A sweeping timber diagrid roof bringing automotive innovators together

A landmark diagrid timber roof crowns the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) in Coventry, bringing together academic and industrial partners under a single, unified structure.

One of the largest timber roofs of its kind globally, it reflects both the collaborative nature of the facility - uniting WMG at the University of Warwick, Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors European Technical Centre - and the low-carbon ambitions driving the research within. Engineered as a highly efficient hybrid timber system, the roof combines glulam members with CLT panels to form a long-spanning diagrid lattice, with its triangulated geometry optimised to balance structural performance, material efficiency and buildability.

As Europe’s largest automotive research centre, NAIC supports around 1,000 researchers, engineers and students working across design, engineering and innovation. The 33,000 sq m building is organised around a highly secure core of laboratories and technical halls, ensuring confidentiality and specialist environmental control.

The building’s roof plays a central architectural and structural role. Its structural logic enables generous column-free spaces below, providing flexibility for research activities, while the use of natural materials introduces warmth and human scale to an otherwise highly technical environment.

The oversailing timber diagrid roof, engineered by Engenuiti in collaboration with Arup, the project’s overall structural engineers, defines the building’s external identity. Structural loads are resolved through a 15-metre beam grid, allowing long spans, efficient load transfer and the integration of complex building services without compromising spatial clarity.

Photography (c) hufton+crow

Awards

Royal Institute of British Architects Awards - 2021 National Award

Royal Institute of British Architects Awards - 2020 Regional Award

Civic Trust Architecture Awards - 2021 Regional Finalist

Institution of Structural Engineers Awards - 2020 Shortlisted

British Council of Offices Awards - 2021 Innovation Award

British Council of Offices Awards - 2020 Regional Winner

Building Awards - 2020 Winner Project of the Year

Wood Awards - 2020 Structural Award

American Institute of Architects UK Awards - Large Project Winner