The park has been developed since the early 1980s, but some land is still available for future development. The name is said to derive from 'A to Z of Technology' and it was conceived as a science park — it was originally funded by the 'Electricity Supply Nominees' on the half of the Electricity Supply Industry pension fund but in the mid-1980s was sold to Arlington Securities.
Architecture
The buildings are in the high tech and postmodern styles and were designed by practices including Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Aukett, SOM and CZWG. In 2018, selected buildings on Aztec West were listed.
Aztec West is less than half a mile from the M5 Junction 16, and a mile from the Almondsbury Interchange with the M4. It is also in close proximity to the new housing project in Cribbs Causeway. Public transport links are quite limited, although a number of bus services from the Bristol area do run on to Aztec West. The main services are the '3' series of routes operated byWessex, which run around the business park loop road, providing direct connections at peak times between the business park and Bristol City Centre, Bristol Parkway, Redland and Clifton Village. The routes to/from Bristol City Centre use either the A38 Gloucester Road or Filton Avenue corridors. Service 73, operated by First West of England, passes close by but does not enter the business park, providing frequent connections throughout the day from the A38 directly outside to Patchway, Cribbs Causeway Bus Station and Bradley Stoke, Bristol Parkway railway station, MoD Abbey Wood, Gloucester Road and Bristol City Centre. The 73 takes a more indirect route than other services to Bristol City Centre, however it runs much more frequently. Service X73 runs as an express route after Bristol Parkway railway station on the M32 to Bristol City Centre, although the timetable for this service is designed primarily for commuters travelling to Bristol City Centre. Other routes serving the business park entrance include: 78 /79 north to Thornbury and south to Bristol Bus Station ; 77 north to Thornbury and south to Bristol Parkway / UWE ; 483 to Yate and Chipping Sodbury. The X18 also ran around the business park loop and provided direct connections between Aztec West and MoD Abbey Wood, UWE, Emersons Green and Kingswood, following a route along the A4174 Avon Ring Road until the route was changed in July 2015. Commuter coach services, operated by The Kings Ferry, provide a number of peak period journeys to the business park from the North Somerset towns of Portishead, Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare. Stagecoach West also provides a peak-time commuter coach service, using the name "Belles Express", between Gloucester and Aztec West. The business park has no direct rail links. The nearest railway station is at Patchway about a mile and a half away. The mainline station, Bristol Parkway, is about three miles away. A direct bus service, operated by Wessex, connects Bristol Parkway to Aztec West throughout the day. This bus service runs around the loop road. There are MetroBus scheme bus stops adjacent to the Aztec West site on the A38. The express M1 service connects the science park to Central Bristol via the M32 and then proceeds to Hengrove Park. On the far side of the A38, the return M1 service goes to the nearby Cribbs Causeway shopping mall terminus. Both services are very frequent, particularly during business hours. Bristol Airport, south of Bristol, can be reached in about 40–45 minutes by car or bus.
