£337 million (build cost)[3] £1.2 billion (overall PFI contract)
Owner
Integrated Accommodation Services / HM Government
Height
21 metres (70 feet)[3]
Dimensions
Diameter
200 metres (660 feet)
Technical details
Material
Steel, concrete, glass, and Cotswold stone[3]
Floor count
Four
Grounds
71 hectares (176 acres)[3]
Design and construction
Architect(s)
Chris Johnson[3]
Architecture firm
Gensler[3]
Structural engineer
TPS Consult
Services engineer
Crown House Engineering
Civil engineer
Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick
Main contractor
Carillion
Known for
Headquarters of the UK Government Communications[1]
Other information
Parking
Secure on-site
Website
www.GCHQ.gov.uk
References
[4]
Original scale model of the Doughnut, the proposed new headquarters building for GCHQ.
The Doughnut is the nickname given (due to its resemblance to a doughnut) to the headquarters of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ),[1][3] a British cryptography and intelligence agency. It is located on a 71 hectares (176 acres) site in Benhall, in the suburbs of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in South West England.[5][6] The Doughnut accommodates 5,500 employees; GCHQ is the largest single employer in Gloucestershire.[5][6][7] Built to modernise and consolidate GCHQ's multiple buildings in Cheltenham, the Doughnut was completed in 2003, with GCHQ staff moving in the same year,[1] and fully moved into the building in 2004.[8] It is the largest building constructed for secret intelligence operations outside the United States.[9]
The Doughnut was too small for the number of staff at its completion, and a second building in a secret and undisclosed location in the 'Gloucestershire area' now also accommodates staff from GCHQ. The Doughnut is surrounded by car and bicycle parking in concentric rings,[3] and is well protected by security fencing, guards, and CCTV systems.
The construction of the building was financed by a private finance initiative, and construction costs were greatly increased after difficulties in transferring computer infrastructure to the building. The building is modern in design, and built primarily from steel, aluminium, and stone.[3] GCHQ management aspired for the building to be as well known internationally as the Pentagon.[10]
^Cite error: The named reference GENov3013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcdefghiJones, Bryony (22 June 2003). "Fresh 'doughnut' for GCHQ office". News.BBC.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
^"Intelligent response". www.ArchitectsJournal.co.uk. The Architects’ Journal. 28 August 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
^ abNorton-Taylor, Richard (10 June 2003). "The Doughnut, the less secretive weapon in the fight against international terrorism". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
^ abWhitworth, Tom (11 August 2011). "Inside the UK's top secret GCHQ base in Cheltenham". www.BBC.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
^Moore, Charles (11 October 2014). "GCHQ: 'This is not Blitz Britain. We sure as hell can't lick terrorism on our own'". www.Telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
^"Working environment". www.GCHQ.gov.uk. GCHQ. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
^Aldrich 2011, p. 9
^"Plans for new GCHQ go on view to public". www.Telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph.
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