A BUILDING WITH A NEW PURPOSE.
The PIT is a creative home, gallery, meeting place and workspace in the heart of Totterdown, Bristol.
Housed on the ground floor of the former Totterdown YMCA, the building was designed by La Troibe and Weston and opened in 1900 as a YMCA headquarters. For more than a century it has served the local community in different ways, including as The Totterdown Gym, before being reimagined as The PIT.
Today, it continues that spirit in a new form: as a place for artists, creative businesses, collaborators, students, clients, neighbours and curious people to meet, make, show work and share ideas.
THE
BUILDING
Before becoming The PIT, much of the ground floor was an enclosed gym. Its transformation was led by Andrew Townsend Architects, a practice known for its low-intervention approach to historic buildings.
Rather than stripping the building back or replacing what was already there, the restoration focused on adapting the existing structure carefully, retaining its character while creating flexible spaces for contemporary use.
Sustainability was part of that thinking from the outset. The project followed a low-carbon adaptive-reuse approach: retaining and reusing the existing building, avoiding unnecessary demolition, minimising construction waste and reducing the need for new materials wherever practical.
Plaster, which owns and operates The PIT, has reduced its operational carbon footprint by approximately 65% since 2019 and is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 at the latest.
ART IS
PART OF THE FABRIC
Art is not decoration at The PIT. It is part of the fabric of the place. The building features work and creative interventions from collaborators including Sickboy, Fluorescent Smogg and Upfest, relationships built over more than a decade through Plaster’s work across Bristol’s art and cultural scene.
The result is a building where art is encountered as part of everyday working life rather than confined to the gallery walls.
OPEN
TO IDEAS.
The PIT was created to be flexible. We wanted a space that could support serious creative work without taking itself too seriously.
We curate our own exhibitions throughout the year, but the space is also available for others to use — from artists and universities to businesses, community groups and creative organisations.
PART OF
TOTTERDOWN
The PIT sits on Wells Road in one of Bristol’s most distinctive neighbourhoods.
Totterdown has a long history of community, creativity and independent culture. Just around the corner is The Old Picture House, originally opened as the Knowle Picture House in 1913, another local building that has found new life as a community cultural space.
That mix of old buildings, independent activity and people making things happen feels very much at home here and you’ll see us on the annual Totterdown Arts Trail, as well as welcoming creatives and communities to use the space for free for worthwhile activities.
OUR
RESIDENTS
Plaster
Plaster is the creative communications agency behind The PIT. The team works from the building and operates the space, using it as both a working studio and a platform for exhibitions, events, collaboration and community activity.
Show of Strength
Show of Strength is a Bristol theatre company creating work rooted in people, place and untold stories. The company develops performances and projects that bring local histories to life, often taking theatre beyond traditional stages and into the places where those stories happened.