The story of
WWF-UK's
living planet centre

The next question was: where should our new green building be?

We spent a couple of years thoroughly investigating a number of sites in the same local area as Panda House, as well as some attractive options on London’s South Bank and further afield.

After careful consideration we decided to stay in Surrey to create our new, specially-built, long-term base for WWF-UK.

Many discussions and negotiations later, we chose what we felt was the best option, for financial, social and environmental reasons. A brownfield site near the centre of Woking – on a space being used as a car park by Woking Borough Council at the time.

The Woking car park site was identified early on as an ‘exceptional’ location for our new green building, for several reasons.

1. As a brownfield as opposed to greenfield site it was already earmarked for development, and our design would cause minimal disruption to the natural environment.

2. Straddling urban and rural locations, between the Basingstoke Canal and the ancient protected woodland of Horsell Common, there would be great opportunities to develop local wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

3. It’s near other cultural and visitor attractions, including a museum and art gallery (The Lightbox), and in a good place to forge links with the community.

4. The town’s transport links are very good, including fast train connections to and from London.

5. Woking had the benefit of a particularly environmentally-aware council.

We decided this was an ideal place to create a visitor-focused eco-centre where people could easily come to see and understand our work.

We also had to select a suitably qualified and experienced architect and design team to plan our as-yet-unnamed state-of-the-art green building.

We asked several firms to tender for the architecture contract. We looked at their own company standards and environmental ethos and well as their specific plans and drawings. In the end we opted for highly-respected London-based Hopkins Architects, who came onboard in summer 2008.

An early part of Hopkins’ preparation work was to carry out a workplace audit at our existing Panda House offices, to analyse how we were using the building. They did this in conjunction with specialist workplace consultants AMA Alexi Marmot Associates.

One of the aims was to find out what people at WWF-UK felt about where and how they worked at the time – and what their aspirations for a new, greener, better building might be.

That workplace survey in autumn 2008 confirmed a lot of what we’d suspected. It showed a very low level of overall satisfaction with our office environment at our old Panda House HQ. Only 27% satisfaction, in fact – which is less than half what you might expect from average industry figures.

We were also aware that our relatively remote location may have been a limiting factor in attracting some London-based talent to work for us.

It was clear from all this that we needed a more efficient, appealing and productive working environment, as well as somewhere that people would want to come – to work, to visit and to learn.

So let’s look more closely at some design elements of the Living Planet Centre.

A) Exterior design
B) Interior design
C) Ventilation and temperature control
D) Lighting
E) Sound and acoustics
F) Water systems
G) WWF Experience (visitor zones)

The Living Planet Centre was designed to sit comfortably between the Basingstoke Canal on one side and Horsell Common (a site of special scientific interest) on the other, nestling among the mature local trees.

Despite the solidity of the timber, concrete and steel structure, there’s a gentle, quite ‘natural’ look about the Living Planet Centre – one reviewer described it as ”soft and organic” – which owes a lot to that curvaceous roofline.

But the dramatic sweep of the zinc-surfaced roof – 80m long with a 37.5m side-to-side span – also gives a fantastic sense of life and energy to the design. It has the look of a hi-tech stretched fabric, hooked down at the sides by giant steel cable ties.

> Find out more about the materials used in the Living Planet Centre roof.

The wind cowls were an integral element in the design from the start – not just because they look great, but because they’re a key part of the building’s efficient ‘passive’ ventilation system.

> Find out more about how our wind cowls and ventilation system work in the Technology section.

Up beside them on the roof there’s also our substantial array of solar PV panels – covering more than 500 square metres of the roof area.

As you probably know, you don’t just put solar panels up anywhere and hope for the best. There are careful calculations to be done first – not just about the angle of the roof and the changing direction of the sun, but also about possible shadows cast by neighbouring trees – and in our case even by the wind cowls on our roof.

> Find out more about our solar panels in the Technology section.

There’s a lot of glass in the Living Planet Centre too, because we wanted as much natural light inside as possible. But that can also cause problems with glare and overheating indoors on very sunny days.

One of the solutions was to introduce subtle shading around the façade that also doubles as a stylish design feature. The distinctive louvered slats across the front and rear of the building – which create a striking, slightly wood-cabin look – are technically known as a ‘brise soleil’ (sun-break).

> Find out more about the wood used in the Living Planet Centre in the Materials section.

Computer modelling was used to work out the best ways to shade various parts of the Living Planet Centre, taking account of the position of the sun at different times of the year, and including the size and spacing of those wooden slats.

The way the roof extends and overhangs the walls also creates shading from the sun in certain places during the day, as do the guttering and the internal system of adjustable blinds.

> Find out more about the lighting used in the Living Planet Centre.

