McLaren Technology Centre

McLaren Technology Centre
McLaren Technology Centre is located in Surrey
McLaren Technology Centre
Location within Surrey
General information
Architectural styleModern
LocationWoking, England
Coordinates51°20′45.0″N 0°32′54.0″W / 51.345833°N 0.548333°W / 51.345833; -0.548333
Current tenantsMcLaren Group
Construction started1998 (McLaren Technology Centre)
2010 (McLaren Production Centre)
Completed2003 (McLaren Technology Centre)
2011 (McLaren Production Centre)
Inaugurated12 May 2004
Cost£300 million (est.)
OwnerGlobal Net Lease
Technical details
Floor count1 to 5
Design and construction
Architect(s)Norman Foster
Awards and prizes2005 Stirling Prize (Shortlisted)

The McLaren Technology Centre is the headquarters of the McLaren Group and its subsidiaries, located on a 500,000 m2 (50 ha) site in Woking, Surrey, England.[1] The complex consists of two buildings: the original McLaren Technology Centre, which acts as the main headquarters for the group, and the newer McLaren Production Centre, primarily used for manufacturing McLaren Automotive cars.

The main building is a large, roughly semi-circular, glass-walled building, designed by architect Norman Foster and his company, Foster + Partners.[2] The building was short-listed for the 2005 Stirling Prize, which was won by the Scottish Parliament building. By 2015, approximately 1,500 people worked at the Technology Centre.[1] The Technology Centre also serves as the home to McLaren Racing, McLaren Automotive, and other companies of the McLaren Group. It was also the main setting of McLaren's cartoon, Tooned.

In 2011, the size of the centre was doubled after a second building, the 34,500 m2 (371,000 sq ft) McLaren Production Centre, was built.[3] McLaren is also planning an extension to this building to be used as an applied technology centre, as well as to house a new wind tunnel and simulator for McLaren Racing.[4][5][6] The wind tunnel became operational by October 2023.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Mun-Delsalle, Y-Jean (1 September 2015). "Inside McLaren: Looking At How The Design Of Its Headquarters Redefines The 21st-Century Workplace". Forbes. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. ^ Legard, Jonathan. "McLaren go mad for the future". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Prime Minister attends official opening of the McLaren Production Centre". Foster + Partners. 17 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Planning – Application Summary". caps.woking.gov.uk. Woking Borough Council. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  5. ^ "McLaren sets June date for using new F1 wind tunnel". Motorsport.com. 10 March 2023.
  6. ^ "McLaren reveals date of when they will use new wind tunnel". RacingNews365.com. 10 March 2023.
  7. ^ "McLaren offers first glimpse of brand-new wind-tunnel". RacingNews365.com. 2 October 2023.
  8. ^ "McLaren unveil 'biggest investment' in decades with launch of new wind tunnel". PlanetF1.com. 2 October 2023.