BROADMEAD BAPTIST CHURCH CROSS COMMISSION
Artist: Adam Blencowe
Client: Broadmead Baptist Church
Date: 2026
Location: Broadmead, Bristol
Adam Blencowe is creating a new permanent cross for Broadmead Baptist Church, a striking example of raw concrete Brutalist architecture in central Bristol.
Artist Adam Blencowe was commissioned by Ginkgo Projects on behalf of the Church to design a new permanent cross for its façade, as part of a wider programme of regeneration to enhance the building’s visibility and presence within central Bristol.
Designed in 1969 by Ronald H Sims, the Grade II listed church is a significant example of post-war Brutalist architecture. Positioned above the surrounding retail environment, its bold sculptural form reflects the Church’s role as a place of gathering and worship, and its innovative response to a constrained urban site. Over time, however, its prominence has been diminished within the evolving commercial landscape of Broadmead.
Blencowe’s proposal responds directly to the architectural language and history of the building. Drawing on the geometry of a spire originally included in Sims’ design, the cross reintroduces a vertical emphasis to the façade, restoring a sense of balance and legibility to the elevation. The work is fabricated in bronze-toned metal, referencing the material traditions of public sculpture while complementing the textured concrete of the existing structure.
The cross is conceived as both a contemporary artwork and a symbolic marker. Positioned above the entrance and illuminated for visibility day and night, it reinforces the church’s presence within the city and signals its role as a place of gathering, reflection, and community.
Commissioned and produced by Ginkgo Projects on behalf of Broadmead Baptist Church, the project has been delivered through close collaboration between the artist, structural engineers, fabricators, and construction team. The resulting work is a permanent, site-responsive intervention that is technically robust, materially considered, and closely aligned with the building’s architectural and cultural context.
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About the artist
Adam Blencowe graduated from the Design Products programme at the Royal College of Art in 2015 and is now based in Bow, East London.
His practice centres on reconfiguring existing materials and systems to produce unexpected outcomes. Works such as Fuzzy Logic, which adapted a Makita jigsaw to create precision-felted textiles, and Thaw, which explored casting plaster of Paris using the ephemeral properties of ice, demonstrate this approach.
Blencowe examines traditional techniques and processes in close detail, investigating their specific characteristics in order to reinterpret them through a contemporary lens.