PODIUM AND PIAZZA
The whole site covers about 8,300 square metres – more than twice the area of the building itself – so there was a fair amount of landscaping to be done outside the Living Planet Centre.

Landscape architects Grant Associates produced a comprehensive landscape management and nature conservation plan for us, with the overall aim of helping bring the ‘spirit of woodland’ into the site. They’ve cleverly combined beauty with practicality.

One of the practical elements is an ‘attenuation swale’ next to the building. A swale is just a wide-bottomed shallow ditch – which in this case is used as a filtration pond to clean and temporarily store excess rainwater running off the building, and then release it gradually into the nearby Basingstoke canal. It helps to reduce (attenuate) flood impacts on local drains and sewers.

It’s all part of our sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) – which has helped us create a small wetland and wild garden area next to the Living Planet Centre. In turn this attracts a variety of aquatic invertebrates (dragonflies, beetles etc), not to mention school parties and other welcome human visitors.

> Find out more about our sustainable water systems.

Grant Associates have also cultivated the podium area around the building with an eclectic mix of plant species, to help realise the designers’ vision of a ‘magic carpet’ of native shrubs, herbaceous plants and grasses, plus non-native ornamental species to extend the growing season and add visual variety.

We’re very pleased we managed to keep most of the existing mature trees around the site – mainly limes and oaks. And the new trees we’ve planted include other native varieties like birch and rowan, with shrubs of holly, elder, hawthorn, hazel and privet. And we’ve planted a line of yew trees that will eventually mask the ground-floor car park from the nearby road.

Other woodland ground flora we’ve added include snowdrops, bluebells, wild garlic, primroses, and climbing plants like ivy and honeysuckle.

And yes, the bamboo plants around the back of the building are a deliberate nod to our beloved panda logo – bamboo is the panda’s favourite, after all.

Before we started work on the site we commissioned a very detailed ecological analysis and report on the location.

The area nearby where Horsell Common meets the Basingstoke Canal is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with as many as 21 species of dragonfly, for example.

The Basingstoke canal itself was only reopened in 1991, after some long and determined restoration work. You can now find lots of wildlife in and around it – including herons, kingfishers, ducks and fish.

We thought the canal might be home to water voles too – a rare and protected species in the UK – but the ecology report concluded this wasn’t the case.

We did however find some bats using the canal area as a feeding corridor, so we've put up three bat boxes to encourage them to nest, along with five bird boxes (including swift boxes) and two bug boxes.

(Birds spotted within the first few months of moving here included peregrine falcons, pied wagtails and even a red kite.)

Woking Borough Council took the opportunity to replace the pedestrian/cycle bridge across the canal. The new one is made from accoya, a long-lasting ‘hardened’ softwood product made from sustainably sourced timber.

The bridge helps link the town centre to our new public piazza, and guides people towards the exhibition space – our WWF Experience – at the front of the building.

> Find out more about the WWF Experience.

Just outside the front doors on the piazza we’ve installed what we call our ‘beacon’, a large message board that displays updates on our work.

We’ve put in a couple of lifts too, one outside and one inside the building. (The building is completely accessible for people with disabilities – another big improvement from older premises like Panda House.) The lifts are particularly energy-efficient, as you might expect – they even generate electricity as they operate.

> Find out more about our energy use in the Living Planet Centre.

At the back of the Living Planet Centre there’s an outdoor space which, thanks to our wireless internet connection, offers an alternative place for WWF folks to work, or to go and relax during breaks. There are also areas where we can grow our own plants, flowers and even fruit and veg. These can be irrigated using rainwater harvested from the roof.

Our two bike sheds (one for the public) and our bin store have ‘green roofs’. They’re covered with a living mat of sedum and saxifrage, low-growing perennial plants that are drought-tolerant and low-maintenance. They also act like a sponge to help soak up excess rainwater, as well as encouraging local biodiversity.

All of this landscaping and planting isn’t just nice to look at. The plants and flowers play a valuable role in attracting all kinds of insects, as well as birds and bats, and generally enhancing wildlife diversity and the natural environment. It’s also part of achieving our high BREEAM eco-rating.

Our central aims for the Living Planet Centre included minimising the amount of energy we’d use and replacing carbon-intensive fossil fuels with renewable energy sources wherever possible.

We planned to do this in two main ways:

1) The building’s power supply would be all-electric, with no in-house gas or oil boiler systems. We’d use alternative, renewable sources of energy wherever possible, including solar PV (photovoltaic) panels, ground source heat pumps, earth ducts, etc.

2) We’d use energy more efficiently – reducing the amount we need to consume, improving thermal insulation and making better use of natural light, heat and ventilation.

Bearing in mind the Living Planet Centre was going to be a bigger building than our previous Panda House had been, and it would include new energy-consuming features like the visitor experience, auditorium and Learning Zone, this was never going to be easy.

