent calendar, partner and Bath office MD Claire Smith encouraged the practice’s senior designer Steve Jennings to come up with another equally innovative creation. 
The result was a six-and-a-half minute animation repeated in three colour variations celebrating the relationship between engineering and technology.
Using an array of blueprints and drawings of some of the practice’s biggest projects, the animation reflected the advances in computational engineering behind today’s amazing buildings.
Steve said: “People don’t often get to see our beautiful drawings. I hope the animation will challenge the invisibility of engineering and reminds the people of Bath that we are here.”
Claire Smith added: “We are proud of the contribution we make to the ongoing success of local businesses and organisations including the University of Bristol, Wessex Water, Dyson, Westonbirt Arboretum, Bath Royal United Hospital, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath Abbey and Monkton Combe School to name but a few, providing them with state-of-the-art facilities and sustainable and stunning buildings.
“Looking to the future, we are excited to be located in the heart of the new North and South Quay commercial business district. This area of Bath is set to transform over the next five years and as engineers for the recently started South Quay construction, we are delighted to be a part of it.
“The animation is a precursor to the Illuminate Bath festival – rather appropriate since Advent means ‘expectant waiting and preparation’ – which we are looking forward to taking part in next year.”
The animation ran for a week until last Monday and could be seen by passengers arriving and departing from Bath Spa railway station as well as from Churchill Bridge and Lower Bristol Road.
Since its launch more than 40 years ago BuroHappold has worked on every continent and with more than 90% of the world’s leading architectural practices and has collaborated with global organisations such as the United Nations, The World Bank and UNESCO.
