The Grade II-listed former John Lewis distribution centre in Cavendish Road, Stevenage, is being turned into a Costco wholesale warehouse.
JF Finnegan has built several Costco warehouses over the past 15 years, including in Wembley, Leicester, Farnborough, Coventry and Sheffield, as well as a distribution unit in Crick.
The Stevenage building will retain its distinctive reinforced concrete roof, designed by Spanish architect Félix Candela. Candela is noted for breaking away in the 1960s from traditional thin-shell forms, such as the cylinder, and move toward the hyperbolic paraboloid.
The original warehouse is divided into matching bays and supported by ‘inverted concrete umbrellas’ which are slanted to provide north lights, maximising natural light. At the time of its construction, the warehouse was considered one of the most innovative industrial buildings in the UK.
Costco has appointed JF Finnegan to bring the building back to life. Construction work has started this week and is expected to be completed in time for the warehouse to open in July 2019.
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