Toyota Headquarters (UK)

Toyota’s UK Headquarters in Surrey, was completed in 2001 and provides 14,200m² of high-quality office space aimed at meeting the client brief for flexibility and low energy performance. Set in landscaped parkland on an existing brownfield site, the building provides administration, conference, and staff welfare facilities. It comprises four, two-storey office wings that radiate outwards from a glazed ‘street’ that houses communal facilities including an entrance rotunda.

In many respects the general design and operating strategy of the building is similar to that of the PowerGen, Canon and RSPCA Headquarters. However, the construction technique differs. A hybrid of hidden in-situ reinforced concrete is used in conjunction with exposed, precast coffered floor slabs and structural columns that are mostly precast.

The decision to adopt a hybrid concrete construction (HCC) approach was largely driven by the desire for lean construction and the high-quality fi nish provided by the use of precast elements. HCC allowed much of the frame to be manufactured in a factory-controlled environment, enabling faster construction on site. Trent Concrete worked closely with the design team to create a floor unit that incorporated air ducts, electric access points and lighting units.

The design process involved producing a full-scale polystyrene pattern of the floor slabs, which was modified until it could be accurately recreated in precast concrete. Detailed models were also made of the office space showing the relationship of the precast units to other key components and interfaces, such as the glass façade, the suspended lighting units and the central services distribution zone. Running down the centre of the space is an in-situ concrete ‘shoulder’ beam with two downstands hung from an upstand column head.

Two rectangular extract ducts are located in the space formed within the shoulder beam. These ducts draw air through short 90° branches located in the floor slabs, each of which terminates with an extract grill located on the soffit. The underside of the shoulder beam is concealed by ceiling panels that also house down-lighters and additional extract grilles. The visually pleasing result largely conceals the very effective integration of structure and services.

Air is supplied to the office space by a mixed-mode approach i.e. by natural ventilation and/or via floor outlets, with the floor void used as a supply plenum for the mechanical ventilation system.