DSA Driving Test Centre, Commercial Property Architecture Portfolio

Ipswich

Ransomes Europark

A small building on a very large plot; at first sight this project may seem to consist almost entirely of a concrete apron. In fact the facility for the Driving Standards Agency provides manoeuvring areas for all vehicles from motorcycles to articulated lorries; allowing the driving skills of riders and drivers to be tested without venturing onto the roads.

The design was the prototype for a facility which is to be applied to Test Centres throughout the country as part of a strategy to support a new more rigorous motorcycle test which is being introduced in 2008. The Driving Standards Agency subjected the design to a good deal of scrutiny and revision as part of the prototype development process.