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Hollaway Studio designs "bicycle factory of the future" for Brompton
British bicycle manufacturer Brompton has unveiled plans to build a carbon-neutral headquarters and factory building designed by architects Hollaway Studio in Ashford, Kent.
Envisioned by Brompton as a "factory of the future", the facility will sit within an unused wetlands area that will be rewilded to become a nature reserve as part of the plans.
An elevated ramp will create dedicated cycle access
Planned for 2027, the building will boast production facilities that are open to the public and dedicated bike access via a cycle ramp elevated above the wetlands.
The ambition is for the building to be carbon-neutral but also provide state-of-the-art facilities for Brompton to reach its target of producing 200,000 bikes per year.
The site will be rewilded to become a nature reserve
Sustainability was the driving force behind Hollaway Studio's design.
The building is designed to optimise natural daylight and ventilation, harness wind and solar energy, and to draw heat from the ground through its foundation piles.
A rooftop museum and canteen will open out to a large terrace and events space
The architecture studio has also pledged to source materials responsibly, assess embodied carbon and ensure the site could be adapted for other uses in the future.
"The challenge in designing for Brompton this new sustainable factory located on a 100-acre wetland site was to rethink both the concept of a factory while creating a symbiotic relationship between industry and nature," said architect and founder Guy Holloway.
The building will serve as Brompton's headquarters and production facility
With a circular shape reminiscent of a wheel, the building will be raised up 2.2 metres above the ground to minimise its impact on the wetlands landscape and wildlife.
The building will include a Brompton Museum, events spaces and a rooftop canteen and terrace, as well as offices and production facilities for over 1,500 staff.
The brand hopes to have more than 1,500 staff by 2027
Brompton currently manufactures its pioneering folding bikes in Greenford, west London. The brand has promised to keep this facility open until at least 2030.
It is hoped the move to Ashford will allow the brand to maintain its connection to the capital, but also be within easy reach of Europe, thanks to the Eurostar railway link.
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Brompton launches first battery-powered version of its folding bike
"As we face climate change, combined with poor mental and physical health in our cities, where most of the world population live, we need to adapt," said Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton.
"There has been a global realisation post-pandemic that we need to change how we live in our cities, to design them around the people that live in them, not the automobile."
The ambition is to manufacture 200,000 bikes per year
"Brompton has a large part to play in supporting that transition, but we need to have more space to innovate and create the products of the future," he continued.
"We have a long journey ahead with the planning and development of the new site, but we're thankful for the support of Ashford Borough Council, Hollaway Studio and Quinn Estates towards achieving our combined ambition to build this revolutionary and sustainable bicycle factory of the future."
The building will be located in Ashford, Kent
Hollaway Studio – formerly known as Guy Holloway Architects – has offices in London and Kent, and has worked on numerous projects in England's southeast.
The studio designed the Rocksalt restaurant in Folkestone and a row of seafront homes in Margate, and is soon to unveil the world's first multi-storey skatepark in Folkestone.
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Chinese steel factory transformed into exhibition centre with polycarbonate walls
Architecture office Kokaistudios has slotted a polycarbonate structure into the shell of a former factory in Shanghai, China, to create the Baoshan Exhibition Center.
The exhibition space occupies one of few factory buildings that have been preserved on a large industrial site in the Baoshan District, which was once used to produce steel.
Kokaistudios has adaptively reused a former factory in Shanghai
Shanghai-based Kokaistudios' goal for the 725-square-metre factory was to create a flexible interior while preserving all of the structure's original details.
The project is shortlisted for the cultural building of the year in the Dezeen Awards 2021.
The studio inserted a polycarbonate structure
The factory building chosen for the project is positioned at the gateway of the 450,000-square-metre site.
It was commissioned by its owner Baosteel to promote the redevelopment of the remaining factories on the site, as well as other disused industrial buildings in Shanghai.
The polycarbonate volume sits independently from the original building
"Baoshan Exhibition Center preserves the industrial legacy in Shanghai, while setting the stage for its future functions," said Kokaistudios.
"Through embedding new architecture volume, as well as in-built flexibility, Kokaistudios' structure sets a precedent for this landmark project."
The intervention was designed to preserve the existing building
According to Kokaistudios, Baosteel's vision for the site is to create an "eco-industrial park".
Alongside the exhibition centre, it is expected to include a new waste-to-energy power plant, a museum, offices, a park and a series of wetland areas.
It contains an exhibition centre inside
The polycarbonate structure inserted into the factory is designed as a fully separate element, meaning it sits independently from the building's original envelope.
The structure forms a watertight and flexible interior while preserving the factory's original details, which include bulky pipes and machinery inside and out.
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](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/05/16/the-youth-activity-center-rede-architects-moguang-studio-china/)
According to the studio, polycarbonate was chosen to create "a powerful contrast between the heaviness of the existing steel building and the lightness of the new building".
Polycarbonate is also lightweight, reusable and could be prefabricated, reducing costs and construction times.
Concrete tiles are paired with the polycarbonate walls
Inside, the main exhibition space is filled with freestanding furniture to maximise its adaptability.
Elsewhere, there is a small coffee lounge, meeting room and smaller spaces for use as other exhibition spaces.
A meeting room is among other spaces created inside
Alongside the polycarbonate, the studio has introduced a material palette that includes concrete and stainless steel, chosen for their "cooler tones".
"Throughout, cooler tones contrast with the structure's former associations of blasting furnaces," the studio explained.
Materials with "cooler tones" were selected
The main exhibition hall is the only space to feature natural materials, including wooden veneer that nods to the trees surrounding the site.
Kokaistudios' renovation of the factory is completed with a landscape design that includes simple stone pavers arranged in a striped formation.
Original details of the factory have been preserved
Other shortlisted projects in the cultural building of the year in the Dezeen Awards 2021 include the Yabuli Conference Center by MAD Architects and the Babyn Yar Synagogue by Manuel Herz Architects, which won the public vote for the same category.
Elsewhere in China, Rede Architects and Moguang Studio also recently adaptively reused a factory in Beijing to create a youth centre filled with ramps and slides.
The photography is byTerrence Zhang.
Project credits:
Architect: Kokaistudios
Chief architects: Andrea Destefanis, Filippo Gabbiani
Design director: Li Wei
Architecture design manager: Andrea Antonucci
Design team: Lu Tian, Qu Hao
Client: SIIC Bao Steel Environmental Resources Technology Co., Ltd.
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