Throughout the design and construction of the project, emphasis has been placed on expressing the structure as an integral part of the appearance of the building.

This £28 million building has been designed by Bennetts Associates as the new headquarters for Sophos Plc, and includes design offices, production areas and warehouse facilities.

Key requirements of the project brief included an attractive solution to entice people to the working environment and the inclusion of dramatic spaces within the envelope.

The structural design solution utilises a three storey steel framed superstructure with composite metal decked slabs. The main structural elements are exposed and include a 10 metre steel sunshade cantilever at roof level and cantilever steel beams ranging from 2.5 to 6 metres in length at first floor level to support the offices. Internal meeting rooms cantilever 4.5 metres into the entrance atrium along with a suspended steel feature staircase. A continuous brickwork wall wraps around the north and east elevations and is constructed with lime mortar without movement joints.

The building is situted on a brown field site using CHD piles (specialist piles for landfill sites and an Environment Agency requirement) to support the building with reinforced concrete ground beams and a passive methane gas protection system.

A water feature to the south and west elevation acts as a balancing pond to optimise the surface water drainage system solution, with deep channel drains to the car park and a pumped foul and surface water drainage system to keep excavations shallow.