Bristol & Bath
Zubr is rooted in the South West, with our studio based in Bristol. The city isn’t just where we work – it’s part of our creative landscape, shaping how we think about storytelling, heritage, and emerging technology. From the Bristol harbourside to the Georgian crescents of Bath, we collaborate with cultural institutions, heritage sites, and research partners who are equally committed to reimagining how people experience places.
Across the West of England, our work sits at the intersection of public space, digital interpretation, and community engagement. Zubr is Bristol’s leading augmented reality company, helping audiences here and beyond experience stories in more immersive, accessible ways.
Immersive storytelling on Bristol Harbourside
From the Summer of 2023 to 2026, visitors arriving into Bristol via the River Avon may have been able to sneak a peek at two of our public-facing installations at Bristol’s Dockyards: two individual installations of Zubr’s virtual reality binoculars at the home of the iconic SS Great Britain.
Offering site-specific experiences designed to deepen engagement with the ship’s extraordinary history, the two installations offered different glimpses into the attraction. In 2023, the first binocular installation offered a glimpse into the ship’s past, celebrating the 180th anniversary of her maiden voyage. In 2025, the second binocular unit revealed an augmented reality window beyond the attraction’s paywall, teasing the visitor offering and enticing ticket purchases to continue exploring. By blending physical heritage with digital interpretation, these installations transformed how visitors connect with this local landmark.
Myth, landscape and legend in Clifton
Just a short distance from our studio on Whiteladies Road, we’ve worked with the dramatic limestone landscape of Clifton to bring local mythology into sharper focus.
At the Clifton Observatory, we installed AR binoculars inside the Giant’s Cave – offering an immersive view over the River Avon. Peering through the binoculars revealed the legendary figures of Goram and Ghyston, Bristol’s very own mythic giants. Brought to life at scale in augmented reality, visitors could experience the cave and gorge beyond not just as beautiful geological features, but as a narrative space shaped by folklore, landscape, and imagination.
Bath: heritage, interpretation and complexity
Our work in Bath reflects a long-standing relationship with the city’s heritage organisations and its distinctive architectural landscape.
At Beckford’s Tower, we partnered with Bath Preservation Trust and digital innovation partner Calvium to develop a multi-layered AR interpretation suite that responds to both the beauty and complexity of the site’s history.
The experience includes handheld AR binoculars which offer accessible panoramic views for visitors unable to climb the tower; an augmented reality trail highlighting key points of interest across the landscape; and interactive 3D artefacts of otherwise fragile, lost, or inaccessible objects.
The result is a more inclusive and reflective way of engaging with heritage – one that acknowledges not only architectural significance, but also the contested narratives tied to the site.
Future Places Toolkit
Beyond heritage sites, Zubr is also helping shape tools for future-facing spatial design.
Zubr is a co-owner of Future Places Toolkit, developed in collaboration with the University of Bristol and Uninvited Guests, supported by funding from MyWorld. The toolkit enables communities, planners, and stakeholders to visualise and explore proposed developments through augmented reality.
By placing immersive tools into planning consultation processes, the platform helps bridge the gap between technical planning and public understanding – supporting more transparent, inclusive decision-making and more confident shared outcomes. The Future Places Toolkit is also being used as a consultation tool during the ongoing regeneration of Bristol Temple Quarter, a major 25-year project to develop the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.
Science, storytelling and immersive media at We The Curious
Our relationship with Bristol’s creative and science community also includes collaborations with We The Curious, one of the UK’s leading science centres for hands-on exploration and public engagement.
Working across two bespoke installations, we developed immersive experiences that combined emerging technology with audience participation. One project explored the creative possibilities of stereoscopic, depth-sensing cameras – inviting visitors into the ‘VR Lab’. This experience allowed visitors to record a short clip of themselves, before viewing it in our custom-built mixed reality headsets.
With support from Bristol City Council, we also produced an original, free to use, public tool for anyone to use to develop their own content for the centre’s planetarium, known as the ‘Data Dome’ at the time. This meant that any visual content could be adapted specifically for the unique 360° system. The plugin is still live on the Unity asset store, and has been used by countless developers for Fulldome projects around the world.
Completed in 2016, these projects were an early part of Zubr’s history, demonstrating how immersive technologies can support scientific communication, transforming complex ideas into memorable experiences that encourage curiosity, participation and discovery.
