Helping engineer a highly sustainable commercial space for local enterprises

Employment Space for Advanced Manufacturing (ESAM) - Engineering Services

Employment Space for Advanced Manufacturing (ESAM) is a major phase of the Carluddon Technology Park, a reclaimed brownfield site, close to the Eden Project in Cornwall. Kier appointed our team to provide a full suite of multidisciplinary consultancy services. These included civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical services, geotechnical assessments, and incorporating BREEAM design principles. Working collaboratively, we shared fully detailed 3D models across the entire project team.

ESAM is situated directly above two buried concrete settlement tanks, which contained concentrated naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) that results as a by-product of china clay production. Our geotechnical and structural surveys established that these tanks were of a solid construction. We successfully challenged the existing design proposal for extensive and costly groundworks to remove them. By designing a new foundation scheme, we justified leaving the settlement tanks in situ and incorporating a simple ground-bearing slab.

The brief for ESAM demanded sustainable and fully flexible space. By incorporating stud and party walls, the unit sizes can easily be adapted to each client’s requirements. We also designed the floor slabs to withstand the weight of heavy machinery and limit the resulting floor vibrations.

We delivered mechanical and electrical solutions for energy efficiency and overall environmental sustainability throughout the life cycle of the project. We reduced unwanted heat gains and managed heat absorption by natural ventilation strategy, shading, insulation, air tightness, thermal mass, and secondary system gains such as lighting.

ESAM is designed and built to both BREEAM Excellent standards and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding criteria. It delivers 2,400 square metres (25,833 square feet) of employment space, break-out spaces, meeting rooms, conference facilities, and support services across a two-storey light industrial and office building.