A canopy design gated on two decisions
The Design Pack develops the brief into a pre-tender design. For the Ashfield Park canopy, Aldon Project Consultants prepared it with its agreed BuiltAI skills. Sprinklers and foundations are the two headline decisions; all required design information and the four gating RFIs must be resolved before design closure. This pack does not authorise works.
- Prepared by
- Aldon Project Consultants
- End client
- Northgate Logistics Group
- Site
- Unit 12, Ashfield Park, Meadow Lane, Northgate
- Stage
- Pre-tender, RIBA Stage 3 equivalent
- Reference
- BTO-NLG-DSP-001
- Status
- Out for review
Illustrative example: fictional project and parties.
The scheme, and where it stands
The works are a new steel-framed lean-to canopy, 36.6 m by 7.0 m projection, at a 5-degree mono-pitch on a 6.3 m haunch, carried on seven columns at 6.1 m centres, to give weatherproof HGV loading and unloading of archive boxes. The pack is at pre-tender design development, issued on 27 April 2026 and out for client and design-team review, with practical completion targeted for 30 October 2026.
This is a design-development pack, not a construction issue. It sets the scheme, quantifies the risk, and lists the decisions and information needed to move to tender. The two headline decisions, sprinklers and foundations, are set out next.
Sprinklers, and foundations
The first gate is sprinklers. A four-test fire framework fails on two of its four tests, on transient combustibles and on fire spread to the existing building through a thermal bridge, so significant scope hangs on a single yes or no from Northgate Logistics under RFI-A4-01. The current assessment puts the probability that sprinklers are required at about 60%. A layout is at peer review: 27 heads on a 3 by 9 grid, to be confirmed by the sprinkler designer against the BS EN 12845 spacing limits.
The second gate is foundations. The proposed two-stage pour uses shear reinforcement at a designed cold joint, with an early first stage and a later bolt cage. The scenario assumes about three weeks of programme benefit; the relevant ground, load and connection information, competent design review and necessary authorisation must be confirmed first. The corner foundation's pile-cap fallback remains for design review if the sheet-piling assessment shows section loss over 30%.
Confirm the sprinkler requirement under RFI-A4-01 and review the two-stage foundation strategy. The proposed pour target of the week commencing 13 July 2026 remains conditional on the relevant information, competent design review and necessary authorisation; endorsement alone is not permission to start.
What gates the pack, and what threatens it
Twenty-five RFIs are open and eighteen design risks are logged, three of them critical, five high and ten medium. Four RFIs gate the design; until they return, the work downstream cannot be fixed.
| RFI | Subject | What it gates |
|---|---|---|
| RFI-A4-01 | Sprinkler requirement, to Northgate Logistics | The full sprinkler design and affected scope |
| RFI-013 | Roof insulation specification | Roof load and the foundation calculation |
| RFI-006 | Ground investigation clarification | The foundation strategy |
| RFI-002 | The 2,500 mm connection dimension | Rafter design, set-out and cladding scope |
| Risk | Description | Score |
|---|---|---|
| DR-13 | Corner foundation undermines corroded sheet piling | 15 |
| DR-01 | Sprinkler RFI not returned in time to hold the programme | 12 |
| DR-04 | Buried services struck during foundation excavation | 12 |
The programme, and what closes it out
The illustrative programme targets practical completion on 30 October 2026, with a 16-week programme and a proposed early-foundation pour in the week commencing 13 July 2026. A sprinkler answer alone does not close the design. The four gating RFIs and required decisions must be resolved; any early pour needs its relevant information, competent design review and necessary authorisation. A delayed RFI does not authorise works.
| Element | Position |
|---|---|
| Early-foundation pour | Proposed week commencing 13 July 2026, subject to information, design review and authorisation |
| Practical completion | 30 October 2026, subject to the decision gates clearing |
| Drainage | Three eaves downpipes to a new manhole on the existing 300 mm storm drain |
| Sprinkler layout | 27 heads on a 3 by 9 grid, at peer review against BS EN 12845 |
Tender readiness depends on all required design information, the four gating RFIs, the relevant decisions and design review. Until these are resolved, the pack is a design-development position for review, with risks and missing information visible. It is not a construction issue or permission to begin work.