Sheets of shimmering glass are giving a revolutionary £30million "office of the future" a futuristic look.

Building work on BT's new Workstyle building, on the site of the old St Faith's Hospital at London Road, Brentwood, is on schedule with a May completion date.

Now, the latest stage in the environment and worker friendly structure, the first of its kind in the country, is seeing 5,600 square metres of glazing being wrapped around the building.

Weighing 120 tonnes it will ensure that the whole building will be visible to passing traffic.

However, to ensure it is not too intrusive, BT will also be planting 300 semi mature trees around the 21st Century mega office so it blends in with its semi-rural surroundings.

The prestigious three storey building will eventually house between 1,200 and 1,400 staff at 1,200 work stations within 14,4000 square metres of office space.

The development spans more than an acre and a quarter and has an internal floor area more than twice the size of Wembley Stadium.

The scale of the project is such that if the 458 reinforced concrete piles, which support the building, were stacked vertically, they would be more than 50 times higher than the BT Tower.

BT Property's Senior Portfolio Services manager, Peter Cook, said: "The building work is going very well. The progress we are making is very exciting and we are eagerly anticipating making full use of the improved services which this building provides for our staff and for our business as a whole.

"The building has been specifically designed for BT along with the Building Research Establishment to ensure an efficient and environmentally advanced building capable to being both naturally ventilated and air conditioned in the summer."

As a contribution to the community BT is making 40 acres of land available to Brentwood Council for public open space and a cemetery extension.

They have also paid £300,000 to improve the M25 and A12 junction at Brook Street, Brentwood, where work has just started, as well as paying a further £1.2million to the Highways Authority for other works.

The site will be linked to Brentwood and Shenfield rail stations by a regular shuttle bus service. A cycle lane, to run along part of London Road, and a cycle track to run from London Road to Weald Road, are also planned.

Hats off: BT site manager Peter Cook is happy building work on the shimmering £30million office block is on schedule for a May completion date.

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