BRISTOL UPDATES

Image: J Brown Photography

Bendy Studio was created by world pole champion ‘Bendy Kate’

A new studio has launched in an old dairy in Bedminster, offering classes in pole dance, aerial hoop and silks, aerial straps, pilates, adult breakdance, contemporary dance, flexibility, acro yoga, adult gymnastics and more. Bendy Studio is a two-floor holistic training centre, where Bristolians can learn exciting new disciplines, while learning about their body and getting fit.

Bendy Studio was created by Bristol’s world pole champion ‘Bendy Kate’, who has always had a vision of creating a place where everyone is welcome, to meet like-minded people and to learn from some of Bristol’s best instructors. The studio is also home to a clothing outlet –The Bendy Brand –which also offers books and stretching equipment for the city’s ‘upside down people’. Find the Bendy Studio class schedule via the website.

• thebendystudio.com/timetables-booking

Bristol Zoological Society has appointed pioneering landscape architects Grant Associates and design practice Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to a specialist creative team that will be responsible for delivering its new vision for a world-leading zoo in the South West.

The Society looks likely to develop this at its Wild Place Project site on the northern edge of Bristol, due to open in 2024, which aims to set the standard for a modern, forward-looking zoo in the 21st century.

Grant Associates have been appointed as lead designers and landscape architects for the new Bristol Zoo, tasked with helping to deliver the greatest possible visitor experience, through an ecosystem planning approach optimising the sense of separation from the wider world.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios will take the role of lead architects, conservation architects and renewable/zero carbon specialists with responsibility for the building design elements of the scheme, creating buildings with engaging spaces and sensitivity to external surroundings.

• bristolzoo.org.uk

Albie the brown bear at Wild Place

University of Bristol alumni are launching an app that links up like-minded strangers. Fethr was born during the first lockdown when Julian Issa and Miguel Bravo, who met while studying at Bristol, were sharing a London flat.

Discussing loneliness with fellow flatmate Gerardo Rodriguez, the trio realised they had felt isolated long before the pandemic struck. Julian’s business analyst job meant he ended up living in 10 cities in two years, which made it difficult to build friendships. Researching the topic, he discovered that 45% of adults in England felt lonely at least some of the time. “Meaningful human connection shouldn’t be such a difficult thing to find in the 21st century and that is why we started Fethr,” said Julian. “There is nothing more exciting than being sat in a hostel and chatting to people from across the world. However, it’s difficult to recreate that in your normal life. Fethr is going to disrupt the way people socialise. Traditional avenues for making friends continue to be squeezed by the pandemic, working from home and digitisation. People want it to be easier to make meaningful connections.”

Miguel used his mathematics studies to craft a sophisticated algorithm that uses AI to match strangers together –no swiping required. Users of Fethr, which draws on research from psychologist Dr Kelly Campbell, fill out a questionnaire about their personality, values, interests and friendship preferences. In groups of four to six they can then do anything from drinks and dinner to yoga and gallery-hopping. After their mate date, attendees anonymously feedback on who they clicked with. If both parties liked one another, the app puts them in contact to continue their friendship. After a successful trial in Sydney, the app is in the final development stages, launching in London on 17 August and, all being well, rolling out to UK cities including Bristol by the end of the year.

Fethr co-founders Julian Issa, Miguel Bravo and Gerardo Rodriguez

• fethr.app