So here’s how we’ve done it:

Solar power from the roof
We’ve put more than 400 solar PV panels (410 to be exact) along the roof of the building. We were originally thinking of integrating the PV panels into the glass on the roof, but the plans changed. Instead we opted to have standard Sunpower E-series panels (each 1560mm x 800mm, or 1.24m2) installed on the solid roof areas by EvoEnergy.

We have a couple of ‘inverters’ in-house to convert the DC energy from the solar panels into the AC electricity used at the power sockets.

If we have solar power to spare we can also feed some back to the local electricity grid – earning ourselves a bit of extra income to offset other costs in the process.

Our solar panels supply electricity for our lighting, as well as for the pumps and fans that circulate the warm and cool air around the building, and for opening and closing the windows and blinds, etc. In total they provided about 15% of the building’s ‘base load’ usage in our first year.

Combined with power from Woking
For the additional ‘plug load’ – the power used by plugging in computers, servers and any other electrical devices – we draw the extra electricity we need from Thameswey Energy’s local ‘combined heat and power’ (CHP) plant in Woking.

Woking Borough Council (which part-owns Thameswey Energy) has a climate change strategy in place to reduce its CO2 emissions, and its CHP scheme is part of that.

CHP is a very efficient way to produce both heat and electricity. It’s true it does use natural gas (a fossil fuel, albeit one of the cleanest) – but whereas in a conventional gas turbine around 60% of the fuel burnt is wasted as unused heat, a CHP unit reduces the wastage to as little as 10%.

And because the energy is generated locally, there are also fewer of the losses associated with electricity transmission from large power stations.

Heating from underground – ground source heat pumps
Even with our energy-efficiency measures, effective insulation and ‘passive’ heating system (see ‘earth ducts’ and ‘Energain’ earlier), when the weather is extreme it can take a lot more energy to heat or cool a building the size of the Living Planet Centre.

Our very clever ground source heat pump (GSHP) system takes advantage of the year-round consistent temperature under the surface of the ground – in the same way as the earth ducts do.

But whereas the earth ducts use that constant underground 12°C to heat or cool air-filled tubes directly, the GSHP system uses a series of thinner (150mm/6in), fluid-filled polyethylene pipes in 20 boreholes going 100m into the ground.

And here’s the clever science bit. The liquid in those pipes – mainly water with some antifreeze – works as a ‘heat-transfer fluid’. When the fluid is cold, heat energy from the ground is transferred into it through the pipes (grouted with bentonite to improve heat transfer even more).

The fluid then passes through a ‘heat exchanger’, which compresses it, and that raises the temperature even more. The heat generated is removed by our 'air-handling units' and is used to warm the air in the Living Planet Centre. The cooled fluid goes back underground and the whole process repeats.

The air-handling units contain ‘thermal wheels’, heat-conducting metal rotors that can extract over 80% of heat energy from exhaust air and use it to warm colder fresh air.

The pump equipment itself uses a bit of electricity, but an efficient ground source heat pump can still generate up to four times as much energy as it consumes.

In the summertime, the same 12°C temperature underground cools the fluid in the pipes – so the whole process works in reverse, helping to reduce the heat inside the building.

Energy monitoring
A computer-based building management system has been installed, supplied by Trend, to help monitor, control and optimise technical building services (heating, ventilation, lighting, etc) and the energy consumed by devices used in the Living Planet Centre. This can be done either on-site or remotely.

Sub-metering has been installed to make it easier to keep an eye on high-energy-use areas within the building.

Energy Performance Certificate rating
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were introduced by the UK government in response to the EU Energy Performance of Buildings directive.

The certificates look similar to the energy labels on new cars or electrical appliances like fridges – it uses the same kind of scale for energy efficiency, from A (best/lowest CO2 emissions) to G (worst).

EPCs are based on actual energy use, and are designed to increase transparency and encourage improvement in the energy performance of buildings.

The Living Planet Centre has received an 'A'-rated Energy Performance Certificate.

ICT – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

For us, moving into the Living Planet Centre meant a chance to work in new and better ways – but it also meant we needed to upgrade most of our technologies. Our old IT (information technology) and communications systems were already stretched at Panda House.

But of course new, state-of-the-art ICT systems aren’t cheap. So we were very fortunate to be able to team up with computer networking giants Cisco and their expert implementation partners Dimension Data.

Our aim from the start was to help everyone at the Living Planet Centre to work more productively and efficiently. Cisco and Dimension Data have helped make this possible.

Cisco generously donated refurbished hardware, including ethernet and firewall equipment, that they’d recently finished using at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics (where they delivered the communications network infrastructure). They also provided big discounts on servers for our datacentre.

Dimension Data’s advice and support was also central in getting all our systems operating effectively from day one, as well as training our own people to get the best from the new technologies.

