Home Office headquarters, London

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The prestigious headquarters for the Home Office, provides 74,544m² office space for approximately 3,000 staff with associated sports, restaurant, library facilities and basement car parking. The headquarters, built using hybrid concrete construction, comprise three new five- to seven-storey blocks linked by bridges at four levels, giving 100m-long internal 'streets' which run the length of the site.

The whole site was originally occupied as a commercial gas works from 1812 to 1937. The original gas holders were converted into two massive concrete structures (rotundas - 66m in diameter) during World War II which were said to have been occupied by Winston Churchill for a period during the war. A headquarters complex was built for the Department of the Environment between 1965 and 1970 consisting of three 20-storey tower blocks, known as 'the ugly sisters'. Two of these blocks were mostly supported on the Rotundas. The majority of the existing complex was demolished to make way for the new development.

The project was procured using the Private Finance Initiative model with PFI developer Anne's Gate Properties, Bouygues as contractor and architect Terry Farrell and Partners.

A team ethos was cultivated between the designers, the PFI contractors and the Home Office to deliver an efficient design which met both the commercial requirements and the Home Office's aspirations in terms of maximising natural light and user comfort.

Project team

End user, PFI client: Home Office
PFI developer: Anne's Gate Properties
PFI contractor: Bouygues UK and Ecovert
Masterplanner and architect: Terry Farrell & Partners
Structural engineer: Pell Frischmann
Mechanical engineer: Battle McCarthy
Electrical engineer: Flack & Kurtz
Space planners, interiors: DEGW
Landscape architect: Lovejoy