Adnams have invested heavily in a number of projects that demonstrate that taking the right approach to the environment and our community also makes business sense. The centre is likely to be one of the first industrial buildings to attain a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating, - the highest standard of environmental performance in building design. It has achieved this without compromising the requirements of business efficiency, being designed to meet three objectives that are widely believed to be mutually incompatible,
Minimal environmental impact
Maximum operational efficiency
Superior returns on investment
Adnams believe that all three objectives have been or will be achieved, in a building that sets new standards for environmental efficiency.
THE FACILITY
This is the primary site for Adnams Warehousing and Distribution, Customer Services and Cellar Services. A large single storey warehouse space with associated loading and storage areas (approx. 4400m² in total) is situated within a disused gravel pit, set within 85 acres of grassland. An open-plan office occupies the southern aspect of the building at first floor level with views over the entrance and into the warehouse. A vehicle maintenance and cellar service workshop is situated in an adjacent building. There is plentiful yard space for vehicles and empty casks, and parking for up to 80 employees and visitors.
THE SITE
The former gravel pits site was acquired from its previous owners in 1996, and a nature conservation scheme was undertaken at that time, in consultation with Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Hedges were replanted with indigenous species, a new wood was planted on part of the site, existing ponds were dredged and contoured to encourage a proliferation of wildlife and a colony of sand martins was protected by the retention of a small sand cliff. Since then the site has primarily been used for grazing, which has gradually restored some micro-biological life to land that had been stripped of its topsoil in the 1970s, when the gravel pits were dug.
The site has several natural advantages for its present purpose.
It is close to their Brewery in Southwold
It allows much of the development to be shielded from view
It minimizes the local impact of noise and nocturnal light
It provides an element of natural thermal stability to the Warehouse building because it is sunk beneath normal ground level
It provides space for future expansion, should that be required
MATERIALS
Lime/Hemp walls
All walls are built from blocks made of lime, quarry waste and hemp. For centuries hemp has been considered as a primary crop used in weaving cloth, making ropes, providing oil and in construction. The current resurgence of interest in hemp products is because of its excellent mechanical, insulating and environmental qualities.
Over 90,000 lime & hemp blocks were used in the construction, making this the biggest building in the UK to use this material. Adnams worked closely with the manufacturer of the lime/hemp blocks and invested some £20,000 to ensure the technology was workable on this more industrial scale, with a bespoke machine to enable the manufacture of the blocks at the rate of 500 per hour. The manufacturing process uses less energy than for conventional concrete blocks and the materials are UK sourced. The lime comes from Derbyshire and the hemp was locally grown in East Anglia.
The blocks are standard size (440mm x 215mm x 100mm) and are bonded with lime mortar to construct cavity walls the full height of the building. The cavity is filled with a loose filler of hemp and lime mix – applied by a spray nozzle. Because the filler hasn’t been compressed, it has a greater U-value (the measure of insulation efficiency) and will eventually bond to the blocks. For external walls the lime/hemp blocks are built on a 2.1m plinth of Leicester brick – to give a robust workaday face. The exterior of the building is finished with roughcast lime render and lime and clay paint.
Lime/hemp construction has considerable environmental benefits.
Outstanding thermal performance. Standard U Value regulations are set at 0.35 – the Adnams Distributions centre will achieve 0.18. Lime/hemp blocks also provide excellent sound insulation.
Passive regulation of humidity and temperature. No mechanical heating or cooling systems will be needed in the warehouse.
Carbon sequestration – there is the equivalent of 100 to 150 tonnes of CO2 locked up within the walls at Adnams Distribution Centre. A conventional brick and block building of the same size would have been responsible for about 300 to 600T of CO2 emissions. This means that we have made a saving of at least 450 tonnes of CO2 by using lime/hemp construction.
Hemp is a renewable resource – 1 hectare will grow enough to build 5 houses in 14 weeks.
Local sourcing. The hemp used in the Adnams Distribution Centre was grown in East Anglia, providing a boost for local farmers.
Glulam Wood Beams
The huge curved roof is supported on glulam (glued and laminated) timber beams running approximately 60m across the building, to provide a 35m column-free space within the main warehouse. These are the longest glulam beams ever to be delivered to UK.
All materials used in the beams were sourced from controlled sustainable sources in Scandinavia. The current trend (ie FSC/PEFC) only certifies what the Scandinavian foresters have been doing for decades. The sources guarantee legality of logging as well as sustainability.
Although the beams are themselves supported on steel columns, the use of timber rather than steel for the main structural components of the roof has significant environmental benefits.
In terms of embodied energy in production (per Tonne of finished product) steel requires 24 times that of timber (source TRADA).
Steel is a finite resource, but timber is one of the few renewable building materials.
In Scandinavia the growth exceeds harvest to ensure constant supply. The continual renewal benefits the environment as trees absorb CO2 and release vital oxygen as they grow. Once mature this more or less ceases.
Timber is well-known for its insulation properties. Its low U-value reduces fuel usage by absorbing little space-heating energy.
