Jaguar Land Rover Engineering FacilityGlobal Guidelines Ambassador & Concept Design for Laboratories and Engineering Facility
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Category
Interior Design, Architecture, Global Guidelines
Location
Portland, USA
Type
Workplace, Engineering, Workplace Strategy
Crux was appointed to support the design of a new engineering hub for Jaguar Land Rover in Portland, bringing together workplace environments, specialist technical space, and supporting functions within a single facility. The ambition was to deliver an ultramodern environment that reflected JLR’s global standards while responding to the culture, scale, and working practices of a North American engineering team.
Initially appointed as a Global Guidelines Ambassador, Crux’s role expanded as the project progressed, with responsibility extending into concept design and client-side coordination to ensure clarity, consistency, and confidence through first stages of delivery.
Rather than over specifying detail, Crux concentrated on establishing a strong spatial framework, furniture strategy, and material language that could be clearly communicated and confidently executed by a locally appointed team. Visual communication played a significant role, with layouts, renders, and immersive imagery used to align global stakeholders and secure sign off.
As the project evolved, Crux’s involvement deepened to protect design intent and resolve questions around interpretation, roles, and responsibilities.
A key learning from this project was the importance of clear role definition in global delivery models. As Crux transitioned from guidelines oversight into concept design leadership, responsibilities were reset to ensure all parties understood approvals, ownership, and decision-making routes.
“We didn’t just protect the guidelines, we elevated them.”
— Heather Saunders, Founder | Principle
Key Features
Appointment to support an ultramodern engineering hub in North America
Design leadership led from the United Kingdom with local delivery in the United States
Clear translation of global standards into a North American project
Strong visual and spatial alignment carried through to construction
Role evolution driven by trust and project need rather than contractual expansion
Demonstrates a robust global to local delivery model
Crux stepped back following concept development, with a well briefed local team taking the project forward under tight programme constraints. The clarity of the concept package allowed the design to be delivered with a high degree of fidelity, resulting in one of the most visually aligned outcomes in Crux’s portfolio.
The completed engineering hub is a refined and highly functional environment that reflects JLR’s global values while feeling grounded in its local context. The project proves that a clear, well communicated concept can travel across continents and still be delivered with precision.
It also reinforced Crux’s strength as a bridge between global vision and regional execution, ensuring design intent, brand integrity, and user experience are protected even within distributed delivery models.
“The building was clean. The design needed to be smarter, not louder.”
— Heather Saunders, Founder | Principle
This project proves Crux’s ability to lead complex international projects through clarity, trust, and design intelligence. By combining UK based design leadership with close collaboration and empowered local delivery, we help clients achieve consistency without rigidity.
The earlier Crux is involved, the greater the positive impact we can have on alignment, interpretation, and outcome. Early engagement allows ambition, standards, and delivery reality to be reconciled before risk is amplified.
At Crux, success is measured not only by what is delivered, but by how clearly design intent is carried through people, process, and place.
