Navigating Design-Build: An Inside Look at the Smoketree Warehouse

Take a look at one of our recent design-build projects, the Smoketree Warehouse, located in Mandeville, Louisiana. Spearheaded by Ryan Delaune, a Project Manager at Kent Design Build, this project showcases an impressive 17,000 square foot building situated on a 5-acre lot. It is thoughtfully partitioned into 5,000 square feet of office space and a 12,000 square foot warehouse, designed to meet the evolving needs of its users.

The office area of the project is strategically designed with individual office spaces around the perimeter and a large conference room at the center, fostering an environment conducive to collaboration.

The warehouse is a spacious area equipped with fans and heaters to accommodate any needs of the landscape company housed within. During cold spells, the option to keep items warm is facilitated by heaters set on timers, which deactivate once a certain temperature is reached. Safety measures, including exhaust fans and carbon monoxide detectors, have been installed to maintain air quality and safety inside the building.

The back of the warehouse is fitted with overhead doors, simplifying the movement of equipment in and out of the space. This design element enhances the building's functionality, allowing for the efficient operation and maintenance of the company's extensive equipment.

A notable architectural feature of the Smoketree Warehouse is its Butler Building construction, enabling higher ceilings in the warehouse and the fitting of larger overhead doors. This is supported by a 3-hour firewall that demarcates the office space from the warehouse, ensuring both safety and adherence to building codes. The exterior of the warehouse presents a modern aesthetic, featuring metal on three sides and a combination of brick and stucco on the front facade.

The design-build approach adopted for this project facilitated close collaboration with the client from the outset, ensuring that the design and construction phases were precisely aligned with the needs of a landscape company. This methodology streamlined the construction process, leading to the efficient and effective completion of the Smoketree Warehouse.