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News Release from: Gensler | Subject: GCHQ's new headquarters
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 28 July 2003
New Intelligent Campus Is Catalyst For
GCHQ Change
GCHQ's new headquarters, designed by Architects Gensler and developed by the Integrated Accommodation Services Consortium, will bring together 4,000 staff from 50 buildings into a single site.
The move, which is due to begin in September 2003, marks a revolution in the management and working practices of one of Britain's major intelligence organisations Popularly known as "the doughnut", the scheme combines the best architectural, workplace and security standards to create a highly efficient workplace in the largest Private Finance Initiative to date
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 8 Nov 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Gensler's answer to the integration challenges of GCHQ lay in the design of a minimal enclosure for the main accommodation buildings.
To consolidate and yet maintain the required autonomy of the various units, Gensler designed an intelligent campus comprising three circular interconnected buildings arranged over four floors.
The striking design, clarity of organisation, workplace efficiency, inter-departmental synergy and the integration of staff amenities (which include a restaurant, gym facilities, bars, showers, breakout and landscape areas) won the imagination and approval of GCHQ and the local community.
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From the initial design, Gensler envisioned the complex as a humane, flexible and sustainable space, able to meet the needs and aspirations of its users whilst bringing new life to the local landscape.
In effect, the powerful form and architectural idiom of this intelligent campus has become a three-dimensional metaphor of how GCHQ wishes to build on the success it has achieved with its business change programme.
In the new open plan structure, the size of 17 football pitches, no one will be more than five minutes away from any other colleague.
The "journey change" for staff used to working in individual huts will promote interaction and knowledge sharing between disparate groups who range from code-breaking mathematicians to linguists and lawyers.
To meet the requirements of such a varied workforce, Gensler proposed a universal planning concept for all office layout and furniture.
Chairs, desks and tables, pedestals and screens slot together into various configurations to support quick and easy re-shaping of teams in line with the organisation's evolving requirements.
At the heart of this new 1 million sq ft GCHQ is an open-air garden as big as the Albert Hall, where staff can meet informally.
Below, banks of super mainframes comprise the most powerful computer system outside the United States.
David Pepper, Director of GCHQ, commented: "We realised that the best way to meet future challenges lay in the creation of a new purpose built working environment - the building is not just a roof over our heads; it embodies the type of organisation we aspire to be, and it will enable us to develop in order to meet this century's challenges." Security Features Gensler's design team has also worked closely with security specialists and the government to meet the very latest anti-terrorism requirements for all new government buildings.
The building's enclosed shape derives from ancient forts where the inner space is secure and the outer wall is for defence.
Its facade is composed of 1.5m x 4m glass panels specially designed to withstand external threat and guard and protect the core business of GCHQ.
Other special features include a centralised facility where incoming goods are security checked, and transported by train via an underground ring road, which can also be used to transport supplies in the event of an emergency.
A Sustainable PFI Initiative The new GCHQ has benefited from the maintenance and sustainability obligations imposed by PFI.
The result is a campus of guaranteed long-term efficiency and low lifetime maintenance costs where durability and sustainability go hand in hand.
Natural light and ventilation were key elements in this sustainable strategy.
The skylight roof and clerestory windows flood daylight into the building, minimising energy costs and promoting a healthier environment for staff.
The design also specified robust, higher quality materials to ensure durability in areas of high wear and tear.
In addition, the circular shape reduced the floor to wall ratio by 20% thus ensuring lower capital costs and significant heat loss and energy gain benefits.
These, combined with other energy conservation strategies, are expected to reduce GCHQ's energy use by 40% over current costs.
Helping the development of the local community The integrated design approach will ultimately free up 93 acres of land for redevelopment of residential, retail and community services.
As a result over two thirds of the original site will be used for housing, a new district centre and a day care nursery for up 100 children, thus contributing to the redevelopment of the local area.
A Joint Effort The new GCHQ is believed to be the largest project of its kind in Europe and despite its complexity it has been delivered 3 months ahead of schedule.
Critical to the success of such a complex project was the strong sense of partnership amongst all members of the consortium (formed by Carillion, Group 4, Falck and British Telecom) and their relationship with over 150 subcontractors and more than 11,000 workers, each dovetailing with the next in a complex construction plan spanning three years.
The main accommodation building is now complete and the first occupants will begin to move in, in September.
The full move is expected to take two years and by the spring of 2005 the doughnut will be fully functional.
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