Is Vertical Expansion the Future of Industrial Buildings?
The industrial boom is still in full effect and does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The strong demand for industrial space coupled with limited land supply in some areas is stirring up the commercial real estate industry; developers and owners are looking to expand vertically rather than horizontally.
For example, the Prologis building at Georgetown Crossroads in Seattle has been called the first modern three-story industrial warehouse in the U.S. Industrial intensification started in dense urban areas with high land values and limited space.
So, what is “industrial intensification?”
Intensification refers to increased use of or greater productivity within industrial properties. It can range from higher ceilings with racking in distribution centers to more shift workers, investments in automation, or multilevel buildings in urban locations.
There are two ways to think about industrial land use:
- Intensity is the amount of activity. It is measured as jobs per building or land area or the volume of goods produced or processed per unit.
- Density is the amount of buildings. It is measured as a floor area ratio, site coverage, or building heights/volumes.
Higher intensities are associated with higher densities, but this is not always true. Exceptions are land-intensive industrial uses with high throughput activity that don’t require a large building, such as a lumber mill. These activities need land for truck loading, vehicle parking, and outdoor storage of equipment and materials.”
It is common for developers in urban communities with limited land supply to build up when expanding outward is not an option. However, there are many challenges, including complex structural requirements, when exploring multistory industrial buildings. Everything from a site’s geotechnical stability to the soil conditions to the additional support beams must be studied, reviewed, and regulated. The consequences can be life-threatening if industrial multistory buildings are not structured according to the life-safety code. Multilevel warehouse buildings need to be structurally sound to endure normal weather conditional patterns, not to mention seismic activity or other natural disasters.
For more challenges and opportunities regarding multilevel (multistory) industrial, check out this article, Going Big: Large-Format Multilevel Industrial Buildings.
Don’t hesitate to contact Saunders Seismic if you have any questions regarding the structural integrity of your industrial or commercial building.