Architects are shaping the factories of the future on the multi-million pound park that is set to bring hundreds of jobs to the Tees Valley.
Around 180,000 sq ft of factory space is being designed specifically for the tenants of phase one of TeesAMP advanced manufacturing park.
Now the team behind the designs – which will be home to the next generation of UK manufacturing – have spoken about the creation of the first 14 buildings.
Mark Barlow, co-founder and project architect at Logic Architecture, explained: “It’s a real privilege for our team – who live and work in Tees Valley – to play such a strategic part in shaping our industrial future.
“Middlesbrough and the wider Tees Valley has such strong manufacturing heritage – we’ve built half the world – from the ironworks that once stood on the TeesAMP site to the former shipyards on the Tees.
“TeesAMP will be the catalyst for an industrial renaissance in Tees Valley, and it’s on us as architects to make sure we create an industrial home that will stand the test of time.”
Mark’s team has already been working on TeesAMP since its inception.
The appointment to the scheme led to the creation of a new job and there is the prospect of more to follow with all the anticipated fit outs of the space available to manufacturers in the first phase.
This includes working with the park’s first tenants, creating a high-quality environment for employees.
Mark added: “So far we’ve designed fit outs to include offices and meeting rooms overlooking the river Tees with changing rooms and showers.
“Externally we have separated visitor and staff parking from the compounds with charging points for electric vehicles.
“We’re creating a state of the art environment that will set the standard for this type of advanced manufacturing development.
“TeesAMP is designed to look and feel like an impressive business park – not an industrial estate with all the offices orientated to the front, and that’s the impression you’ll get when you drive down the central boulevard to the central artwork feature.”
The TeesAMP site is also home to a stretch of the National Cycle Route 1 – a 1,695-mile-long route which runs the length of Great Britain from Dover to Shetland.
Mark’s team has carefully incorporated connections to the route in the TeesAMP design.
He added: “There is a fantastic buzz about the Tees Valley at the moment and TeesAMP is just one part of that.
“What’s become clear with all the prospective businesses we’re talking to is that we’re a region of grafters producing high quality products with great ambition.
“That’s what we want to reflect in our designs, for the entire world to see.”