MoD Abbey Wood

DE&S headquarters, Abbey Wood, Bristol

Coordinates: 51°30′12″N 2°33′33″W / 51.5033°N 2.55917°W / 51.5033; -2.55917

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 4,400 people relocated to the site.

History

The building project involved over 130,000 m² 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 98-acre (400,000 m2) 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 £254 million 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,[3] however its environmental friendliness was later questioned as many employees travelled to the site by car.[4]

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.[5] 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 8,000 staff in 2012.[6][7]


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. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Macmillan, Sebastian (2004). Designing Better Buildings: Quality and Value in the Built Environment. Taylor & Francis. p. 80. ISBN 9780415315258.
  5. ↑ "MoD to move 1,400 workers from Bath". BBC News. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Dave Harvey (12 May 2011). "Straight talking from the top, at MoD Abbey Wood". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Behind the scene at Abbey Wood". Bristol Post. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2016.

External links

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