Willis Building, Ipswich

The bulbous floor plan of the office block reflects the layout of the available site in the centre of Ipswich, which is sandwiched between several road junctions and the Grade I listed Unitarian Meeting House . Thus two of the town's Grade I listed buildings stand side by side.

Image:Foster - Willis building - window support detail.jpg

The centre of the building is constructed from a grid of concrete pillars, 14 m (46 ft) apart, supporting cantilevered concrete slab floors. The curtain wall exterior is clad in panels of dark smoked glass. The use of dark glass, a curtain wall and lack of right angle corners mirrors the art deco Express Building in Manchester, cited by Norman Foster as one of his favourite buildings and a design influence.{{Cite book |last=Sudjic |first=Deyan |title=Norman Foster |year=2010 |page=11 |author-link=Deyan Sudjic}} The central escalator well leads up to a rooftop staff restaurant surrounded by a rooftop garden ([http://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/360/views/willis3.shtml 360 panorama]).

Originally, there was also a swimming pool for employees to enjoy during their lunch break. This has now been covered up (and preserved, rather than filled in, due to it being a listed building) and the space is used for more offices. The swimming pool can be seen underneath the false floor.

The Willis Building was commissioned by John Roscoe, chairman of Willis, Faber & Dumas, in the early 1970s.{{Cite web |title=Heritage Icons » WTW (Willis Building) |url=http://www.ipswichsociety.org.uk/heritage-icons/wtw-willis-building/ |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=The Ipswich Society}} The architectural firm of Norman Foster was selected after a shortlist was provided by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Foster's design, inspired by a glass-clad office building he had recently completed, featured innovative energy-conscious elements and open-plan floor spaces. The building was officially opened on June 2, 1975, by former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.{{Cite web |last=Kindred |first=David |date=August 30, 2017 |title=Days Gone By: The history of the town's iconic Willis building |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/21366071.days-gone-history-towns-iconic-willis-building/ |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=East Anglian Daily Times}}

In 1991 the Willis building became the newest building to be given Grade I listed building status in Britain. At the time it was one of only two listed buildings under 30 years of age.{{Cite web |date=September 1995 |title=Pioneering management guidelines for modern listed buildings |url=http://ihbc.org.uk/context_archive/47/williscarroon.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104011711/http://ihbc.org.uk/context_archive/47/williscarroon.htm |archive-date=2007-11-04 |publisher=Context}}

• List of tallest buildings and structures in Ipswich

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.concretecentre.com/main.asp?page=640 ConcreteCentre.com]

{{Commons category|Willis Building, Ipswich|Willis Building}}

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01rtnkh BBC Four episode of series Building Sights on the Willis Building, presented by Zaha Hadid]
• [https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/willis-faber-dumas-headquarters Project description from Foster + Partner]

{{oscoor gbx|TM161443}}

• {{NHLE |num=1237417}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|52.0556|N|1.1507|E|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

Category:Office buildings completed in 1975

Category:Grade I listed buildings in Ipswich

Category:Grade I listed office buildings

Category:Foster and Partners buildings

Category:Office buildings in Ipswich