McLaren Technology Centre, England Building, HQ Project, Photos, News, Design

McLaren Technology Centre, Woking Headquarters Building

McLaren Automotive Development, Surrey, England design by Foster + Partners, UK

30 Mar 2015

McLaren Technology Centre in Woking Extension

An extension to the £300m McLaren Technology Centre in Woking is being designed by the original architects. The earlier building is roughly semi-circular, the circle being completed by a formal lake, which forms an integral part of the buildings cooling system.

McLaren Technology Centre Woking

Location: Surrey, southeast England, UK
Date built: 1998-2004
Design: Foster + Partners

Images : Nigel Young_Foster + Partners

The McLaren Group’s new headquarters building – developed in part with the hi-tech company’s own technology – is roughly semi-circular on plan, completed by a formal lake which is an integral part of its cooling system. The principal lakeside facade is a continuous curved glass wall that looks out across the landscape and is shaded by a cantilevered roof.

The McLaren Group is a collection of high-tech companies involved in the design and development of Formula One cars, high-performance road cars, electronic systems and composite materials. Since McLaren began competing in Formula One in 1966, it has established a global reputation as one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport.The McLaren Technology Centre provides a headquarters for the majority of the groups staff. It includes design studios, laboratories and testing and production facilities for Formula One and road cars, including the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

Viewed on plan, the building is roughly semi-circular, the circle being completed by a formal lake, which forms an integral part of the buildings cooling system. The principal lakeside facade is a continuous curved glass wall, developed in part using McLarens own technology, and shaded by a cantilevered roof. Internally, the building is organised around double-height linear streets, which form circulation routes and articulate fingers of flexible accommodation.

These house production and storage areas on the lower levels, with top-lit design studios, offices and meeting rooms above. Directly behind the facade a circulation boulevard leads to areas for hospitality and to the staff restaurant, both of which look out across the landscape.

A Visitor Centre is located in a separate building at the entrance to the complex. It houses educational facilities, a temporary exhibition space and presentation theatre and is linked to the main centre by a subterranean building. This two-storey structure is buried underground – like the rest of the Technology Centre it is designed to make a minimal intervention in the landscape – and is visible only by its circular rooflight.

McLaren Technology Centre images / information from Foster + Partners Architects

Foster + Partners

Location: Woking, Surrey, England, UK

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picture © McLaren
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