SGP celebrates completion of new industrial units in Greenford, West London

Stephen George + Partners (SGP) is celebrating the completion of two new warehouse units at SEGRO Park Fairway Drive. . The first two units of 51,636 sqft and 35,125 sqft (GIA) completed in October and November and a third unit of 30,798 sqft is due to start on site just before Christmas. The industrial units include an associated mezzanine and two storey offices, plus a separate gatehouse, parking, cycle storage, service area and landscaping.

The 2.5 hectare site, which contained a  warehouse , lies close to the A40 Western Way dual carriageway, with its links, via the M40, to the M25 and wider national motorway network.

Explains Lee Wong, Studio Director: “Our client SEGRO wanted to develop the site with units that not only met local market needs for modern warehousing and office facilities but were sustainable, both in construction and in energy efficiency. The materials were selected with regard to the embodied energy for construction, environmental impact and ongoing maintenance. All the warehouses have PV panels, which automatically send data to the local council to monitor electricity generation and use, and even the cycle rack has a green roof.”

The development is situated beside a railway line and adjacent to a residential area, necessitating a careful approach to the height and massing of the units, as well as additional measures such as acoustic fencing around part of the service yard and car park. The scale of the building has been broken down using elevational treatments, including a mixture of shades of metal cladding and different cladding profiles used horizontally and vertically. The roof is expressed as a series of shallow barrel-vaulted forms to the warehouse and ancillary offices and overhanging eaves and expressed gables provide additional interest.

Concludes Lee: “Warehousing and distribution is a booming market with demand outstripping supply in many areas. To find a brownfield site with such good transport links is rare and it was down to us to use SGP’s skills and experience in the sector to design and build a set of units that both maximised the space available on site and delivered modern, sustainable, practical warehouses that will be fit for purpose for many decades to come.”