An Open Secret

The new home for the GCHQ, popularly referred to as The Doughnut, is a spectacular new state-of-the-art landmark facility. Its purpose, whilst not a subject for open discussion, is well known and now publicly acknowledged – indeed today’s approach to its activities now even extends to a user-friendly internet website.

The £447 million, one million square foot building is a key element in ensuring that GCHQ continues to meet the technological challenges of its vitally important strategic role.

The new GCHQ brings together around 4500 staff previously occupying some 50 buildings on two sites, into a new, purpose-designed facility with all the latest technologies for both its operations and staff comforts, which also include landscaped courtyard gardens.

The building uses over 600 miles of electrical cable, 5,500 miles of telephone cable, 1,850 miles of fibre optics, 1,300 square metres of glass and over a quarter million tonnes of concrete.

Concrete beams, columns and ceilings, totalling around 44,000 square metres, have been painted with Keim mineral paints to provide a truly longlife finish. Keim Ecosil was specified for ceilings and spine beams as an economical high quality breathable finish with a bonus of giving good light reflectance. Keim Lotexan N was used on columns to protect from marking and for ease of cleaning and Keim Concretal Lasur was used on concrete beams and columns to harmonise the colour of the concrete whilst retaining its natural look.

Frank O’Shea of Gensler Architecture Design explains “The roof was designed with a 25 year life and we needed a finish which would give us a similar longevity, as the potential disruption of redecorating the ceilings every five or so years was totally unacceptable. Quite simply the Keim Mineral Paint system gives us this and is an excellent solution where a longlife specification is required.”

The Keim Mineral Paint system owes its longlife to its microcrystalline structure which forms a chemical bond with the concrete. The paints are also resistant to acid and alkaline conditions, completely lightfast and are environmentally friendly being odourless, mould resistant, non-combustible, solvent and VOC free and produced using only natural inorganic materials.

By its very nature, the new GCHQ building will be closed to the outside world and will keep its secrets to itself – like Keim Mineral Paints who also keep the secrets of the precise composition of their longlife mineral paint to themselves.

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