18 | Tees Business
Wilton Centre celebrates 40 years
of innovation and excellence
It is 40 years since the Wilton Centre was officially opened in 1975 and the Centre
is reflecting on what has changed, and what has not, during that time.
O
riginally commissioned by ICI’s
Petrochemicals Division as a
headquarters and office and
research complex for 1,200 staff,
the new building was much
heralded from the outset, something which
has not changed significantly since.
Award-winning design by
acclaimed architects
The brief for the architects required a
“sound functional design...with a standard
of prestige fitting the size of the organisation
and its place in the petrochemicals industry”.
Minutes from a meeting in 1969 to discuss
the appointment, the architects may have
expressed “slight reservation in respect
to their apparent obsession about the use
of open plan offices” and that they “might
spend too long looking for perfection” but
the result was an award-winning building.
Designed by the now internationally
acclaimed architecture firm, BDP (Building
Design Partnership), the Wilton Centre was
recognised as being a “building excellent of
its type, making full use of a fine site” by the
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in
its Architecture Awards in 1976, which were
chaired by Sir Hugh Casson.
High quality building
Wilton Centre’s site director, Steve
Duffield, said that the original investment
in producing a flagship building, and the
attention to detail that went into the project
is still paying dividends 40 years on.
“It was described as a ‘courtly giant’ in
an article in the Architect’s Journal in 1977,
which is a reflection of the importance of the
project and the quality of the building that
was produced,” he said.
“The focus on quality and investment has
been retained to this day. The Centre was
innovative when it was built, both in terms of
its design as well as the work and research
that took place here, and that hasn’t changed
40 years on either.”
From one company to over 60
A significant change that has occurred
is that, whereas in 1975 everyone worked
for one company, in 2015 there are over 60
tenant companies in occupation.
The Architect’s Journal noted that in
1977, “it still retains, British fashion, an
elaborate hierarchy of spaces mirroring the
Wilton Centre as it looks today.
The Centre’s reception as it looked in 1975
...as it looks in 2015.
Wilton Centre’s Lakeside Restaurant in 2015.
organisational hierarchy which ensures that
there is forever a great gulf between the
‘them’ in the board room and the ‘us’ at the
drawing board or desk”.
Ongoing investment in facilities
Today the board rooms and former
directors’ dining rooms are no more. In
their place are the Lakeside Gym and the
contemporary design of the Lakeside
Conference rooms.
Steve added: “It is rather poignant that we
Find out more at www.wiltoncentre.com
have just replaced the lift in the restaurant
block, which was the one originally installed
when the Centre was built.
“Working practices have also changed
dramatically over the past 40 years and the
Centre has developed to reflect this. People
who worked here in 1975 would hardly
recognise some areas of the building today.
To mark the anniversary, the Centre has
embarked on a number of initiatives including
an exhibition for tenants of images illustrating
‘then’ and ‘now’.