Manchester Airport
Location
Manchester
Value
£180 million
Units Totalling
1 Million sqft
MSCP
300 Spaces
Developer
Stoford Developments
End Users
Amazon & THG
BREEAM
Very Good
Airport City Manchester was an £800 million expansion of Manchester Airport which commenced construction in 2012. The plan followed an airport city model with the aim of stimulating the Greater Manchester economy by creating on-site logistics, manufacturing, office and leisure facilities.
There were two main zones Airport City North and Global Logistics of which this proposal forms part of. Global Logistics had established itself as a prime North West logistics site following the arrival of significant international logistics operators, which had benefited from its current infrastructure, transport links and proximity to the airport.
The site was situated between the M56 and the A538 Wilmslow Road immediately to the west of the World Freight Terminal. Stoford Developments procured the Amazon project in 2015 and following that successful relationship with MAG in July 2017, Stoford Developments with TPG Real Estate completed a deal to acquire the remaining 45 acres of prime development land at Global Logistics. This proposal forms part of that joint venture.
Amazon Unit
Originally designed by Webb Gray as a speculative unit, this project was later then developed to swuit the needs of Amazon and to push the site into a centre for industrial / commercial opportunities. The development brief was to adapt the building to include:
- An Extension to the office to support the greater employee count of Amazon
- An inclusion of a hub office that encroached into the yard to better control the collections and deliveries.
- A multi-storey car park had been built over the top of the exiting car park
A sense of belonging was provided through the use of materials that linked back to the existing unit, creating a unified design motif between the new developments and the existing building. The use of exposed steel framing and mesh on the multi-storey car park to the site frontage created a stand out presence to the site from Sunbank Lane.
THG Office, THG Studio & THG MSCP
Opposite the Amazon unit the THG campus was developed. This first consisted of the THG offices, studio and a multi-storey car park. The overarching focus of this plot was to create a strong identity that links directly back to the occupier THG. This lead to the use of copper tones as the main exterior finish colour for the studio, shaders of the office and sections of the car park. With the objective of optimizing visibility from Sunbank Lane, the layout positions the office and the studio behind the site frontage carpark so as to not obstruct the view of one building with the other. The aforementioned colour choice in combination with this layout creates a site that stands out against the rest, making it hard to miss.
The Development Created a strong sense of identity for THG. A focal point to provide additional visual interest from the Business Park and also be visible from the M56 corridor. It incorporate a contemporary architectural typology that reflects the ethos of THG brand and aspirations. While also establishing a layout strategy that respects the plot boundaries, providing flexible space to an institutional standard.
The aims was to allow all the building layouts to address modern requirements and help attract high quality employees to THG. Along with providing an exemplar building and landscape design.
THG Unit 2, THG Unit 3 and THG Unit 4
These industrial units made up the other half of the campus. The shared design philosophy of these units were influenced by contemporary styling, with an emphasis on creating a clean and modern aesthetic that is both long lasting and utilises a neutral colour palette.
The building had been designed to meet the institutional standards for a warehouse / distribution building, creating versatile accommodation that could meet the future needs of the occupier. Situated to create stand out frontages, each unit incorporated an office that had been sized to the warehouse to ensure functional demands were met.
All units were designed to BREEAM standards, taking into account energy conservation in the siting, layout, design, landscaping, materials and building orientation.
THG UNIT 2 Fit Out
Once Unit 2 shell had been completed, we were commissioned by THG to design and space plan the warehouse interior. This included a 3-storey mezzanine, racking and an Autostore. The Autostore is a modern technology which helps to store and retrieve goods, it was a landmark procurement for THG the first Autostore they had installed in one of there facilities.
