Project Overview
Client: ReFood
The project involved the design and delivery of ReFood's anaerobic digestion facility in Doncaster, providing a purpose-built renewable energy plant to process commercial food waste at an industrial scale.
As Lead Designers and Contract Administrator, JHA Architecture coordinated the architectural design whilst working closely with the civil, structural and process engineering teams to deliver a fully integrated industrial facility.
Key Features
The facility combines industrial architecture, specialist anaerobic digestion process equipment and carefully coordinated site infrastructure.
- Purpose-built commercial food waste processing facility
- Integrated renewable energy plant and specialist process equipment
- Coordinated architectural, civil, structural, mechanical and process engineering design
- Efficient vehicle circulation, reception areas and maintenance access
- Administrative office accommodation and operational support spaces
Design Approach
The design approach focused on accommodating the specialist operational requirements of the anaerobic digestion process, ensuring the buildings, infrastructure and external works supported the complex processing equipment whilst maintaining safe and efficient site operations.
Extensive coordination between consultants, contractors and specialist suppliers ensured the successful integration of structural, civil, mechanical and process engineering elements throughout the project.
Operational Impact
The completed facility provides ReFood with a secure, closed-loop solution for converting unavoidable food waste into renewable energy and agricultural by-products.
The site was designed to maximise operational efficiency through carefully planned vehicle circulation, waste reception areas, processing buildings and maintenance access, enabling the facility to operate safely whilst supporting long-term business growth.
Sustainability and Future Readiness
Sustainability formed the foundation of the development, enabling food waste to be diverted from landfill and converted into renewable biogas, electricity and nutrient-rich biofertiliser.
The architectural and engineering design was coordinated to provide a resilient industrial facility capable of accommodating future operational improvements, technological upgrades and ongoing maintenance requirements.
Project Outcome
The ReFood Doncaster Anaerobic Digestion Facility demonstrates the successful delivery of a highly coordinated industrial infrastructure project.
Through our role as Lead Designers and Contract Administrator, JHA Architecture worked closely with the client, civil engineers, process engineers, contractors and the wider consultant team to deliver a fully integrated renewable energy facility.
The completed development provides essential environmental infrastructure, supporting sustainable commercial food waste management whilst contributing to the UK's renewable energy and carbon reduction objectives.
Project Gallery
