Approach

We start with what will happen inside the building. The production process drives the floor plan. When the building is planned around the process, the plant runs with clear flow, short routes and room to grow. The practice has planned and designed production facilities since 1964, with architecture, process layout and design management in the same team.

What the process requires

In a seafood plant the product flow is linear and irreversible. Fish cannot be sent back. Hygienic zones, the cold chain and capacity reserves are design parameters from the first sketch, and the zoning is fixed before the walls are placed.

In a hatchery, water is the critical factor. Biosecurity, RAS water treatment and separated production units determine the layout. Pumps, biofilters and oxygenation are placed so they can be serviced while the fish are in the tanks.

In a dairy, hygiene governs every room. Clean and unclean areas are separated by controlled pressure zones, dedicated staff routes and material airlocks, and the CIP system shapes every room it serves. New capacity is often built while the lines keep running, so construction stages and temporary arrangements are part of the design.

Our role

Independent planning

We are an independent practice. Clients choose suppliers and contractors freely, and our advice follows what the production requires.

The same people throughout

The people who make the first sketches follow the project through every phase until the plant is in operation, and decision paths are short.

Planned for decades of operation

A production facility is an investment that should work for 30 to 50 years. Room heights and spans leave space for new lines, technical routes stay accessible, and later extensions are planned so production continues while they are built.

Process and building in one design

The building is designed around the line that will stand in it. The interface between process and building is handled by the same team, and equipment suppliers and engineers work from one coordinated design.

Four stages of design