Hopkins to design exemplar green offices for WWF

Hopkins Architects has been appointed by conservation body WWF to design its new UK headquarters.

The organisation hopes to use the building to improve its own ecological footprint and create an exemplar of sustainable office design.

David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, said that the new headquarters offered the “best opportunity to reduce our footprint, and improve the way that we as an organisation interact with our environment”.

He added: “With the right design and construction, we can also achieve financial savings.”

A site for the new headquarters has yet to be chosen. WWF is reviewing several locations in Surrey, with sustainability criteria said to be vital in the selection process.

The building will be designed to achieve a BREEAM sustainability rating of “outstanding”, the category recently brought in above the old top rating of “excellent”.

“We hope that through collaboration with Hopkins we can provide a practical example of how best to meet the needs of a modern workplace with the least impact on the planet,” said Nussbaum.

Hopkins Architects was shortlisted by Building as 2008's Sustainable Architect of the Year, and was the first to design a BREEAM “excellent” rated building in the UK, in 1996.

Practice director Bill Taylor said the firm was honoured to have been asked, describing the commission as an “awesome responsibility”.

He said: “WWF has set us a marvellous challenge: to design for them a building that exemplifies their commitment to the human and natural environment, and provide an uplifting workplace for their teams.”

WWF is expected to select a site in the new year, when the budget will be decided.