Project of The Week @ THE GL@ZINE

Click HERE for the General Project Page

Fosters TAG McLaren Group HQ Uses Schüco Facade

The new corporate and production headquarters for the TAG McLaren Group aims to redefine the manufacturing workplace for the twenty-first century.

Since the early 1970s Foster and Partners has pioneered the design of flexible workplaces that can respond quickly and easily to changes in working practices and communications and information technology.

For example, the practice installed the first raised floor system within an office building. Foster and Partners is committed to designing sustainable and environmentally friendly workplaces, providing significant benefits for the environment and real cost benefits for clients. These low-energy strategies are closely connected with social factors - creating a pleasant working environment is central to a company's productivity.

In the design of the McLaren Technology Centre, Foster and Partners responded to a challenging brief to create a headquarters for the majority of the TAG McLaren Group's employees, previously scattered across 18 locations in and around the Woking area, combining a broad range of different functions under a single roof.

The building includes design studios, laboratories, research and testing facilities, electronics development, machine shops and prototyping and production facilities for the Team McLaren Mercedes Formula One cars and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The building also contains a state-of-the-art wind tunnel capable of accommodating 1:2 scale car models.

Viewed in plan, the building is roughly semi-circular, the circle being completed by a formal lake, which forms an integral part of the building's cooling system. Internally, the building is organised around double-height six-metre wide linear 'streets', which form circulation routes and allow daylight into the interior of the building providing all employees with an awareness of the outside. These streets separate 18-metre wide 'fingers' of flexible accommodation, housing production and storage areas on the lower levels, with top-lit design studios, offices and meeting rooms above.

The principal lakeside façade is a continuous curved glass wall, shaded by a cantilevered roof. Directly behind the façade a circulation 'boulevard' leads to areas for hospitality, including the VIP restaurant, a juice and coffee bar complete with a television wall and the staff restaurant, all of which look out across the landscape beyond. Other facilities include a training pool and a fitness centre.

'Windblade' Façade
The building's relationship to the lake and the surrounding countryside was a key generator in its design. An innovative engineering solution was required to ensure the maximum transparency of the principal, curved, lakeside façade to maintain the dramatic views of the landscape. A minimal hanging glass wall was devised because traditional vertical posts and mullions would have obscured these views.

The glass wall's minimal structure is the result of a close collaboration between Foster and Partners, Schüco International and McLaren's own engineers, incorporating aerospace and Formula One engineering technology. Wind loads are absorbed by 12-metre long, computer-cut aluminium 'windblades' connected to columns by a machined aluminium collar. The vertical loads are supported by 5mm, elliptical, stainless-steel tie-rods, the same tie rods that are used to strengthen the bodywork of the Team McLaren Mercedes Formula One racing car.
They form a framework from which 40 tonnes of laminated glass is suspended with virtually no visible means of support. The glass is hung from the roof and each of the polished stainless steel supports holds 2.4 tons of glass in place. The streamlined design of the 'windblade' was inspired by the rear wing support struts of the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours-winning McLaren F1 sports car.

Quality Detailing
Foster and Partners has benefited from the partnerships formed by McLaren with specialist manufacturers and suppliers to ensure the highest possible quality of materials, furniture and fittings throughout the building. Many of the building's components are unique to this project, the product of intensive research to provide a bespoke environment. Faram Ltd has produced and installed bespoke workstations, storage cabinets and partitions; Grohe has supplied the water disinfection and management systems; and Mapei has contributed to almost every aspect of the building's construction, from aggregates in the concrete to the chemical adhesives that bond the flooring to it.

The result is a standard of design rarely seen in the working environment. The McLaren Technology Centre has established a new benchmark that will become a model for the workplace of the future.

Web: http://www.mclaren.com/technologycentre


Project of The Week
Click HERE for the General Project Page Fosters TAG McLaren Group HQ Uses Schüco Facade The new corporate and production headquarters for the TAG McLaren Group aims to redefine the manufacturing workplace for the twenty-first century. Since the early 1970s Foster and Partners has pioneered the design of flexible workplaces that can respond quickly and easily to changes in working practices and communications and information technology. For example, the practice installed the first raised floor system within an office building. Foster and Partners is committed to designing sustainable and environmentally friendly workplaces, providing significant benefits for the environment and real cost benefits for clients. These low-energy strategies are closely connected with social factors - creating a pleasant working environment is central to a company's productivity. In the design of the McLaren Technology Centre, Foster and Partners responded to a challenging brief to create a headquarters for the majority of the TAG McLaren Group's employees, previously scattered across 18 locations in and around the Woking area, combining a broad range of different functions under a single roof. The building includes design studios, laboratories, research and testing facilities, electronics development, machine shops and prototyping and production facilities for the Team McLaren Mercedes Formula One cars and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The building also contains a state-of-the-art wind tunnel capable of accommodating 1:2 scale car models. Viewed in plan, the building is roughly semi-circular, the circle being completed by a formal lake, which forms an integral part of the building's cooling system. Internally, the building is organised around double-height six-metre wide linear 'streets', which form circulation routes and allow daylight into the interior of the building providing all employees with an awareness of the outside. These streets separate 18-metre wide 'fingers' of flexible accommodation, housing production and storage areas on the lower levels, with top-lit design studios, offices and meeting rooms above. The principal lakeside façade is a continuous curved glass wall, shaded by a cantilevered roof. Directly behind the façade a circulation 'boulevard' leads to areas for hospitality, including the VIP restaurant, a juice and coffee bar complete with a television wall and the staff restaurant, all of which look out across the landscape beyond. Other facilities include a training pool and a fitness centre. 'Windblade' Façade The building's relationship to the lake and the surrounding countryside was a key generator in its design. An innovative engineering solution was required to ensure the maximum transparency of the principal, curved, lakeside façade to maintain the dramatic views of the landscape. A minimal hanging glass wall was devised because traditional vertical posts and mullions would have obscured these views. The glass wall's minimal structure is the result of a close collaboration between Foster and Partners, Schüco International and McLaren's own engineers, incorporating aerospace and Formula One engineering technology. Wind loads are absorbed by 12-metre long, computer-cut aluminium 'windblades' connected to columns by a machined aluminium collar. The vertical loads are supported by 5mm, elliptical, stainless-steel tie-rods, the same tie rods that are used to strengthen the bodywork of the Team McLaren Mercedes Formula One racing car. They form a framework from which 40 tonnes of laminated glass is suspended with virtually no visible means of support. The glass is hung from the roof and each of the polished stainless steel supports holds 2.4 tons of glass in place. The streamlined design of the 'windblade' was inspired by the rear wing support struts of the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours-winning McLaren F1 sports car. Quality Detailing Foster and Partners has benefited from the partnerships formed by McLaren with specialist manufacturers and suppliers to ensure the highest possible quality of materials, furniture and fittings throughout the building. Many of the building's components are unique to this project, the product of intensive research to provide a bespoke environment. Faram Ltd has produced and installed bespoke workstations, storage cabinets and partitions; Grohe has supplied the water disinfection and management systems; and Mapei has contributed to almost every aspect of the building's construction, from aggregates in the concrete to the chemical adhesives that bond the flooring to it. The result is a standard of design rarely seen in the working environment. The McLaren Technology Centre has established a new benchmark that will become a model for the workplace of the future. Web: http://www.mclaren.com/technologycentre RETURN TO HOME PAGE