Nissan Design Europe is home to around 60 international designers, modellers and support staff and plays a strategically important role in Nissans creative network which comprises six design studios worldwide.

The central London location in the rapidly developing area of the Paddington Basin was chosen because of its multi-cultural backdrop and the access it provides to important and influential sources in contemporary art, architecture, fashion and design movements.

The studio is housed in The Rotunda, a former British Rail maintenance depot built in the 1960s which had fallen into disrepair and been unused since the 1980s. The site was selected specifically for its spacious interior which allowed Nissan to transform the building into a tailor-made urban design space.

Nissan Design Europe at The Rotunda combines design resources previously located near Munich in Germany and Cranfield in the UK. 

The design studio features a purpose-built CAD (computer aided design) suite, a presentation room, a showroom, a number of model making machines and a chill out zone for relaxation and the sharing of ideas. Other features include a special lighting system that recreates different types of daylight to assist designers and artists in their work.

Recently, a 5.5 metres wide projector screen known as powerwall has been installed in a specially designed room. It enables decision makes to sit together in one room and view full size 3D images of their own designs.