E+I ENGINEERING
ELEVATOR + EPOXY ROOM

Production, Office and Parking Expansion

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E+I Engineering has greatly increased their output volume, growing exponentially since moving into the domestic market, so they partnered with Context Design Group to bring another outside process in-house and incorporate new meeting & office space into their existing building.

 

E+I plans to install a new epoxy paint line for coating their materials, necessitating enclosure of an existing metals storage area for this use. Context, and their mechanical partners, worked with E+I to develop their specific requirements for this new paint line, coordinated with the equipment vendor to obtain the necessary environmental data from the process, and developed a specialized ventilation system to serve the new space. As part of this exercise, our team evaluated the Owner’s existing HVAC system in the adjacent Production area, developing modifications to the system in order to tie the areas together seamlessly.

In addition to the Process improvements, E+I have several support needs – including additional office space along with meeting rooms. Upon observing an under-utilized large Break area in the original facility, our team designed a flexible Meeting area by renovating this space. Utilizing movable glass partitions, the large room can be broken into smaller spaces – while providing a more private environment than typical sliding walls. In order to access this space, a new elevator will be required to serve this upper level. The glass elevator shaft design off of the existing Lobby allows for all existing Office space to be kept, while also adding a strong visual focus to the front of the facility – the highly visible “front door” along the adjacent interstate highway. Additional office space is being added along the opposite side of the existing Support area, with direct connections to the Production area behind.

 

As parking has always been an issue with a ramped up workforce, our team worked with E+I to plan parking lot expansions in the areas on-site that are already suitable for the use – relatively flat areas with efficient paths for stormwater system extensions to the existing pond. These additional parking spaces help the overall employee logistics as shift change becomes far less of an issue, allowing for more efficient turnover on the Production lines.

Context working with E+I to bundle multiple work areas and multiple smaller projects together creates a more efficient & economical construction project – giving the Owner one point-of-contact for the multiple work areas (sitework, exterior expansion, & interior renovation) and the ability to sequence the work to avoid process interruptions. This project provides E+I with a solution to several short-term needs while improving their existing workflow.