The Woodland Trust is a charity devoted to the conservation of the UK’s woodland. Its new headquarters in Grantham, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, aims to communicate the mission and values of the Trust and, in practical terms, to accommodate 200 workstations in open plan office space. As the headquarters of a charity, the building also had to demonstrate value for money and frugal use of funds.

In plan, the building is like an ascending spiral with flattened edges which rises seamlessly, enclosing a woodland garden at its centre. The highest portion is a three storey, 15 metre wide block orientated north-south which houses the open plan office space. From this a wing of service and cellular space descends along the western boundary, terminating in a single-storey bike store, the final enclosure. The woodland garden is an amenity space for staff and the arrival space for visitors, the intention being that a ‘woodland experience’ should mark the entrance to the headquarters. From the garden, visitors enter a reception space and the staff breakout and refectory. All floors are connected to this space by a rooflit atrium and the main staircase. The tapered wing contains meeting rooms, a training room and service facilities serving the Trust’s operational needs.