Description of the Project

This project provides three self contained warehouse buildings with ancillary office space on a 1.5 hectare site.

The brief required the main bulk of each building to be a warehouse with an 8m eaves height, with offices set along the front of each building above the loading bays. The height required to span the loading bays with offices also allowed mezzanines to be inserted. Each building has been provided with two separate cores, allowing for sub-division. The budget was a very lean £40.00 per sq ft.

Given the budget, we were clearly restricted to off the shelf components and basic materials. Therefore, colour, surface form and the juxtaposition of materials were used in an imaginative way to create an impact in what is a somewhat dreary, backlands location. In this vein, each warehouse is given its own particular character and appearance, rather than having them all the same.

Materials used included glazed bricks, engineering bricks, aluminium panelling, curtain walling with matching infill insulated panels, bris soleil, steel framing and colour coated metal cladding.

The perimeter of the site is landscaped in a continuous strip all round, varying in width from 2m to 5m with a mixture of native species low trees and hedging. The car parking areas are in terracotta pavoirs, with the main surface for servicing in RC concrete.