Levis Strauss UK Headquarters & Distribution Centre
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A clear distinction between office and shed
Philip Bier Download Original
Building to cater for Levi's day-to-day distribution needs as well as providing offices and recreational facilities for company staff
The scheme enjoys considerable visual prominence from the adjacent M1 motorway which is acknowledged through the distinctive form of the building’s double trapezoid plan and tapering glazed elevations.
The two-storey office element - offset from the north-west face of the distribution building - is articulated by a brick plinth, metal roof and glass curtain walling. A full length roof-light, echoing the trapezoid shape of the external structure, shapes the internal spaces to provide an open-plan layout, with cafe, fitness suite, conference and meeting rooms.
Designed to contain high-volume handling equipment the 154m long distribution centre incorporates a 20m high bay zone and a 10m low bay production area. A treatment of light coloured panels, ribbed plinth, and a series of vertical glazed strips act to reduce the visual bulk of the building.
Data
- Completed: 1999
- Floor area: 16,443m2
- Sectors: Office, Industrial
- Total cost: £30M
- Funding: Private
- Address: Tithe Barn Way, Swan Valley Business Park, Northampton, NN4 8BA, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Architects Co-Partnership
- Client: Levi Strauss and Company
- Project manager: Fluor Daniel
- Services engineer: Fluor Daniel
- Structural engineer: Edward Roscoe Associates
- Groundworks: Weldon
- Warehouse: Conder Structures
- Offices: Jarvis Construction
- M&E consultant: MITIE
- Electrical: Brightside
- Interior Fittings and Furnishings: Shire Business Interiors
Suppliers
- Glazing: Glass Northampton
- Steelwork: Johnson Steel
- Louvres: Noico
- Brickwork: Walters & Poades
- Roofling: Welwood Roofing