Clear desks, borderless networks, smart working
We knew we wanted an integrated wireless system, in keeping with the ‘clear-desk’ ethos of the Living Planet Centre. There are also big health and safety benefits in having desktop power and USB sockets, which minimises loose cabling and trailing wires.

We don't use desktop PCs or landline phones on desks any more. We’ve provided laptops, but we also welcome a bring-your-own-device culture. Apart from anything else, it helps reduce the amount of hardware WWF-UK has to own and manage.

We couldn’t do this at our old office. It’s all been made possible by Cisco’s ‘unified communications system’ – now that everyone’s using Jabber voice software on a variety of devices, complete with personal headsets (wired or Bluetooth).

Jabber can also be used for instant messaging or to tell team members where you are in the building, if you’re in a meeting or on a call.

Our aim was that everyone at WWF-UK should be able to work together quickly, easily and securely from wherever they are in the building, and beyond. Cisco’s ‘borderless network technology’ helps us do just that.

The improved online collaboration extends to better document management, which lets dispersed teams work together on ‘live’ documents, with better version control and more security for confidential files.

And it’s all achieved in a smart, clutter-free way, with all the technology hardware and wiring subtly hidden out of sight.

Another significant change we made when we moved here was to drastically reduce the number of printers we have. We had 16 in our old office – we’ve cut that to just four at the Living Planet Centre. Not everyone finds it easy, but it’s a deliberate statement about cutting down resource use and waste – and there’s been a notable reduction in printing levels as a result.

Efficient meetings – real and virtual
Our new home has much better meeting rooms (complete with interactive smartboards) and also meeting management, with an online booking system and smart ‘security fob’ entry.

We’ve also increased and improved our video conferencing facilities – both top-end video meetings and low-cost webcam chats – to help minimise the need for long-distance travel, especially by plane.

Audio-visuals
Sound and video systems around the building – including the display screens in the public reception area, in the auditorium, Learning Zone, boardroom and main office areas – were installed by Marquee AV.

Equipment used included Tannoy passive array loudspeakers, Audica sound systems, Lab.gruppen amplifiers, Audio-Technica radio microphones, Christie projectors, Yamaha audio mixers, Symetrix digital processing and Tandberg video conferencing equipment. We also have induction-loop and infrared-assisted hearing systems.

Forward-looking ICT

Even our server room/datacentre is green and energy-conscious. Often rooms full of IT equipment need special cooling, but at the Living Planet Centre it’s just kept cool with the same low-energy cooling system used throughout the building. (Though we admit we do have a backup cooler unit in case of a power cut.)

After their initial input, Cisco have continued to work with us to deliver sustainable technology, both in the UK and across the WWF global network – helping to shape our ICT strategy over the coming years.

The hardware recycling aspect is particularly important to us. We want to show other IT departments in organisations around the world what can be done, and that it’s possible to deliver forward-looking, sustainable ICT.

WWF-UK’s Living Planet Centre is attracting an average of 25,000 visitors per year – which meets the target we’d aimed for.

By comparison, at our old building, Panda House in Godalming, fewer than 4,000 people used to visit per year – mostly conservation colleagues from around the world.

People come to the Living Planet Centre for all kinds of reasons – not just to see what a showcase exemplar green building looks like, but for school trips, family outings, specialist talks, business meetings… and of course to work.

Let’s look in more detail at the day-to-day use of the Living Planet Centre…

1. Welcoming the public
2. Schools and youth group visits
3. Connecting with business and the community
4. WWF-UK at work

Our ‘WWF Experience’ – the four themed zones at the entrance area of the Living Planet Centre, which bring to life key aspects of our global work – is open to the public from 9am-5pm Monday-Friday (except public holidays).

Anyone can drop in and explore the WWF Experience – it’s free. And it has proved hugely popular.

Here’s how one local mum, Kerry J (who’s also a blogger/photographer), described her WWF Experience visit with her eight-year-old daughter:

“It’s small but perfectly and beautifully put together – a collection of amazingly crafted ‘pods’, each one covering a different part of our planet. You can just go and browse, or do a great little trail and claim your prize at the end. We did the trail and really enjoyed it.

“There is tons of interactivity, a visual feast for the eyes everywhere and lots of things to look at/through/touch. It’s a great example of using modern technology to teach and learn in a positive way. My daughter was talking about it for days afterwards!”

As well as the WWF Experience, we also run various open days and family-focused community events at the Living Planet Centre – including hands-on activities and workshops during school holidays. (We also work with local gallery The Lightbox to deliver joint family workshops.)

And we use our 150-seat auditorium for public film screenings, seminars, presentations and conferences.

Here’s a taste of the kind of public events we’ve hosted so far at the Living Planet Centre:

Go wild! – creating your own wild animal mask (tigers, chimps, frogs, crocodiles, you name it) using fibre pens and tissue paper.

