The engine manufacturing centre for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was developed to allow the production of engines in-house for the first time in a generation. Drawing on decades of experience in the design of industrial buildings, Arup’s architects and engineers reinterpreted the traditional factory form to deliver a functional, flexible and sustainable facility.
Arup provided integrated and innovative low-energy design solutions to support the client’s commitment to sustainable low-carbon manufacturing. The £900m, 185,000m2 building is one of the largest to have achieved a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. The facility can house up to 1,400 staff and is capable of producing 450,000 engines per year.
Bold forms articulate a clear plan designed for flexibility with the north-lit machine and assembly halls flanked by supporting office and ancillary buildings. In tandem with a large span structure, this approach has enabled the design team to create a building 10 per cent smaller than originally envisaged, optimizing production performance through design.
Simple, repeating and discretely expressed façade modules, with careful attention paid to the proportion, reveals and junction details generate a powerful architectural impression. Engineering services are exposed and become a part of the visual expression. Continuous strips of glass along the ground floor allow the buildings to float and provide views out to connect workers with adjacent landscaped surroundings, and humanise the scale of the spaces.
Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment to sustainable, low-carbon, manufacturing was supported by Arup’s ability to provide integrated and innovative low-energy design solutions. Sustainable measures include the UK’s largest PV installation, zero operational waste, extensive grey water recycling, day-lit spaces, naturally-ventilated offices and a pioneering 'solar cladding' façade system. The north lights’ vents open to expel hot air in summer reducing extract energy. Responsive dimming controls for the lighting system helps to capitalise on the generous daylighting in the space to save further energy.
Innovation, collaboration and the well-being of people at the facility have shaped the success of the building. A simple layout was derived from optimum operational adjacencies and designed for flexibility, providing both an efficient process flow for manufacturing and giving staff easy access to support facilities. Naturally-lit machine and assembly halls are flanked by supporting office and ancillary buildings. This approach optimised production performance and blurred the boundaries between production and offices through visual transparency, clear movement and social spaces, helping to break down the barriers of communication between staff.
Summary
The first phase of the facility was handed over just 24 months after the design team appointment. The subsequent two phases followed in a continuous sequence from 2013 to 2017. Arup provided architecture, transport planning, environmental, landscaping and access advice for the first two phases, together with civil, structural, geotechnical, fire and building services engineering for all three phases of the development.
For this project, Arup deployed a total design philosophy to deliver technically creative and sustainable solutions at speed. JLR’s engine manufacturing centre has set the benchmark for sustainable design in a manufacturing environment. Innovation, collaboration and worker well being is at the heart of the success of this facility, which has won awards across a range of services including architecture, building services and structural engineering.
