Case Studies
Swarkestone Nursery
The Challenge
Our client has a garden centre and nursery in Derbyshire. John and his daughter Laura own and run the business and they sell a range of plants, accessories, garden furniture and home décor products. They also have an on site restaurant.
They were looking for a new sales office for customers to ask questions about products and make payment. It needed to accommodate two staff members comfortably as well as have enough space for customers to enter. A standard shipping container felt a bit too narrow, and the 20ft length a little too short. John was also keen to have some glazed bi fold doors to give the unit the ‘wow factor’.
The Solution
We decided the best way to achieve the dimensions required was to build a unit from scratch in the style of a shipping container. This meant the dimensions could be as the client required (24ft long x 10ft wide). They also chose a striking dark grey colour for the exterior.
The finish internally and externally was agreed to match the clients wishes, and put into a CAD drawing for the client’s approval before manufacture. A few weeks later, the sales unit was ready for delivery.
The Benefit
The client was able to pick the locations and finish of all windows and doors so that the aesthetics were as they desired. They opted for high quality aluminium framed bi fold doors. They could also choose the location and height of all sockets so that they were in the right place for the desks they were going to place inside. This all meant the unit would be ‘plug and play’ on arrival.
Limited groundworks were required since containers are self supporting and the manufacture time was a lot faster than building from bricks and mortar. The unit could also be moved on site easily should the client wish to in the future. The client was so pleased with the end product, they ordered a 2nd almost identical unit just over a year later.