Explore beneath the ocean – making fun floating jellyfish mobiles and colourful spiky seahorses on sticks.

Fairtrade Fortnight – we’ve helped celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight with Woking Fairtrade Action Network, featuring a giant, 13-metre-long banana split!

Earth Hour – celebrating the big annual WWF lights-out event in March, including acoustic concerts with performances from local and national acts. People can learn how to make their own sustainable tealight holders, or origami stars, or find out more about the night sky.

VOCE (Voices of Cambridge Ensemble) choir – uplifting choral performance in partnership with The Lightbox.

‘Project Wild Thing’ film screening – part of a film-led movement to get more children (and families) outdoors and reconnecting with nature.

Woking Food and Drink Festival – helping promote sustainable and healthy eating as part of this large Woking Borough Council event: a great opportunity to work with other local organisations, including The Lightbox and Woking Fairtrade.

Heritage Open Days – national annual public celebration of heritage and architecture.

The Big Draw – as part of this annual national art event our visitors helped us create an amazing Amazon-inspired mural for the Learning Zone and across the Bedser Bridge over the canal.

Christmas lights switch-on – we welcomed local schoolchildren to a special carol-singing evening to help us celebrate Christmas.

Christmas crafts – making pom-pom and pine-cone penguin decorations, and sharing ideas for a planet-friendly Christmas.

TEDx Woking – we were hosts for a day of talks and discussions, part of the high-profile, independently-organised global TEDx events.

BUILDING TOURS AND VISITS
The whole building is an educational resource. We invite politicians, business people, school governors, teachers, students, environmentalists, architects and the general public to come in for a tour of the Living Planet Centre and learn about its design and innovative use of materials.

Anyone can book a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Living Planet Centre. We’ve been offering public tours every other Friday, for individuals and groups, but we also welcome groups on bespoke tours throughout the week.

There was initially a little concern among some people working in the building that we might find the public tours a bit intrusive, or notice them adversely affecting our work.

But on the contrary – in our recent workplace survey, only 3.8% said they found the tours intrusive. Several people acknowledged that it’s inspiring to see visitors so interested in our building and our work!

In our first year we took more than 1,100 people on tours of the building and had visits from over 50 school and youth groups, bringing in another 1,600 people.

Just a few of the comments from the Living Planet Centre visitors’ book so far:

“A wonderful, uplifting, inspiring, informative experience. What a bonus for Woking. I shall love to bring my family and friends here. Thank you.”

“We really enjoyed our visit… the interactive areas really let you see about our beautiful planet. We look forward to visiting again and will be donating. Many thanks!”

“It was fantastic. I liked how the music and videos worked together. I especially enjoyed learning about all the different animals in the wildlife exhibit zone, as it helps me with my college homework about our impact on the environment.”

“An awesome place to visit.”

“Such a great experience, I am sure that we would visit again… our brains are filled with facts!”

“This is one of the best things I have ever done.”

“What a fabulous place, really good for all ages. I will be telling the children’s school to come.”

It’s also a great venue for connecting with our existing supporters and members – for example we’ve held:

• ‘Team Panda’ training days – bringing together our challenge event fundraisers and offering advice on nutrition and training.

• ‘Conservation Champions’ dinner – for some of our most generous regular supporters.

• ‘Legacy’ events – for people considering leaving gifts to WWF-UK.

We think it’s vital that we help young people to investigate the natural world, build their understanding of environmental issues and explore what they can do to make a difference.

So an education facility was always a key part of our vision for the Living Planet Centre, and our purpose-built Learning Zone, with its state-of-the-art facilities, really brings this to life.

Although we’ve been working with schools on environmental and sustainability issues for over 30 years, this is the first time we’ve been able to welcome them to our ‘home’. We’ve opened our doors to youth groups and families too.

Our learning and creative workshops (tailored for various ages from 5-14) offer a unique, engaging and inspiring experience. They’re also a great way to help teachers deliver the curriculum, and youth leaders to support their members in achieving their badges and challenges.

The Learning Zone itself is like a generous-sized classroom. It’s about 90 square metres – so it’s comfortable for up to 35 children, plus their teachers or group leaders. It’s kitted out with smartboards, tables, art tools, sinks, and storage space for coats, bags, etc.

We’ve also invested in 16 iPads and apps for the children to use. Easy-to-operate cameras, video and voice recording tools add to the fun, creativity and learning.

We have a wildlife-attracting wetland area on site too, just outside next to the canal, where we can expand the hands-on learning activities.

We’re working closely with schools and youth groups from the local area – because it’s our community, after all – but we’re also looking more widely around Surrey and out to Berkshire and Hampshire. For instance there are almost 3,000 schools within an hour’s travel of the Living Planet Centre. Some arrive by public transport, several local schools even walk.

