On the day it acquired the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars brand, BMW Group said it intended to build a plant in England. From a shortlist of possible sites, Goodwood in West Sussex in the south east of England emerged as the natural choice.

Tucked away in the heart of the South Downs National Park in an area of outstanding natural beauty, Goodwood is a quintessentially English setting. Perfectly in tune with our brand values and customer expectations. Despite it being an entirely new location for Rolls-Royce manufacturing, Goodwood has a strong historical connection to the brand. Sir Henry Royce, one of the company’s founders, lived less than 10 miles away in the charming village of West Wittering from 1917 until his death in 1933.

Starting with a blank sheet of paper, the project was approached in light of one of Sir Henry Royce’s famous quotes: “Strive for perfection in everything you do.” Not only did the facility have to be an extension of the brand, we also wanted to have minimal impact on the environment. So we brought in renowned British architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, whose portfolio includes the Eden Project in Cornwall, the International Terminal at London’s Waterloo Station and the National Space Centre in Leicester.

Built over four and a half years, the award-winning manufacturing facility opened its doors on 1 January 2003. Designed on a 20 x 20 metre grid with steel columns supporting roof lights, the main building is set two metres below the surrounding ground level, to blend into the landscape.

The floor-to-ceiling windows run the length of the Assembly Hall, providing essential natural light for our craftspeople and – for visitors who come to Goodwood – a front-row view of the entire production line. We like to call it ‘the glass mile’.

But, much like the design of a Rolls-Royce motor car, there’s more to our Goodwood home than first meets the eye. The eight-acre curved living roof – the largest in the UK – is home to hardy sedum plants. The green coverage improves the building’s insulation and reduces rainwater runoff, while also acting as an effective camouflage.

After being fully operational for nine years, we extended the Assembly Hall in 2012. By adding an extra 2,500 square metres, we were able to add new space to the Surface Finishing Centre and also to our Bespoke service, which has more than doubled in size since 2003.

As well as blending into its rural surroundings, Goodwood is designed to have the smallest possible impact on the environment. The exterior is clad with a mix of limestone and cedar wood, both from sustainable sources. And the timber louvre panels, activated by a weather station on the roof, control how much light enters the building and reduce our demand for electricity.

The large central lake attracts numerous wild birds, and also guards against flooding by storing excess water. Across the 42-acre site, we’ve established over 400,000 plants and trees of more than 120 species. We also compost all our green waste.