Export House in Woking, Surrey, is a tall office building formerly also known as the BAT Building during its tenancy by British American Tobacco. It was the tallest in Woking and among the five tallest buildings in Surrey until the construction of Victoria Square in September 2019. Its height is spread over its 18 floors (15 above ground).

History

Export House was the significantly tallest aspect of the Surrey town regeneration after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, which centred on the expansion and improvement of

satellite town Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have m ...

s, in this county being Guildford and Woking. It was built at the same time as the Wolsey Place

Shopping Centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

, which is a

contiguous Contiguity or contiguous may refer to: *Contiguous data storage, in computer science *Contiguity (probability theory) *Contiguity (psychology) *Contiguous distribution of species, in biogeography *Geographic contiguity of territorial land *Contigu ...

building. Export House was the tallest building in the

borough of Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

. Construction of Export House finished in 1974. It became tenant-ready in 1976 when it was part-let to the first lessee, BAT who then expanded across the remaining floors. Woking Skyline

Tenants and lessees

In 1976, British American Tobacco moved in as the first tenant, making it their headquarters. Export House had already been completed two years previously in 1974. In 1997 BAT chose to relocate to a new building in London. Accordingly it was for some time also known as the BAT Building. It is the tallest building in Woking and among the five tallest buildings in the county. Its height is and has 18 storeys (15 floors above ground).

Telewest Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also onc ...

moved into Export House during summer 2001 after a £15 million refurbishment. Telewest had rented the top six floors for about a year before they moved permanently to Export House. Their previous base was in

Sheerwater __NOTOC__ Sheerwater is a residential neighbourhood or small suburb of Woking, in the Woking district in Surrey, England, occasionally described as a village, between West Byfleet and Horsell. Its border is defined to the north by a gently win ...

also by the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

in the borough. Telewest vacated in 2006 after a merger and consolidation with

NTL NTL may refer to: Companies * NTL Incorporated and NTL Internet, later Virgin Media, communications media company ** NTL Ireland, later Virgin Media Ireland * Arqiva, UK company formerly ''NTL Broadcast'' and ''National Transcommunications L ...

. From a deal of 2008 Mustang Engineering began to occupy for a few years and in the 2010s were succeeded by Mouchel Group who moved from West Hall in nearby West Byfleet.

Future

The block has set a precedent for iconic, complimentary buildings being open to consideration under the existing Woking Borough Local Plan, adopted in 1999. Plans for a new shopping centre, named Victoria Square, located next to Export House, were unveiled in 2012 with planning permission approved in 2014. Victoria Square includes three new towers, two residential and one a hotel, at 34, 32 and 23 stories tall respectively. All three new towers would be taller than Export House, becoming the new tallest buildings in Surrey. Construction began in 2016, and is scheduled for completion by 2021. Guildford Road, Woking - geograph

Architecture

Export House is of modular design, chamfered on the narrow west

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

/parapet and lightly storey-grooved. It avoided the tri-dimensional symmetry of some of its shorter-lived contemporaries. Export House has no explicit or implicit reference to compulsory or encouraged complete demolition in the mid-term local plan. From 2000 to 2007 the structure bore an air pollution-stained upper exterior so appeared more brutalist than old and new buildings of the town centre. The 1950s to 1980s saw commercial office mid-cost construction sceptical of fancy

classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...

while remaining polite, incorporating subtle asymmetry such as with stylised ends, roofs or windows in a maximal façade: as in London's

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

and the Royal Festival Hall. In Surrey, comparable buildings are the Chubb Tower and within 500m of border of

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

, Surrey, the

Tolworth Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, ...

Tower in Greater London. Export House has a staircase and four lifts adjacent to the main entrance in the western facade. The building has radio and telecom masts appropriate for its height and deep parapet roof.

Location

The building is part-above Wolsey Place Shopping Centre, its entrance being next to one of the latter's main entrance. Beneath the shopping centre is a private, gated car park underneath; opposite is a

multi-storey car park A multistorey car park ( British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a bui ...

. Occupying part of a commercial block of the entirely commercial-leisure town centre it is classed as on Cawsey Way. Export House, New Central and Centrium in central Woking's skyline are clearly visible from the

Hog's Back The Hog's Back is a hilly ridge, part of the North Downs in Surrey, England. It runs between Farnham in the west and Guildford in the east. Name Compared with the main part of the Downs to the east of it, it is a narrow elongated ridge, hen ...

, the narrow western ridge of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...

south, the closest point of these downs is the west bank of the Wey, Guildford and Pewley Down which commands the east bank, including

Guildford Castle Guildford Castle is in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is thought to have been built by William the Conqueror, or one of his barons, shortly after the 1066 invasion of England. History From the eleventh to the thirteenth century Construction an ...

Public access

The building has occasionally been open to the public on tours for

Heritage Open Days Heritage Open Days (also known as HODs) is an annual celebration of England's architecture and culture that allows visitors free access to historical landmarks that are either not usually open to the public, would normally charge an entrance fee, ...

.Building tours info
/ref> Tours last for approximately 30 minutes.

Gallery

The first two pictures were taken during December 2011. A large Christmas tree configuration of lights formed part of Woking's

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

celebrations. File:Export House Xmas Tree1.jpg, Woking Export House Christmas tree with star from market File:Export House Xmas Tree2.jpg, Woking Export House Christmas tree from train station

References

{{coord, 51, 19, 20.76, N, 0, 34, 14.17, W, region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Surrey Woking British American Tobacco