Behind the scenes at Race Cottam Associates’ RIBA nominated project - the Factory for the Future

9th April 2025

Judges for architecture’s most prestigious prize have visited a pioneering project designed by expert Sheffield architects Race Cottam Associates.

They toured AESSEAL® £13.5m Factory for the Future in Rotherham last month (March 2025) after it was shortlisted for the RIBA Yorkshire Awards 2025.
The judges discovered how the innovative workplace, which is the global headquarters for the AES Engineering Ltd group, with 2,000 employees worldwide, is designed to retain talent while wowing international clients - and all to meticulous sustainability standards.

“We wanted the reception area to feel clinical”, said RCA’s project lead and architect Mark Eden, as the judges arrived at Mill Close.
“We wanted to capture the essence of what AESSEAL does. They are not what you would describe as your traditional dirty manufacturing environment.”

That essence is showcased through some of the fine details included in the global headquarters’ striking new reception.
The sleek, circular welcome desk was specially commissioned as a nod to one of global manufacturing specialist AESSEAL’s products, a round bellows seal.
Similar products have also been used to inspire the reception’s lighting and illuminated blueprints on the walls. 
Daylight floods into the new two-storey glazed structure.

Outside, a 1 kilometre tree walk features outdoor meeting rooms, picnic tables made from recycled milk bottles and a wetlands area.
Birdsong can be heard along the trail, which is also used for education work with local schools and attracts wildlife ranging from foxes to the occasional kingfisher.
The site even has a colony of honey bees and roaming rescued hedgehogs.
It’s a serene scene, a world away from what people might expect from a workplace in an industrial setting.

Mark added: “This project was all about trying to connect key areas of the building to the outdoors.
“We were trying to let in as much daylight as possible, to create a working environment where people feel empowered and want to be.”

Creating a connected, futureproof workplace

Work began on Factory for the Future in 2018, although it had been in the pipeline since 2012.

RCA’s brief was to provide more room for AESSEAL to expand as the business grows.
The design needed to be sympathetic, and linked, to their existing facility.
A significant part of the project involved better connecting different business departments.

Now a new central, modern breakout area allows the employees working at the group’s main production centre and headquarters to come together organically.

On their visit, RIBA judges also saw production in action inside the vast machine shop, a 4,500 square metre facility equipped with state-of-the-art machines.
The shop has a fully glazed facade highlighting AESSEAL’s advanced manufacturing capabilities to all who pass.
Above a gentle mechanical hum, judges learned how the highly insulated building fabric ensures a consistency of temperature for workers all year round.
A two-metre wide ridge lantern across the roof is part of a system which automatically controls the airflow, and also allows views of blue skies above.
Customisable floor plates and a ring main system mean extra machines can be moved, or added, seamlessly as AESSEAL’s capacity continues to increase. 
The judges headed outside via a package route, one which has been deliberately made wide enough for robotic package handlers to use in the not-too-distant future.
The company already uses robots to speed up the process of storing, and retrieving, items used to create products.

Embedding sustainability into every aspect of the building
Many of the building’s sustainable or environmentally conscious features cannot be seen.
Air source heat pumps ensure an all-electric building by design, reducing carbon levels.
Solar panels across the roof, power the electricity with surplus energy being stored onsite in batteries to improve energy efficiency.
Visitors - such as the RIBA judges - may notice the significant number of electric car charging points available in the car park, but may not know the surface under their feet also includes recycled plastic.
David Montero, international business assurance manager at AESSEAL, worked closely with Race Cottam Associates through the design process.
He stressed the business’ commitment to investing in South Yorkshire and spending £29m on sustainability projects by 2029, because it is the right thing to do.

David added: “The younger generations don’t want to work somewhere which isn’t sustainable - the environment matters to them.
They want to work for a business that is sustainable for the future and embraces that approach.
To see our people using these fantastic new facilities - going out to use the tree walk at lunchtime - is really fulfilling.”

Since completion in October 2023, the building has expanded AESSEAL’s original facility by 50 per cent and contributed to their Net Zero success.
The RIBA judges gave nothing away as they left, but agreed the building had redefined what a factory could be.
The awards winners will be revealed later this spring.

Mark added: “It is the most prestigious award to be shortlisted for, as an architect.
It’s been fantastic to see an industrial scheme get this recognition, especially one which is pushing the sustainability agenda as much as the Factory for the Future is.”

Award-winning Race Cottam Associates works across many market sectors and is based in Sheffield city centre.
Take a look at some of their other remarkable projects.

Credits
Photographs by Peter Cook.
Piece written by Ellen Beardmore and edited by AESSEAL and Race Cottam Associates.