The Project
Located on the Knowsley Industrial and Business Park, the 210,000 sq ft distribution/production facility was being built as a sister project to the neighbouring Venus 110 site, occupied by Amazon.
Under the terms of an overarching design and build contract, Robert Whetham Associates (RWA) was appointed directly by the main contractor, Portal Construction, to carry out the detailed design of a warehouse and office development.
Our Solution
Whilst no significant hurdles were encountered during the work, we were, nevertheless, under some pressure to ensure that the work was completed on time and within budget, as we were appointed after the construction work commenced. With the development designed to a BREEAM “Excellent” rating, we had to use our experience on numerous projects to integrate renewable technologies and sustainability wherever they were cost effective to do so into our design.
Solution Benefits
The client received an energy-efficient building that met all the latest Part L Building Regulations relating to fuel and power conservation and benefitted from low energy/green technology. The photovoltaics (PV) provided “free” electricity from the sun which was offset against the electricity consumption of the building and provided a reduction in CO2.
The project was finished on time, within budget and to the highest quality.
With strong demand for this sort of facility in the region, Knowsley Council was expecting to see the creation of some 230 new jobs as a result and a significant return on its investment.