Due to growth of the company, client Seima were seeking to upgrade to a larger facility than the one they had in Pooraka. After purchasing a 5-acre block in Edinburgh, Woolcock Construction were approached to design and build their second premises. After a few options were put forward to the client, it was decided a singular warehouse sized 2,165m2 with an adjoining office and lab would be constructed. Provisions were also going to be made for a possible café as the owners had noticed there were minimal places to get a coffee in the local area.
This project faced a few challenges along the way. Steady progress was being made and the roof sheeting had just been completed on the warehouse, when on 28th October 2021 a freak hail storm came through and caused extensive damage to the site. Not only was a large portion of the fresh roof and wall sheeting dented, 3 staff vehicles and a telehandler were also damaged by the large hail stones. Other parts of the city were also affected, with an estimated 10,000 cars damaged and mass assessment centres needing to be set up. Skylights on the Seima site were leaking and had to be replaced immediately, meanwhile the building works continued to keep the project on schedule and the remaining insurance repairs were addressed at a later date.
The project also faced other challenges, with a mandatory 7-day state lockdown being issued due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic also caused labour shortages as people were unable to work due to having covid or being a close contact. Material supplies were delayed and in high demand due to the booming construction industry at the time. All of these issues were navigated as best as possible by our highly skilled team to keep the project moving forward and minimise inconvenience to the client.
The completed site is now the new Seima headquarters, housing their National Distribution Centre and research and development facilities. The new office areas and meeting rooms provide a space for staff and clients to meet and discuss the high-quality sanitaryware collections that Seima provides. The café construction ended up going ahead as part of the main build so a café manager was found and a fitout completed. The café is now operating as West Avenue Espresso & Kitchen and has already shown to be a popular addition to the Edinburgh community.