---

British construction company Willmott Dixon has been appointed as the main contractor by WWF-UK for its new headquarters building, called The Living Planet Centre, in Woking, UK.

---

Designed by Hopkins Architects, The Living Planet Centre will stand out for its green credentials. The scheme will meet the highest standards for environmental design, which will keep its carbon footprint in check. The new building will be built on a raised podium over the existing car park. The surrounding area will be landscaped and will feature shrubs, trees and flowers. The striking element of the new headquarters will be its timber arched roof.

The building will have public area, an education suite as well as 150-seat auditorium. At the podium level, the building will have a generous public piazza, which will lead through the exhibition space into the new headquarters beyond. The piazza will be connected to the town centre through a new bridge.

The building will have an area of 3,600 square metre, which will be spread over two levels. The 80m-long curved timber grid shell will span 837.5m, which will provide long term flexibility for the WWF. The project also involves development of new wetlands between the canal to Horsell Common and the retention of existing trees on site, which will preserve the ecology of the region.

The project is being aspired for BREEAM Outstanding rating. It is estimated to entail an investment of £15 million ($24 million).