Hopkins Architects were commissioned to design a new headquarters for a sound-recording and broadcasting equipment manufacturer, uniting manufacturing, research, development and administration on a single site near Oxford. The chosen location a landscaped country house garden provided a setting of calm and seclusion for the company’s highly technical work.

The building adopts a square, Palladian-inspired plan arranged over two storeys, centred on a top-lit atrium. The first floor projects beyond the ground level on all sides, providing continuous perimeter shading and reinforcing the building’s strong horizontal expression. Internally, a 1.8m planning grid offers maximum flexibility; manufacturing facilities were originally located at ground level, with offices above.

A robust yet elegant structural strategy underpins the design. Circular fireproofed steel columns support the concrete first-floor slab, its coffered soffit left exposed to articulate the rhythm of the grid. On the upper floor, spans are doubled and columns support a steel space deck concealed above a perforated metal ceiling.

Despite its all-glass external walls, the building is energy efficient. Natural ventilation is achieved through full-height sliding windows, supplemented by limited mechanical assistance, with no air conditioning required. The compact plan minimises heat loss, while first-floor windows open onto narrow steel balconies supported by bracketed subsidiary columns. These also carry motorised external louvres, providing dynamic solar control.