MoD Abbey Wood

MoD Abbey Wood
MoD Abbey Wood
MoD Abbey Wood
MoD Abbey Wood
Shown in relation to Bristol
General information
Status Complete
Type Office complex and conference centre
Location Filton
Town or city Bristol
Country United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′11.88″N 02°33′33.01″W / 51.5033000°N 2.5591694°W / 51.5033000; -2.5591694Coordinates: 51°30′11.88″N 02°33′33.01″W / 51.5033000°N 2.5591694°W / 51.5033000; -2.5591694
Current tenants Defence Equipment and Support
Opened July 1996 (July 1996)
Cost £250 million
Owner Ministry of Defence
Design and construction
Architecture firm Scott Brownrigg
Other designers Fira (Landscape Design)
Main contractor Mowlem
Approach to the visitor entrance

MoD Abbey Wood is a Ministry of Defence establishment at Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom. The purpose-built site houses the MoD Defence Equipment and Support procurement organisation. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in July 1996, after which 15 government departments employing some 13,400 people relocated to the site.

History

The building project included more than 1,630,000 m²(1,900,000 sq yds) of buildings including offices, restaurants, library, sports facilities, training rooms, auditoria and conference rooms, support facilities and a crèche, together with landscaping and external works on a 402-acre (163 ha) site.[1] It was designed with a feel of connecting "neighbourhoods" and is surrounded by an artificial lake for security.[2]

Abbey Wood was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II in July 1996. The campus cost £250 million [3] to build and has been described as "the most progressive public sector office complex built in Britain for a generation".[2] The site won the 1997 RICS Energy Efficiency award for the ecological design of the building,[4] however its environmental friendliness was later questioned as many employees travelled to the site by car.[5]

After opening, the MoD Procurement Executive departments from across the UK, mainly London and Bath, relocated to the new facility. Subsequently further consolidation to the site has occurred.[6] The relocation of departments, bringing together 15 offices and 4,400 staff, was the largest ever attempted by a British government department.[2] The site manages procurement contracts for the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. Abbey Wood is the largest MoD site in the UK with 13,850 staff in 2012.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ Contractor brief for initial building project
  2. 1 2 3 Turner, Gavin; Myerson, Jeremy (1998). "Redesigning the environment". Changing spaces : making the working environment work (Illustrated ed.). Brookfield, VT: Gower. p. 94. ISBN 9780566080289.
  3. ↑ "MoD on target at Abbey Wood". Construction News. 18 January 1996. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  4. ↑ Keeping, Miles; Shiers, David (2009). "Green property: the design of buildings that have lower environmental impact". Sustainable Property Development: A Guide to Real Estate and the Environment. John Wiley & Sons. p. 116. ISBN 9781405178303.
  5. ↑ Macmillan, Sebastian (2004). Designing Better Buildings: Quality and Value in the Built Environment. Taylor & Francis. p. 80. ISBN 9780415315258.
  6. ↑ "MoD to move 1,400 workers from Bath". BBC News. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Dave Harvey (12 May 2011). "Straight talking from the top, at MoD Abbey Wood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Behind the scene at Abbey Wood". Bristol Post. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.