US aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, officially opened its first European manufacturing site in Sheffield in 2020. The £40m plant, covers 6,200m² and is responsible for making actuation system components for the 737 and 767 aircraft from raw materials sourced in the UK.

The site, designed by D5 architects and installed by the main contractor J F Finnegan, followed the brief of functional adaptability, employee wellbeing and sustainability.

Marshalls’ hard landscaping products were used for the forecourt, pathways and surrounding carpark to the building. Modal X in Textured Mid Grey Granite paved around the entranceway and paths, while Modal X Priora in Anthracite was used in some detailed areas. For the car parking spaces, Keyblok Priora in Natural was used alongside Charcoal to help define parking spaces and illustrate car charging and disabled bays.

The use of Priora permeable paving supports the sustainable drainage for this project, the patented nib on the edge of the blocks creates voids through which water falls into a specially prepared sub-base, making this project free of surface water for years to come.