Green Roof
The massive glulam beams support the biggest green roof in Britain, at 0.6 hectares. A sedum roof was also chosen to enhance the setting and to promote biodiversity within the site. The green roof helps to lower the U-values and to regulate the internal temperature. It also provide a vast rainwater catchment area, enabling us to harvest most of the water we need to use on site.
Sedum roofs provide active insulation, keeping a building warm in winter and cool in summer.
Green roofs filter out pollutants from the air and help purify it.
They provide a natural habitat for fauna that is lost in standard construction processes.
Golpla paving
In order to minimize the area of concrete, a reinforced grass surface has been used for car parking to blend in with the adjacent grassland.
Golpa is a strong, honeycomb mesh, made from low-density recycled plastic.
It controls erosion
It provides sustainable drainage and control of storm water.
ENERGY AND WATER
One of the over-riding objectives of the scheme has been to minimize the use of energy and water. Numerous design features have been incorporated to achieve this purpose.
The main concern has been to minimize temperature fluctuations in the warehouse, to ensure that the famous Adnams beers are stored in optimal conditions. This is achieved through the insulation properties of the lime/hemp walls, the glulam beams and the green roof, through careful control of goods in and out, and through the use of passive ventilation.
The energy savings that result from this approach are significant, compared to the costs that would be incurred in a traditional industrial unit:
Based on 2004 fuel costs (when Adnams Board made decision to take this route) £32,000 per annum.
Based on 2006 fuel prices £49,000 per annum.
Adnams will also be harvesting and re-cycling almost all the water used on the site, for washing vehicles and flushing toilets etc. As water becomes an increasingly scarce and expensive commodity, the financial savings from this approach should also be considerable.
Heat and Light
Natural daylight to the warehouse is provided by clerestory windows and roof lights.
Excessive heat gain and solar glare through the office windows has been minimized by the use of overhanging eaves and brise-soleil screens at the southern end of the main building.
Two collector solar panels on the roof will provide up to 80% of the Distribution Centre’s requirements for hot water.
Movement sensors for lighting are installed throughout the complex. The lights will automatically switch off if there is no one in that part of the building.
Ventilation
Distribution results in frequent loadings and unloadings – but it is essential to store Adnams beers at a constant temperature of about 11ºc. All entrances to the warehouse are entered via a buffer space to avoid excessive temperature fluctuations in the storage areas. A time delay on the doors will allow vehicle emissions to escape before the outer doors are closed and the inner set opened.
The first floor open plan office is naturally ventilated by means of openable windows.
Water and Drainage
The use of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) enable rainwater to be harvested from the roof and other surface areas, for use in cleaning the vehicles and flushing toilets, etc.
The foul water treatment plant is undertaken via a septic tank and the re-use of existing ponds within the site (with an option for the use of reed beds for sewage treatment). Low flush WCs are used as a water saving measure.
A GREAT PLACE TO WORK
Adnams employees can feel proud to work in a state-of-the-art building that provides excellent working conditions in a fine environment. Amongst the many benefits of this design are several features that contribute to better health and safety at work.
Loading bays designed to position the vehicle trailers at the same level as the warehouse floor, significantly reducing manual handling.
No vehicles in the main warehouse, eliminating emissions.
A warehouse without columns that allows most efficient use of space.
Bulk ‘picking’ of daily orders to separate loading area, minimising opportunity for errors in dispatch, which cause extra work.
BENEFITS TO SOUTHWOLD
The re-location to the new site of their Warehousing & Distribution, Cellar Services and Customer Services (which previously operated from an increasingly cramped site close to the heart of Southwold) significantly reduces journey miles for Adnams employees and delivery vehicles and produces major environmental benefits for the town itself including:
Reduction of approximately 60 Heavy Goods Vehicle movements and 20 van deliveries a day, in and out of the Southwold.
Reduction of approximately 60 employee cars, entering, leaving and parking in the town.
Elimination of noise and other disturbance to their neighbours.
The opportunity to redevelop the previous Distribution site in Southwold, in ways that will enhance the texture of the town.
THE RIGHT BUSINESS SOLUTION
The building is about 15% more expensive than a traditional ‘metal box’ warehouse, but the additional investment is justified in the long term by significantly lower energy usage and greater operational efficiency. It also expresses the Adnams values in action, as they strive to operate to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility.
While constructing this new Distribution Centre Adnams have also been re-building the Brewery itself, in order to replace their outworn production plant with equipment that provides them with even greater consistency of quality, improved use of raw materials and exceptional energy efficiency – and they constantly strive to reduce the energy usage of their offices and hotels. Local sourcing is a priority - their beers are made from barley that has been grown and malted in East Anglia and most of the ingredients for their restaurants come from local producers. They ship wines from growers around the world who share their respect for the environment.
At the heart of this approach is their belief that developing the potential of all who work with them builds stronger and more committed teams, taking pride in what they do. They also work in numerous ways with their local community - in schools, with arts projects, on nature conservation, etc – to enhance the quality of life in their locality.
Adnams believe that it simply makes commercial sense to operate this way and their new Distribution Centre is the most striking example to date of clear values shaping the right business solution.