As we start building a new generation of multi-storey, last mile logistics schemes, we can learn as much from urban developments – whether offices, hotels, residential or hospitals – as from greenfield sheds. Building within major cities and urban environments changes everything. Think of some of the emerging challenges of last-mile schemes – neighbours’ rights to light, construction noise, complex logistics, combining uses to deliver value and facades to blend with surroundings – and you start looking to non-logistics uses for answers.
The market is looking for locations in residential and urban areas where it can base quick and sustainable delivery methods, like electric vans and cargo bikes. Being close to the end recipient cuts the transport costs significantly.
These new urban last-mile schemes will aim to maximise the density of the site and their footprints might be anything from 35,000 to 250,000 square feet and upwards. Developers need to choose between a vehicle ramp for HGVs and vans or rely on cargo lifts to upper floors. Both present their own design and rental space challengers.
Whether the aim is single occupancy or multi let is the aim, a big question for the developer is the level of flexibility. Getting this wrong, at fit out for example, or incorrectly anticipating the end user’s requirements, can lead to costly and wasteful amendments. Meeting the functional requirements remains a challenge, on something as fundamental as floor loadings, so developers need to make important decisions about anticipated usage.
It’s already costly to provide ramps or multiple cargo lifts to upper floors and to give those floors the strength they need. Try to make an industrial development blend in with heritage buildings and you are really starting to challenge the competitiveness of your industrial space.
Building these heavily engineered structures in urban areas requires robust and detailed management plans – especially when neighbours are in foundation-free historic properties that are susceptible to vibration. To overcome these issues, you should liaise regularly with neighbours, restrict the times when you make the most noise and keep dust to a minimum. Careful thought needs to be given to any retaining structures and foundations.
Getting the appearance right in these locations requires complex facades and that’s where the city centre, multi sector experience most comes into play. You will probably be installing high-end façades, which you wouldn’t have on a conventional industrial building.
A major question raised by these urban or city centre schemes is whether you seek to tackle embodied carbon by reusing existing buildings.
A good contractor should be able to give you an accurate assessment of the carbon in your proposed design, even based on stage two information, and suggest material substitutions to reduce embodied carbon. They should also be able to make the building more efficient in operation, which is still where most of the carbon footprint is over its full lifecycle.
If you want to reuse existing structures, you might need some major structural alterations to open up space and strengthen floors. Nothing’s impossible, but the first conversions are going to be quite a challenge.
