Solar 120, Complete

Occasionally, a huge opportunity presents itself, an opportunity to not do just another job really well for a client, but an opportunity that makes you uncomfortable, an opportunity that challenges your own understanding and knowledge: Solar 120 has been one of those projects.  When the brief starts with a pretty tired out-of-town call-centre and an ambitious idea to create an amazing logistics hub, which is energy self-sufficient, with an actual physical focus on the well-being of those persons occupying the space: the challenge is thrown down.

It has been such a privilege to have worked alongside CBRE IM and Harlex forming an amazing team to explore the Client’s brief, with thanks to Turley, WML Consulting Ltd, ECS Consultants Ltd, Arcadis, WSP, Element Sustainability, Lift ESC Ltd, Morland Utilities, Ridge, FPCR, Evora, John Turner, LCD, Enviroconsultants, and TPA.

Having a storyteller like Imran Azam to record the whole project, wanting to interview you, to test his own understanding of what you are up to, has been quite simply amazing and probably has redefined the way we will manage future projects.

We have had several firsts on this project, in the context of a distribution facility!  We have learnt about five-a-side pitches, pétanque pitches, basketball courts, beehives, fancy plants with massive Latin names and how to sustain landscaping in really hot dry weather (and we loved installing the hose lock watering system with Rob Trevor one evening ourselves!).  All of this new knowledge has complimented our already extensive understanding of PV, inverters, docks, doors, service yards and offices.  Our understanding of what a working environment should be has evolved thanks to the forward-thinking inspiring approach to the appraisals of these sorts of assets and we have our Client Team to thank for that.

It was an absolute pleasure to have project managed this refurbishment with input from our Measured Survey, Design and Fire Consultancy Teams.