RAC Regional Control Centre

The RAC Regional Control Centre was developed during the early 1990s as part of the expansion of Almondsbury Business Park in South Gloucestershire. In 2013, the centre attracted media attention when changes to pay structure of employees in the call centre prompted criticism from staff. Under the ownership of the Carlyle Group, performance-based contracts were introduced, reportedly reducing some base salaries by up to 28 per cent.

The building occupies a site immediately south of the Almondsbury Interchange and was conceived to serve both functional and symbolic roles for the RAC. It comprises three floors of office accommodation arranged around a full-height central atrium, encircled by glazed meeting rooms. The internal layout, based on a concentric triangular plan, was designed to promote interdepartmental communication. The building was intended not only as a technologically advanced and energy-efficient workplace but also as a highly visible landmark for motorway users. The structure reaches a height of approximately 60 metres, including two blue steel masts that suspend a glazed meeting room known as the…