In May 1978 BMW began negotiations with Wiltshiers for the design and construction of their new UK headquarters and parts distribution centre. It was decided that Bracknell New Town fulfilled the requirements for the new BMW headquarters, made even more attractive by Wiltshier’s property development experience in the area.
To meet BMW’s brief for a high quality building reflective of their corporate identity to be built within a short timeframe, Wiltshiers invited Farrell Grimshaw Partnership to re-unite the design team responsible for the earlier Herman-Miller factor building project at Bath. Full occupation of the building by December 1979 was essential to allow full operation from 1st January 1980.

In view of the time-scale, and to minimise any delays arising in industries fringing the construction area, it was decided to adopt a structural solution based on a dry envelope, with a high element of offsite fabrication. Steel was therefore chosen for the structural frame and the cladding support framework. An economic design was arrived at for all the buildings using one basic column size and two beam sizes for the warehouse and link block, and one beam and one column for the office block. A single cladding system using white pre-finished, maintenance-free, and interchangeable Alucobond panels was used for the whole development.

In the final design the offices overlooked two landscaped courtyards, bordered by a mixed used area which included the restaurant, showroom, car workshops and computer room.