Our curriculum-linked schools workshops in the Learning Zone started in February 2014 and cover themes such as:

• Amazing Amazon – with an exciting eBook-making session led by award-winning author Christiane Dorion.

• Tropical Chocolate – a two-hour workshop giving children the chance to discover the products of the rainforest and to make their own delicious chocolate truffles, as well as designing their own environmentally-friendly packaging.

• Meet the ‘Green Ambassadors’ – pupils create their own visitors’ guide to the Living Planet Centre through the eyes of their favourite Green Ambassadors character.

• Penguins and polar bears – invites pupils to become polar explorers and discover a world where temperatures fall far below freezing.

We also host sessions aimed at educators, such as ‘train the trainer’ events and feedback sessions for youth leaders. The Surrey Eco-Schools summit/workshop was attended by lots of key educationalists and teachers from the Surrey area. The Woking Schools Learning Partnership makes use of the Living Planet Centre regularly for educational training sessions.

We offer a range of engaging workshops for youth groups too, focusing on key species, topical environmental issues and WWF-UK’s campaigns.

The Living Planet Centre makes it easier for us to make connections – whether it’s with our fellow NGOs and environmental groups or corporate partners.

In our first year alone we hosted more than 50 business meetings, workshops, team away-days and events, involving groups like RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), the Forestry Commission, Tearfund, the Green Building Council, Plan International, Chartered Institute of Building, Kingfisher, Sky, Dimension Data, Capgemini, PricewaterhouseCoopers and SABMiller.

Examples of other business-oriented events we’ve staged include:

Forest Priority campaign meeting – an opportunity to meet with representatives from a range of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to discuss implementation of new environmental legislation.

FIRME workshop – where colleagues from across the WWF network discussed financial plans for improving the health of our seas.

Businesses and groups can also hire parts of the Living Planet Centre for their own events – for instance the 150-seat auditorium, the balcony area for receptions, the 20-seat boardroom, or smaller meeting rooms.

Being just 25 minutes on the train from London, offering flexible options and good technical facilities, the Living Planet Centre is an ideal venue for all kinds of events.

And we’ve welcomed local organisations like the Horsell Common Preservation Society, Woking Asian Business Forum, Surrey Ramblers Group, the Woking Chamber of Commerce and Surrey County Council.

A few of our construction partners and suppliers, like Cisco, Kinnarps and Willmott Dixon, use the building regularly for events and meetings.

It all helps us spread awareness about our work to a wider audience, as well as raising revenue from hire fees.

Chronological summary of significant events in the story of the Living Planet Centre...

Mid 2006 – we’re offered £5m by the Rufford Foundation to create a new green building to replace Panda House.

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Late 2006 – the first ‘feasibility study’ is carried out, and we put the case for a new green HQ to WWF-UK trustees.

Mid 2007 – our trustees agree a six-year ‘outline plan’.

Early 2008 – WWF-UK’s five-year Strategic Plan (2008-2013) promises: “We will build a new state-of-the-art green headquarters”.
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July 2008 – we appoint Hopkins Architects as architect for our new building following a competitive process.
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Sep 2008 – we make our first proposals to Woking Borough Council about building on the Brewery Road brownfield site.
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Oct 2008 – pre-design workplace survey is carried out (by Hopkins and AMA Alexi Marmot Associates) at our old premises in Godalming.
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Nov 2008 – we hold consultations with Woking community to get feedback on our proposed development. This also helps feed into Hopkins' initial designs.

Throughout 2009 – discussions continue with Woking Council, while we look at alternatives including Surrey Research Park and sites in London.

Mid 2010 – detailed plans for a sustainable ‘Living Planet Centre’ take shape.
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Sep 2010 – a comprehensive ecological survey is done on the Brewery Road canalside site. It confirms the presence of bats, but no water voles.
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Oct 2010 – we present more detailed plans for the site during further public meetings with Woking residents and businesses.
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Dec 2010 – we submit formal plans for the Living Planet Centre to Woking Borough Council.

Jan 2011 – another open meeting allows Woking residents to ask about and discuss Living Planet Centre plans with us.
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Feb 2011 – planning consent is granted by Woking Borough Council.
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Spring/summer 2011 – potential contractors and suppliers are approached and vetted for their green credentials.
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June 2011 – we officially launch our capital appeal to raise funds specially for the new building.

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Oct 2011 – planned new footbridge over the canal redesigned to be lower, after more than 1,800 Woking residents sign a petition claiming that the one proposed would be too high.
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Dec 2011 – we appoint Willmott Dixon as our preferred main building contractor for the Living Planet Centre.
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Feb 2012 – Willmott Dixon move onto the Brewery Road site.

