Why Aston Martin’s new F1 base is a significant step

OPINION: The Aston Martin Formula 1 team has laid the foundation stone on a new campus, which the team believes is an important step on its way to becoming a regular leader. In an exclusive column, team owner Lawrence Stroll explains why the team’s new base will be much more than a series of buildings

I’m old enough to remember Kevin Costner’s 1989 film Field of Dreams, in which Costner plays an Iowa farmer building a baseball field in his cornfield that draws the ghosts of legendary baseball players from the past.

It’s a weird but funny movie – most notably, however, it introduced the phrase “if you build it, they will come” into our cultural lexicon. It’s the idea that you – somehow, somewhere – can draw the right people into your world by creating something vital and inspiring.

With this concept, I decided to design Aston Martin Cognizant’s new Formula 1 factory.

We already have a fantastic team of people working together in a small but highly functional factory environment – but we want to improve this place of work. Too often it feels like we are wasting energy adjusting to the environment and I want us to fix that without, however, losing the unique corps spirit that unites us.

And that doesn’t start with an architectural design for a building. It starts with discussion groups; it starts with understanding what our people want; what makes their work worthwhile at the moment; and what they might need to make them better.

We literally went through every department in the factory digging deep to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what it takes to build the ultimate F1 team.

Aston Martin campus

Photo by: Aston Martin Racing

Much was obvious: larger and better facilities, proximity to adjacent departments, more meeting and communication rooms, sufficient parking spaces. But we have learned a lot more: people dedicate their lives to Formula 1 and need facilities that help them to live happily and healthily in the workplace.

It was only when we were armed with this vital information that we began talking to architectural firms about bringing these different variables to life; about creating a factory and a house to house our people and their creativity.

The result, I hope you will agree, is spectacular. Not only have we provided people with the most advanced equipment and resources they need to work properly, but we’ve also expanded our ideas to create the ultimate work environment.

The campus will host our brand new wind tunnel – the first time the team has had a world class aerodynamic facility on site – which will greatly increase our capacity to develop and refine our aerodynamics. It will be a big and meaningful step forward for our technical team

In the past 18 months we have learned a lot about how people live and work. They take their work home with them, they bring their personal life to work, so we wanted to reflect the changing balance of life and work; Ultimately, looking at the way we will work in 10 or 20 years.

We have rethought the whole idea of ​​a factory. We have created a collaborative, social workspace – one where departments can meet and exchange; where ideas can cross-fertilize each other; and where free thinking is encouraged. We will continue to laminate front wings – like everyone else – but in a room that feels fresh, new and positive.

Elsewhere, we’ve included a restaurant and coffee shop that serve fantastic, healthy meals – with input from nutritionists and dietitians – to help fuel our ideas. We design outdoor relaxation rooms, including a hiking trail and a running track, as well as a fitness center with state-of-the-art fitness equipment, dedicated fitness trainers and opportunities for all of our employees to exercise. I firmly believe that providing everyone with mental and physical health is not an optional extra, but a necessity that brings a sense of general wellbeing and peace of mind to the entire workforce.

Lawrence Stroll, Owner, Aston Martin F1, Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal and CEO, Aston Martin F1 and Anthony Bamford, Chairman of JCB

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Our offices are openly designed – with rooms that can adapt to our growth: In addition to desk space, we also offer creative areas for meetings, small rooms for individual zoom / team calls and small hubs where a handful of people can meet to work collaboratively . We will build filming and photo studios so that our communication and marketing teams have the space to create professional work for our fans and partners. In my opinion, this flexibility is the key to keeping us agile and adaptable in the years to come.

In an additional building, we will also create an exhibition and innovation room – an area separate from the factory, in which we can hold meetings and events for our partners, guests and employees – all based on the same philosophy of a flexible work space for everyone.

Finally, the campus will host our brand new wind tunnel – the first time the team has had a world-class aerodynamic facility on site – which will greatly increase our capacity to develop and refine our aerodynamics. This will be a big and significant step forward for our technical team.

We live in the data age and our new headquarters will benefit from extensive “Smart Factory” connectivity. Cloud data will drive our supply chains, drive our processing and production processes autonomously, and regulate and optimize our entire work environment. We owe that to our title partner, Cognizant, who works hand in hand with our developers to ensure we have the most advanced digital infrastructure in the world.

Despite all of our efforts to digitally and physically transform Aston Martin Cognizant, one message is always clear: A building is only as great as the people in it. In this way, we create a great home for our great people and we are actively looking for more.

If you like what you hear and are determined to win in every area you do, talk to us. We think ahead, just like you are, and we can do it together.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR21

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images