The country headquarters for insurance company Willis Faber & Dumas challenged accepted thinking about the office building while simultaneously maintaining a sense of continuity within the context of its provincial setting. The unprecedented use of escalators in a three-storey structure, the central atrium, and the social dimension offered by its swimming pool, roof-top garden and restaurant, were all conceived in a spirit of democratising the workplace and engendering a sense of community. Outside, in contrast, the building reinforces rather than confronts the urban grain, with its free-form plan and low-rise construction responding to the to the scale of surrounding buildings, while its curved facade maintains a relationship to the medieval street pattern.
Floors are planned on a 14-metre-square structural grid, flexible enough to respond to the ad hoc acquisition of the site and to allow for a number of early plan configurations. A necklace of perimeter columns enables the building to flow to the edges of its site like a pancake in a pan. The sheath-like glass curtain wall, which encloses and defines this edge, was developed with the glazing manufacturer Pilkington. Pushing the limits of technology, the mullion-free solar-tinted-glass curtain wall, is suspended from a continuous clamping strip at roof level. Corner patch fittings connect the panes, while internal glass fins provide wind bracing. By day, the glass reflects an eclectic collage of Ipswichs old buildings; by night it dissolves dramatically to reveal the building within.
Conceived before the oil crises of the mid-1970s and heated by natural gas, Willis Faber was a pioneering example of energy-conscious design. Its deep plan and the insulating quilt of its turfed roof ensure good overall thermal performance. Recognising these innovations, over the years it has attracted as many awards for energy efficiency as it has for its architecture. It also pioneered the use of raised office floors, anticipating the revolution in information technology. When Willis Faber introduced extensive computerisation, it was able to do so with minimal disruption. Paradoxically, although designed for flexibility, the building has since been given Grade 1 listed status: an honour that means it cannot be changed.
Client:
Willis Faber & Dumas Ltd
Consultants:
Anthony Hunt Associates, Davis Belfield & Everest, Foster Associates, John Allen, Adrian Wilder, John Taylor & Sons, Martin Francis in association with Jean Prouve, Sound Research Laboratories