G.H. Sheldon Wholesale Bakers Ltd.
Industrial and Manufacturing
£12.0m
RIBA Stage 3
(Spatial Coordination)
We were appointed by G.H Sheldon Wholesale Bakers Ltd to design a new, 81,000 sq.ft exemplar bakery facility, including new office and research space.
The unmanaged, vacant application site extends to 2.15 Ha/5.33 acres and located within the Openshaw Ward, and area identified in Manchester’s Core Strategy as part of the ‘Inner Areas’ targeted for regeneration and economic development.
Whilst the brownfield site was surrounded by an established mix of industrial, commercial and residential buildings, the site was completely covered by established mature trees and vegetation. Achieving 10% Biodiversity Net Gain was a particular concern at the start of the project. Additional constraints included an existing culvert and HV cables that crossed the application site and the potential for noise created by the successful 365/24/7 bakery business upon the nearby existing dwellings along Clayton Lane.
The use of a simple material palette with contemporary detailing was employed, with the external appearance and coloured panels reflecting the brand standards of the bakery.
The bold, architecturally distinctive building was softened by the retention and enhancement of the existing mature landscaped boundary.
The roof space was designed to carry almost 100% coverage of solar panels to assist the client reduce their energy consumption by using the photovoltaic (PV) cells to generate electricity on-site. The energy strategy helped to create the exemplar bakery, enhancing resilience, and improving sustainability by providing a reliable and eco-friendly power source that reduces the bakeries dependence on the grid and lowers their carbon emissions.
