MAHLE Powertrain
The UK's first altitude and climate testing facility for automotive engineering – designed and engineered by Bryden Wood as a single integrated team.
Bryden Wood completed the extension and optimisation of MAHLE Powertrain's flagship UK office in Northampton in 2018. The new testing facility is the first in the UK capable of simulating altitude as well as temperature – replicating conditions at 5,000m above sea level and temperatures from -40°C to +60°C.
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Bryden Wood’s integrated delivery model was central to the success of the MAHLE Powertrain project. By holding responsibility for architecture, civil and structural engineering, M&E engineering, and coordination with MAHLE’s specialist equipment providers within a single team, Bryden Wood was able to resolve the complex technical interfaces that a facility of this nature demands – particularly between the building fabric and the specialist altitude and climate simulation systems. The result, in the words of Ian Pegrum, Board Director at Bryden Wood, is ‘a new, highly technical building which both exemplifies MAHLE Powertrain’s aesthetic and moves their business into a new space.’
Bryden Wood completed the extension and optimisation of MAHLE Powertrain's flagship UK office in Northampton in June 2018, acting as architect and engineer across architecture, civil and structural engineering, and M&E engineering on a single integrated commission. The project added a brand new testing facility to the existing building – the first in the UK capable of simulating altitude as well as temperature variation.
The testing facility can replicate the pressure and climatic conditions experienced at 5,000m above sea level, and temperatures ranging from -40°C to +60°C. The test area comprises a testing chamber, control room, analyser room, and plant space – all requiring precise coordination between the building fabric and MAHLE Powertrain's specialist equipment providers, a process Bryden Wood managed throughout as the single point of responsibility.
The front of the building, facing St James' Mill Road, features a light-filled reception, breakout space, and meeting rooms. All interiors carry a refined industrial aesthetic in keeping with the building's purpose and MAHLE Powertrain's company identity. The main façade is alucobond cladding that reflects the industrial character of the surrounding location, with fins that conceal vents and pipework behind a minimal, high-specification finish.
Board Director Ian Pegrum, who led the project, describes the result as 'a new, highly technical building which both exemplifies MAHLE Powertrain's aesthetic and moves their business into a new space' – adding that the breadth of Bryden Wood's expertise made the practice 'uniquely placed to deliver this project in its entirety’.
A building that simulates 5,000m altitude and -40°C while also functioning as a flagship workplace requires every discipline to work as one. That is not possible when architecture and engineering are separated. It is exactly what Bryden Wood's integrated design model delivers.
