Following the success of the British Air Headquarters, GSK set out to redefine the corporate office campus. The goal was to provide a vibrant and engaging atmosphere where the boundary between work life and home life is less distinct. The design solution is a business campus as mini city; the project design employs a main street space incorporating restaurants, dry cleaning, market and sundry shop to provide a sense of place to the GSK working community. The notion was similar to the old company town strategy would provide an environment that would extend services available to employees to that the quality of life at work was superior than the environment of the open office cubicle in the suburban office building.

The building is comprised of 6 buildings each with a significant relationship to the landscape. The two primary curved masses embrace an entry court on one side and a verdant park on the other. The design expression is classic corporate modern; reflective glass and limestone instill the notion of a global business brand and uniqueness of place to visitors and passersby. While the exterior massing appears dynamic and irregular, the reality is a building plan that is comprised of regular office blocks; is efficient and modular to allow for optimal use of space and proximity of departments to one another. The building depth is no more than 15 meters providing abundant light and air to the interior environment within.

PROJECT DATA
GSK House Brentford England 780,000 square feet of office space in buildings from 5 to 12 stories with parking for 1055 cars - Mark Chen Principal Designer with Hillier