Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facilities Design Second Edition Content by HPA, Inc. Copyright © 2020 by NAIOP and HPA, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical — including photocopying, scanning, or recording — or by any information storage and retrieval system, including the Internet or any online system, without permission in writing from NAIOP. This product is copyrighted by NAIOP and HPA, Inc. Reproduction of any part of this product for any purpose — including reproduction to avoid purchase of additional copies of this or any other product — is a violation of this copyright. NAIOP disclaims any liability for action taken as a result of the information contained in this publication. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facility Design, Second Edition, by NAIOP and HPA, Inc. ISBN 978-0-578-69827-4 Cover and publication design by DesignBox Graphics, Alexandria, VA NAIOP 2355 Dulles Corner Boulevard, Suite 750 Herndon, VA 20171 naiop.org 703-904-7100 2 RULES OF THUMB FOR DISTRIBUTION/WAREHOUSE FACILITIES DESIGN | SECOND EDITION About HPA, Inc. HPA was founded in 1980 by partners Dennis Hill and Byron Pinckert. Although the name of the firm and its values remain the same, the next generation of ownership has been in place since 2008. Yong Nam, Susan Littlefield and Bob Jacob are now the partners leading HPA, Inc. With offices in Southern California, Northern California and Georgia, HPA services regional, national and global clients. Working with real estate development companies on inventory products and corporations on custom-designed manufacturing and logistical facilities, HPA has a unique knowledgebase of functionality, constructability and cost issues in industrial building design. This deep understanding makes HPA uniquely qualified to assist NAIOP in creatingRules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facilities Design. Byron Pinckert HPA partners: Bob Jacob, Susan Littlefield and Yong Nam. Byron Pinckert served as lead author for this publication. For more information, see hparchs.com. About NAIOP NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is the leading organization for developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate. NAIOP comprises 20,000 members and provides strong advocacy, education and business opportunities through a powerful North American network. For more information, see naiop.org. 3 Editorial Steering Committee Joshua Adler Robert Alter Megan Creecy-Herman Christopher Daly Partner Senior Vice President Vice President, Investment Officer Partner, Industrial Adler Development Redstone Commercial Prologis Childress Klein Edison, New Jersey Tampa, Florida Phoenix, Arizona Charlotte, North Carolina Mike Davis David Greek Nazir Khalfe James Love Preconstruction Manager Acquisitions Director Principal Founder and Managing Partner Swinerton Builders Greek Development Powers Brown Architecture Distribution Realty Group LLC Bellevue, Washington East Brunswick, New Jersey Houston, Texas Nashville, Tennessee Jeff Milanaik Michael Newman Partner, Northeast Region Managing Director Bridge Development CBRE Parsippany, New Jersey Las Vegas, Nevada 4 RULES OF THUMB FOR DISTRIBUTION/WAREHOUSE FACILITIES DESIGN | SECOND EDITION Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................6 Chapter 1. Moving Materials to and from the Building: Site Planning .........................................7 Recommended Primary Rules of Thumb for Site Planning ...........................................19 Chapter 2. Moving Materials Around Inside the Building: Column Grids and Clear Height .........................20 Recommended Primary Rules of Thumb for Column Grids and Clear Height .............................33 Chapter 3. Building the Building: Slabs and Roofs ......................................................34 Recommended Primary Rules of Thumb for Slabs and Roofs .........................................46 Chapter 4. Notes on Smaller Buildings: Fitting Functionality into a Small Package without Busting the Budget .........47 Recommended Primary Rules of Thumb for Smaller Buildings ........................................49 Chapter 5. Trends in Warehouse/Distribution Design ....................................................50 Recommended Primary Rules of Thumb for the Future .............................................54 Appendix: Warehouse/Distribution Design and Aesthetic Image ............................................55 Endnotes .....................................................................................58 5 RULES OF THUMB FOR DISTRIBUTION/WAREHOUSE FACILITIES DESIGN | SECOND EDITION Introduction Industrial buildings, to a greater extent than other materials and design principles that underpin a Overview commercial building types, are designed to maximize successful industrial building. These rules of thumb the operational functionality of processes and represent an introduction to that knowledgebase. Chapter 1 considers the site-planning aspects of a facility. It addresses design considerations related to people. Most industrial buildings are constructed by When designing industrial buildings, HPA examines truck movement, dock locations and rail service. real estate developers looking to make a return on the wide range of functionality that an operator investment by leasing the facilities. Industrial space desires along with the return on investment that a Chapter 2 examines the interior of a facility and the is typically leased on a triple net basis, usually at the developer requires. These form the parameters that systems that determine its internal layout. Topics lowest rental rates of any type of commercial use. guide the design of a building’s architectural fabric: include material handling equipment, racking The buildings are usually located in areas less visible floor slabs, column grids, roof geometries and truck- systems and Early Suppression Fast Response than retail or office developments and the sites are yard configurations. The resulting building is judged (ESFR) fire suppression. generally not conducive to extravagant architectural by its ability to support the functions of a particular Chapter 3 is a discussion of the floor slab and branding efforts. Functionality, flexibility and initial operator, its return on investment for a particular the roof structure of industrial facilities, the key construction cost are the most important factors in developer, and its visual enhancement of a particular determinants of cost and function. It addresses successful industrial building development. community and location. In short, its success is concrete detailing, sloping buildings and keeping As an introduction to the issues that determine measured by its real-world performance. the rain out. success in designing industrial facilities for This book is structured in chapters that focus on the Chapter 4 looks at the ways smaller buildings (80,000 functionality, flexibility and cost, NAIOP published aspects of industrial buildings where many criteria square feet and smaller) differ from larger ones. It Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse intersect. Each chapter has a detailed discussion of addresses how the rules of thumb derived in the Facilities Design in 2005. Due to the changing the criteria relevant to a specific aspect of the facility, previous chapters might change as the scale changes. nature of industrial development, NAIOP decided along with how the criteria combine in optimal ways. Chapter 5 is an overview of how the uses and to update and expand the first edition in 2019. Each chapter closes with the abbreviated rules of economics of industrial buildings are changing and The architectural firm of HPA, Inc., provided the thumb for the design considerations discussed in that how they are being adapted. It focuses on trends, material for the firstRules of Thumb publication chapter. These are presented in a brief bullet-point new approaches and disruptions. and also created the material in this second edition. format as a quick reference guide. For example, if HPA is not a large company based on employee you just want to know how deep to make the truck Appendix: Warehouse/Distribution Design count, but it is responsible for the design of more yard for a standard building, the numbers are listed and Aesthetic Image square footage of industrial facilities than any other in the rules of thumb at the end of Chapter 1. If you Context is one key element of aesthetic design; by architectural firm in the United States over the want to know why that is the rule, and when it might definition, it is different for different sites, developers, last twenty years. Through this broad experience, be appropriate to use a different depth for a specific markets and times. Rather than try to derive the firm’s architects have developed a deep project, read the entire chapter. aesthetic rules of thumb, this appendix contains understanding of the functional requirements, a logistics building design portfolio that illustrates past successful approaches. 6 RULES OF THUMB FOR DISTRIBUTION/WAREHOUSE FACILITIES DESIGN | SECOND EDITION CHAPTER 1 Moving Materials to and from the Building: Site Planning A performer balancing on one leg on a precarious means: Can the largest legal truck maneuver easily current operations of these buildings.