Met Office Operations Centre
The Met Office Operations Centre is the headquarters in Devon of the Met Office.
| Met Office Operations Centre | |
|---|---|
 Entrance in June 2005 | |
  Location within Devon | |
| Former names | Met Office Exeter |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Address | Exeter, Devon, EX1 3PB |
| Coordinates | 50.726°N 3.475°W |
| Elevation | 50 m (164 ft) |
| Current tenants | 1200 staff |
| Construction started | November 2001 |
| Completed | November 2003 |
| Inaugurated | 18 December 2003 |
| Cost | £79m (2003) |
| Client | Met Office |
| Owner | Met Office |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 3.14 hectares |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Broadway Malyan |
| Structural engineer | Arup (geotechnical) |
| Main contractor | Costain |
History
The former Met Office site in South East England opened in 1962.
The project began in 1999. Norwich was also considered, but Exeter was chosen in November 2000.
Design
Broadway Malyan provided the design.
Construction
On Thursday 11 October 2001, the contract was given to the Stratus consortium, led by Costain.
Construction began on Thursday 1 November 2001, with the main contractor being Costain. Construction would take two years.
The steel support structure is Deltabeam from BRC Special Products in Warrington, with Thermodeck cooling system; there is around 2000 tonnes of steelwork. Flooring was laid by the Italian company Mapei.
A nearby sculpture is called The Daycaster.
The building contract was around £79m; the services are provided by Global Solutions over fifteen years.
Heating and electricity is provided by a CHP energy unit. Construction included a training college and sports facilities.
The site was opened on Thursday 18 December 2003.
Operation
Forecasts were made from Monday 15 September 2003; most staff moved in from August to November in 2003. 82% of staff were persuaded to move.
By March 2004, the site had a supercomputer of 30 NEC SX-6 nodes.[1]
Structure
The site has a conference and visitor centre.
See also
- Economy of Devon
- Professor Penny Endersby, chief executive of the Met Office
References
- Times Saturday 27 March 2004, page 51