Client: Bacardi-Martin Ltd
Value: £1,083,000
Location: Southampton, Hampshire

Bacardi-Martini Limited occupy a self-contained site within the boundaries of the land holding of Associated British Ports at Southampton docks. The site is bounded along its northern, southern and western margins by roads and along its eastern boundary by an adjoining commercial occupier.

Over a number of years, the Bacardi-Martini land exhibited signs of reaching capacity due to the nature of previous expansions and subsequent changes in production methods and techniques. The introduction of the new warehouse, our third for this Client, alleviated this problem by rationalising facilities and by the expeditious reuse of existing land.

The structure, for operational reasons, had to provide unobstructed floor space. Accordingly industrial building forms and techniques naturally gave rise to the selection of a steel structural frame surrounded with masonry and profiled metal cladding. The form of construction and materials mirrored systems prevalent throughout the site.

Visible steel members and fascias to the canopies were kept as slender as possible and all roof pitches were minimised to reduce overall building heights as much as possible.

Profiles within the metal cladding allowed external detailing to be simplified. These measures assist in the longevity of the appearance of the external fabrics in a harsh marine atmosphere.