Celebrating Bristol’s Music Industry
Many hail Bristol as a global power house of electronic music – and of course, the city’s music scene doesn’t end there. Known for its vibrant blended sound, pulling from hip hop, reggae, dub and electronica, and a buzzing gig culture, the city boasts a thriving musical ecosystem.
Zubr were proud to work alongside Bristol-based independent music magazine, Crack Magazine to produce immersive experiences for artists Aisha Devi and Aphex Twin. The former collaboration resulted in a spatial VR experience unveiled at Bristol’s Simple Things Festival. Having directed a volumetric video capture session of Aïsha, we transformed her performance into a holographic rendering. Set in Millennium Square, groups of 15 participants at a time donned VR headsets for a collective, real-time musical journey.
In a one-of-a-kind collaboration, we enhanced Crack’s rare interview with Richard D. James – better known as Aphex Twin – by transforming the magazine into an interactive AR experience. This augmented issue features artwork from Aphex Twin’s long-time visual collaborator Weirdcore, translating his glitchy visual style and upcoming EP artwork into a stunning series of AR activations, offering fans a unique engagement opportunity.
Bringing brands to life through playful AR experiences
Alongside our work with museums and heritage organisations, we have also engaged with Bristol’s hospitality industry and consumer brands to create memorable digital experiences that extend beyond traditional marketing.
Our “Foodie Filters” campaigns have combined augmented reality with social media to encourage audiences to engage with food and drink brands in fun, shareable ways. Collaborations included bespoke AR selfie filters for Bristol-founded foodie giants Las Iguanas and Bart Ingredients, creating interactive branded filters that celebrated culinary culture and exciting new products through playful digital storytelling.
Whether launching a new menu or promoting ingredients, these lightweight WebAR and social AR experiences demonstrate how immersive technology can strengthen customer engagement, increase brand visibility and create memorable moments both in-store and online.
Bringing a coral reef to life at the children’s hospital
In 2023, a ground-breaking research facility opened at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (BRHC). Known as ‘The Coral Reef’, the Clinical Research Facility features colourful aquatic murals by artist Chris Dickason.
Collaborating with Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity, Zubr developed two ‘Coral Reef AR’ social media filters which animate the wall murals in the waiting area and patient bays, offering a light-touch AR experience for patients and their families.
Data made immersive for Oracle Cloud
After tech giant Oracle, one of the world’s leading cloud and data services companies, chose Bristol to anchor one of its prestigious global Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerators, they challenged Zubr to create an immersive AR Data Showcase experience that would demonstrate the power, scale, and flexibility of Oracle Cloud to prospective clients visiting their UK Technology Innovation Centre.
Zubr delivered a virtual reality experience built around real-time data from the Bloodhound LSR vehicle project, transforming live telemetry into an explorable visual environment that clearly illustrated Oracle Cloud’s high-performance data capabilities. The VR experience was delivered alongside an augmented reality app, which revealed interactive labels on the physical Bloodhound scale model.
Our presence in the Bristol & Bath tech community
By participating in our local tech community, we’ve had the opportunity to be a part of many exciting events over the years.
Through our relationship with TechSPARK, the not-for-profit growth network supporting Bristol and Bath’s technology sector, we have showcased our work at Bath Digital Festival, and even attended the SPARKIES awards – walking away in 2023 with the Best Use of Immersive Tech award!
The following year, at Bath Digital Festival 2024, we took part in the immersive ‘Cities Showcase’, presented AR demonstrations of the Future Places Toolkit, and spoke in a panel discussion around ‘Bridging Time and Technology’. Our director Jack Norris took to the stage, alongside members from Calvium, AER Studios, and the Bath Preservation Trust, to discuss how technology can empower the preservation and understanding of our historical cities.
We’re also proud to be one of the original signatories of the MyWorld project, which explores the future of creative technology innovation by pioneering new ideas, products, and processes.
Participating in events across the West of England’s technology sector allows us to contribute to conversations around heritage, creativity and emerging technology, while strengthening collaborations with organisations driving tech innovation, digital transformation and business growth throughout Bristol, Bath and the wider South West.
And beyond the South West…
Our work across Bristol and Bath is part of a wider network of collaborations with cultural institutions, researchers, and developers across the UK and beyond. From heritage interpretation to experimental spatial tools, Zubr has produced over 100 immersive projects in the South West. We continue to explore how immersive technology can deepen the relationship between people and place.