Red Diamond purchased 57 acres in St Clair County, Alabama to construct a new state of the art Food Service Distribution Center, a Coffee and Tea Manufacturing and Processing Facility and a 26,000 SF Corporate office building.

The site was selected to offer the best opportunity for Red Diamond to plan for enlarging and modernizing its existing businesses and preparing for future growth given the many markets it reaches. Easy access to interstate 20 and a rural site provide opportunities to improve the efficiency of the company while providing a peaceful working environment. The wetlands preserve and a large natural lake with substantial tree saves speak to the desire to create an environment complimentary to the land as it has existed before Red Diamonds arrival.

Red Diamonds Corporate Office Building 26,000 SF brick and glass facades overlook the lake and the entry drive. An oval atrium punctuates the center of the building and acts as a hinge to connect executive offices, board room, auditorium, test kitchen with the lobby and the lake beyond. The two-story atrium acts as a means of orientation as well as an opportunity to present important visual landmarks in the evolution of the company as a national and international brand.

The Food Service warehouse of approximately 65,000 SF contains three different types of freezers as well as dry storage and shipping receiving related offices and docks. A coffee tea distribution wing allows for the local route delivery trucks easy access and retrieval of goods necessary for their daily routes without interfering with food services large customer operations. The Food Service and Coffee Tea warehouses are constructed of steel frames with tilt up concrete facades which are efficient and durable.

Coffee tea warehouse holds new processing equipment including Roasters and blenders from Scolari the world’s best known coffee equipment designers. Not only are the new lines dramatic visually but will be run with new computer enhanced software that knows where all the beans are. The process is unique in that

it protects the coffee and tea from damage by using pneumatics to move the product and special techniques for roasting to keep heat in more uniform proximity with the bean without burning it. The pant also includes the latest in robotic palletizing and packaging which will add to the impact of this visual wonderland—one that offers the public the opportunity to see form the glass enclosed control room where the operations can be seen and presented.

The architecture is designed to provide a backdrop for the power of the processes and as an instrument to aid in the efficiency of the plant facility.

Completion

2009

Size

65,000 SF

Services

Architecture