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Mar 2012 – more ecological surveying is done on-site.
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Apr 2012 – official ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony at the Living Planet Centre site. Further open sessions are held for Woking residents, with Willmott Dixon and us answering questions.

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May 2012 – the old footbridge over the canal is removed so work can begin on a new one.
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Summer 2012 – below-ground and foundation work on the Living Planet Centre is completed.
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Sep 2012 – work on the superstructure and podium level flooring continues.
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Nov 2012 – our Panda House lease expires… but as the Living Planet Centre isn’t finished yet, we ask for a year-long extension.
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Dec 2012 – ‘topping-out’ ceremony to celebrate the roof structure going on the building. We pour wine, oil, corn and salt into the foundations (symbolising fertility, wisdom, prosperity and hospitality).

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Jan 2013 – the council’s new pedestrian footbridge (to be called the Bedser Bridge after local Horsell cricketing hero twins Eric and Sir Alec Bedser) is lowered into place over the canal.

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Apr 2013 – windows are installed in the building.
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May 2013 – Grand Designs presenter (and WWF-UK ambassador) Kevin McCloud is impressed by a visit to the Living Planet Centre site.
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June 2013 – wind cowls are installed on the roof.

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Summer 2013 – internal walls are erected, external landscaping developed and the WWF Experience zones are finalised.
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Oct 2013 – all WWF-UK operations and people relocate from Panda House to the Living Planet Centre.
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1 Nov 2013 – the Living Planet Centre is officially opened in a ceremony led by Sir David Attenborough.

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mid Nov 2013 – first school groups visit the Learning Zone for a Green Ambassadors summit.
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Dec 2013 – we welcome the first external corporate users for an event in the auditorium.
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Jan 2014 – we open the Living Planet Centre doors to the public for visits and tours.
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Mar 2014 – the Living Planet Centre achieves BREEAM Outstanding status and is confirmed as an FSC-certified project.

As well as achieving the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ accreditation, the Living Planet Centre has been awarded the following official accolades:

• ICE London Civil Engineering Awards (May 2014): highly commended in ‘Designed in London’ category.

• LABC (Local Authority Building Control) South East Regional Awards (June 2014): winner ‘Best Public Service Building’ – Woking Borough Council Building Control department nominated Willmott Dixon site team and the WWF project.

• Concrete Society Awards (October 2014): winner ‘Best Overall Project’.

• IStructE Award (Institution of Structural Engineers, November 2014): winner in ‘Education or Healthcare Structure’ category – for excellence in the structural design of buildings and structures that either facilitate learning (such as schools, colleges and visitor centres) or support healthcare (such as hospitals, care homes and clinics).

• IStructE Award (Institution of Structural Engineers, November 2014): highly commended in ‘Sustainability’ category – presented to projects where outstanding commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment is integral to the structural design.

• Wood Awards (November 2014): highly commended in the ‘Commercial and Public Access’ category.

• Lux Awards (November 2014): winner ‘Office and Workplace Lighting Project of the Year’. Judges said: “The commitment to sustainability behind this lighting project should serve as a model for others”.

• BREEAM Awards (March 2015): runner-up in ‘Mixed Use and Other’ category.

• Civic Trust Awards (March 2015): winner – given to projects that make an outstanding contribution to the quality and appearance of the environment, and a positive social, cultural, environmental or economic benefit to the local community.

• Sustainable City Awards (March 2015): highly commended in ‘Health & Wellbeing’ category.

• RIBA Awards (April 2015): winner of South East Regional award and Sustainability award from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

• British Council for Offices (BCO) London and South East Awards (April 2015): 'Corporate Workplace' and ‘Innovation' winner.

• RIBA Awards (June 2015): National Award by the Royal Institute of British Architects in recognition of architectural excellence.

• British Council of Offices (BCO) National Awards (October 2015): Innovation Award.

• CIBSE Building Performance Awards (February 2016): winner of Lighting for Building Performance – awarded to the Living Planet Centre and Atelier Ten for high quality, innovative, energy-efficient lighting design.

We sincerely want to thank everyone who has helped make WWF-UK's Living Planet Centre such a wonderful building, visitor attraction and workplace. It’s almost impossible to namecheck absolutely everybody who’s been involved, from the earliest inspiration right up to its day-to-day operations. But here are a few we can’t forget…

DONORS
A huge thank-you to everyone who donated to the project, with cash or in kind (materials, equipment, services). Building the Living Planet Centre wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of:

Principal Donor
The Rufford Foundation

Platinum Patrons
The late Sir Adrian and Lady Holman
Cisco
The Johansson family
Kinnarps
The Ingram Trust
The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust
The late David Sutton Smith

