Carbon 302 – Planning submittal

We are pleased to be working alongside both Stoford & Blackrock on a new 302,000sqft industrial / logistics facility (Use Classes B2 & B8) with ancillary offices replacing an existing 1970’s building on a brownfield site at Middlemarch Business Park, Siskin Parkway West. A detailed planning application has been submitted to redevelop the 16.4-acre logistics complex in Coventry.

The proposed new building is located on a central site within the business park, currently occupied by a distribution depot for Unipart Group. This particular area is a long-established site for industrial and logistics facilities, identified as a major employment zone for the borough. 

This project presents the opportunity to upgrade the current building with a replacement that meets the modern demands of logistics, matching the quality of recent nearby developments and securing the long-term viability. 

The project will target BREEAM Excellent with sustainability being at the heart of the scheme. Energy efficient features including Photovoltaic roof panels, EV Charging and LED Lighting.

 

The Design

The office block is the focal point of the unit, acting as the main entrance to the building and primary point of interaction for employees and visitors. These sections of the building typically feature more premium qualities to reinforce the hierarchy within the site. 

The format of the building has naturally been dictated by the shape of the site, working around pinch points. As a result, an outboard office format was explored that more efficiently used the space available, while creating a key design feature and building frontage. Colour contrast is used to enhance the visibility along the warehouse elevation. 

The light grey palette complements the colours of the warehouse whilst creating an effective hierarchy and direct visitors towards the main entrance of the building. The key corners of the office block incorporate the same framing detail that was used on the adjacent building for a consistent architectural language, coloured dark grey for enhanced legibility.

The priorities for the warehouse design is a breakdown of the mass of the building. Industrial buildings typically consist of large expanses of singular materials and can contribute to blandness. Specific choices were assessed to break up the main elevations through materiality and texture, providing visual relief and interest through a robust architectural approach. 

The structural grid of the building has been used as a tool to create consistency across the elevation and a framework to separate colours and textures. The result is a considered arrangement that shares an aesthetic style with the adjacent units in the business park, adapted to suit the larger format.