Environmental credentials we’ve put onto this building we’ve got, firstly the insulation, we’ve looked at upping all of that and so we’ve tried to reduce the amount of energy dependence the building will have.
So what we do now – and there’s a difference to the Ford buildings and before – the Ford buildings became just something that kept the rain out really, nothing more than that, it was providing shelter to a load of things to be manufactured.
The industry’s changed massively now where we have to conserve energy and we do that by well-insulating our buildings. We’re being encouraged to use less power, less electricity, less energy and we do that by insulating our buildings as well as we can, by trying to get them as airtight as we can and as efficient as we can.
So the efficiency of a building today 2017 as a comparison to back in 1950, there is no comparison.
Wal G
The walls of these units are made of a built-up system. It consists of what’s called a liner sheet, so a metal sheet that’s screwed to the outside of the building and then they put a stick a load of spikes to it.
Then they put this – it’s called a rock wool – and it’s an insulation. They roll it down the walls and they push it onto these spikes which hold it in place. Then they cover it with a top sheet which obviously keeps everything dry. And what that insulation will do, is it will try and provide a constant temperature in that warehouse.
Richard H
In terms of what was here from Ford the only thing we’ve been able to use is the existing concrete where it’s crushed down into stone. We crushed all of that concrete and all of that concrete, every single piece has been used in the new construction.
Underneath the new buildings and underneath the new car parks and underneath the roads, that concrete that was the old Ford's ground floor slabs, the old Ford bases, the old Ford foundations has been crushed down to be reused.
Wal G
We can separate it so we can use everything we’ve got and we can produce our own gravels, our own sands and our own stone for structural use. So we can produce all of that on site, so we don’t need to import sand or gravel or anything on those lines.
As far as the environment goes it’s a fantastic way to be because it saves us a lot of money having to import material. It saves us a lot of money having to take anything off site to land fill which, you know, we don’t want to be doing anyway. Environmentally, it’s a zero balance really on that.
Richard H
It makes sense, it’s cost saving but also in terms of green credentials, we’re not taking very good material out into land fill, we’re able to reuse it.
Wal G