Latest SGP designed unit completes at Infinity Park Derby

Stephen George + Partners (SGP) is celebrating the completion of its latest unit at Infinity Park Derby, the premier location for advanced manufacturing and logistics in the East Midlands, comprising a bespoke 17242 sqm production facility and warehouse, for Oregon Timber Frame Ltd, a specialist in the design, manufacture and erection of structural timber frame packages.

Located off Junction 3 of the A50, Infinity Park Derby is a high quality development set within a 100-acre attractively landscaped plot, which has become a centre for manufacturing, advanced manufacturing and logistics sectors in the region. The public-private partnership behind the wider scheme includes Derby City Council; University of Derby; the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership; Rolls-Royce; Harpur Crewe Estates and a developer consortium comprising Wilson Bowden Developments Limited and Peveril Securities.

Explains Liam Mottishaw, Principal Architect at SGP: “We worked closely with long-standing client Wilson Bowden Developments, as well as taking on board input from the end user, Oregon, to develop a bespoke facility to suit the end user’s operational and manufacturing requirements, whilst making sure the building fits seamlessly within the Infinity Park Derby development. Oregon, part of Barratt Group plc, will be relocating from their existing base in Burton on Trent to the facility, in which it has invested £45 million, creating an additional 200 jobs.”

The manufacturing process follows a prescribed linear route for incoming materials and outgoing finished products which dictated the internal layout and positioning of elements such as the fifteen level access doors. The external yard space is much larger than on similar developments in order to accommodate stock material, as well as finished wall panels and floor cassettes.

SGP’s design uses high quality materials and a simple colour palette to respond to both the park’s desire to deliver an outstanding business environment and the linear form demanded by the function of the building. Profiled built up cladding alongside carefully proportioned flat panel rain screen cladding builds on the linear emphasis to create a strong design statement for the overall plot.

A two storey 1212 sqm office and welfare facility has been positioned alongside the industrial unit to provide a visual bookend. The office element uses a flat finish to mark it out from the main structure, and the horizontal and vertical breakdown of rain screen panelling alongside window and door locations sets a rhythm and proportion to these elevations.

The landscape design is focused on maximising biodiversity where possible and ensuring that both existing and current proposals build on the site’s advantages, particularly its potential to be a strategically important area for wetland habitats. The Lawton principles of ‘bigger, better and more joined up’ were applied to maximise the impact of necessary additions into the landscape such as the attenuation lagoon. This complements the wider environment by being surrounded with open grassland and scrub habitats that meet up with an existing steam and its retained bankside vegetation.

The building has achieved a BREEAM “Very Good” and EPC “A” ratings, with a substantial amount of photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps as well as energy efficient fixtures and fittings throughout. Ten car parking spaces have electric car charging points alongside future provision to provide electric charging to all car and HGV parking spaces.