Gold Patrons
Ed Smith
Shears Foundation
Stelios Philanthropic Foundation

Silver Patrons
Garfield Weston Foundation
Interface
Dimension Data

Bronze Patrons
Michiel Bakker
Roger Hooper
Carol Kemm
The Kirby Laing Foundation
The Martin Laing Foundation
Valentin von Massow

DESIGN, PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION
Particular thanks must go to Hopkins Architects, Atelier Ten and Willmott Dixon, but we’re grateful to all those who’ve contributed to the development and operation of the Living Planet Centre. Including:

AECOM – ecological surveying/reporting
Alistair Finn – project management
AMA Alexi Marmot Associates – workplace consultants/space planners
Atelier Ten – environmental design consultant (Patrick Bellew, Jonathan Gittins, Rudi Duncan-Bosu)
Cole Jarman – acoustic consultants
Doherty Baines – project management
Expedition Engineering – structural and civil engineers (John Gerrard)
Farrer – legal advice
Gardiner & Theobald – quantity surveyor and cost consultant (Alastair Wolstenholme)
Grant Associates – landscape architects (Andrew Grant, Danny Nagle)
HCD – construction, design and management co-ordinator
Hopkins Architects – architects (Mike Taylor, Pam Bate, Steven Clarke Paul Hunt, Adam Swain-Fossey, Ed Farndale)
Jason Bruges Studio – WWF Experience designers (Jason Bruges, Richard Roberts, Sam Hoey)
JEB Project Management Services – project management and client representation (John Burton)
King Sturge – property and planning consultant
Sturgis Carbon Profiling – specialist carbon emissions assessors (Simon Sturgis)
Willmott Dixon – main building contractor (John Waterman, Roger Forsdyke, Richard Bartlett, Barry Williams, Ian Edwards, Lee Butler).

MATERIALS AND SERVICES SUPPLIERS
Special thanks to Cisco, Dimension Data, Kinnarps and Interface, and to all our suppliers and installers:

Aether – balustrade lighting
Aquality – greywater recycling/rainwater harvesting
Armitage Shanks – toilets, sinks
Artemide – task lamps
Arup – fire engineer
Baileys Fabrication – architectural steel work
Boon Edam – revolving door
Bouygues – facilities management (maintenance, security etc)
British Gypsum – drylining suppliers
Cemex – concrete
Cisco – IT infrastructure
Constructional Timber – diagrid roof and joinery
DES – electrical installers
Dimension Data – IT consultants
DM & C Ash – dry lining installers
DuPont – Energain thermal mass panels
EvoEnergy – solar panel fitters
Fischer Contracts – carpeting installers
Fläkt Woods – wind cowls (with ASGB)
Formwise – toilet cubicles
Forster – fire-resistant walls
Groenholland UK – ground source heat pumps
Gunnebo – internal security gates
Hanson – concrete suppliers
iGuzzini – external lighting
Interface – carpeting suppliers
JPJ Installations – glazed systems for roof and walls
Kawneer – curtain walling, glass doors and windows
Kingspan – insulation
Kinnarps – furniture suppliers (Marc Bird, Brian Quin)
Knauf – insulation
Kvadrat – acoustic fabrics
Levolux – sunshades and blackout blinds
Marquee AV – audio-visual systems
Marshalls Kerbs – car park kerbs
Matwell – entrance carpet
Mayer Brown – traffic engineer/transport consultants
Mayr Meinhof Kaufmann – timber supplier
Mero-Schmidlin – insulation/raised access floor installers
NH Etheridge – joinery
Nora – rubber flooring
Phi Lighting – lights and light fittings
Pilkington – glass for windows and roof
Planet Partitions – glass partitions
RigiSystems – aluminium/zinc roof
Roseville – decorating services
Southern Industrial Roofing – roof installers
Strata – terrazzo flooring
Sunpower – solar PV panel makers
Timbmet – glulam supplier
Toureen Mangan – groundworks
Vicaima – doors
Vision Ventilation – earth ducts and wind cowls
Whelan & Grant – concrete frame subcontractor

Thanks also to Woking Borough Council and to The Lightbox. And to everyone involved in the project in any way, for their support in making WWF-UK’s Living Planet Centre such a success, and a building we’re all very proud of.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Our thanks to all the photographers and videomakers whose images of the Living Planet Centre appear in these pages and elsewhere – including:

Richard Stonehouse
Morley von Sternberg
Ash Knotek
Tristan Fewings
Grahame Larter
Gary Britton
James McCauley
Tim Whitby
Sam Hoey
Jenni Pystyne
Janie Airey
Alan Williams
Nick Hamer
Tinderflint
Greg Armfield
Kate Foreshew
Oana Mondoc
David Southern
Allison Jackson
Bianca Tuckwell
Paul Scott (Front Elevation)
Paul Vincent (Atelier Ten)
Emily Tan
André Masters

Find out more about WWF-UK and our work.