British Industrial Architecture
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British industrial architecture has been created, mainly from 1700 onwards, to house industries of many kinds in Britain, home of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
in this period. Both the new industrial technologies and
industrial architecture Industrial architecture is the design and construction of buildings facilitating the needs of the industrial sector. The architecture revolving around the industrial world uses a variety of building designs and styles to consider the safe flow, d ...
soon spread worldwide. As such, the architecture of surviving industrial buildings records part of the history of the modern world. Some industries were immediately recognisable by the functional shapes of their buildings, as with glass cones and the
bottle kiln A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal Stoppe ...
s of potteries. The transport industry was supported first by the growth of a network of canals, then of a network of railways, contributing landmark structures such as the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Ribblehead Viaduct. New materials made available in large quantities by the newly-developed industries enabled novel types of construction, including
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
and steel. Industrial architects freely explored a variety of styles for their buildings, from Egyptian Revival to medieval castle,
English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
to Venetian Gothic. Others sought to impress with scale, such as with tall chimneys as at the India Mill, Darwen. Some directly celebrated the modern, as with the "heroic" Power House, Chiswick, complete with statues of "Electricity" and "Locomotion". In the 20th century, long white "By-pass modern" company headquarters such as the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
Hoover Building were conspicuously placed beside major roads out of London.


Industrial revolution


Early works

From around 1700,
Abraham Darby I Abraham Darby, in his later life called Abraham Darby the Elder, now sometimes known for convenience as Abraham Darby I (14 April 1677 – 5 May 1717, the first and best known of Abraham Darby (disambiguation), several men of that name), was ...
made Coalbrookdale the focus of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
with the production of goods made of
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
, from cooking pots upwards. His descendant Abraham Darby III made and assembled the sections of The Iron Bridge across the Coalbrookdale Gorge. The company's Bedlam Furnaces were depicted in Philip de Loutherbourg's 1801 painting '' Coalbrookdale by Night''. The Iron Bridge influenced engineers and architects around the world, and was the first of many large cast iron structures. The gorge is now a
World Heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. File:Bedlam Furnaces Ironbridge - geograph.org.uk - 427415 (cropped).jpg, Remains of Abraham Darby's Bedlam Furnaces, Coalbrookdale, built c. 1700 File:Philipp Jakob Loutherbourg d. J. 002.jpg, ''Coalbrookdale by Night''
by Philip de Loutherbourg, 1801 File:Iron Bridge east side in February 2019 (cropped).jpg, The Iron Bridge, designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, built 1777–9 using iron sections cast at Coalbrookdale


Growth

From 1700, Britain's economy was transformed by industrialisation, growth in trade, and numerous discoveries and inventions, making it the first country to take this step. The working population grew rapidly, especially in the north of England. The Industrial Revolution brought large-scale iron smelting using coke, iron puddling,
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
s, and machine production of textiles. Work was organised in factories that operated several processes on a single site. Some industries, such as steelmaking in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
and textile manufacture in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, have left substantial surviving buildings; others such as mining and industrial chemistry have left scant remnants. Agricultural processing used corn mills,
malt house A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain foo ...
s, breweries and tanneries; these advanced technically but did not create many large buildings because the industry was evenly distributed across the country, though multi-storey corn mills appeared around 1800 as war raised grain prices. Murrays' Mills, Manchester was begun in 1798, forming the longest mill range in the world; the cotton mills were conveniently placed on the Rochdale Canal, giving access to the 18th century industrial transport network. File:The Corn Mill Stamford Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1271429.jpg, The multi-storey corn mill, Stamford Bridge, c. 1800 File:Rochdale Canal 5268.JPG, Murrays' Mills (for cotton) on the Rochdale Canal, Manchester, begun in 1798, and then forming the longest mill range in the world


Transport network

Industrial growth was accompanied and assisted by the rapid development of a nationwide canal network able to carry heavy goods of all kinds. Canals were cut so as to connect producers to their customers, for example the 1794 Glamorganshire Canal linking the Welsh ironworks at
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
to the harbour at
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
. This spurred rapid industrialisation of the South Wales Valleys. The engineer Thomas Telford undertook some major canal works, including between 1795 and 1805 the high Pontcysyllte Aqueduct that enables the Llangollen Canal to cross the River Dee, Wales, and between 1803 and 1822 the Caledonian Canal linking a chain of freshwater lochs across Scotland with the enormous Neptune's Staircase, a series of eight large locks, each long by wide, that together enable barges to climb . File:Pontcysyllte aqueduct arp (cropped).jpg, Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct over the River Dee, Wales, 1795–1805 File:Aqueduct over the Dee called Pont y Cyssyltau (cropped).jpeg, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct engraved by Edward Francis Finden from a drawing by Robert Batty, 1823 File:Neptune's Staircase 2017 left.jpg, Telford's Neptune's Staircase of 8 locks on the Caledonian Canal, 1803–1822 File:Neptunes Staircase01arch 2007-08-21.jpg, View up Neptune's Staircase from near Loch Linnhe


Shipbuilding

Chatham Dockyard on the River Medway in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
constructed and equipped ships of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
from the time of Henry VIII for more than 400 years, using the most advanced technology for its ships and its industrial buildings. File:Joseph Farington (1747-1821) - Chatham Dockyard - BHC1782 - Royal Museums Greenwich (detail).jpg, Chatham Dockyard: from right to left (south to north) on river bank are: two Anchor Wharf Storehouses (Rope House behind); two shipbuilding slips (and Commissioner's House with garden, and beyond, Sail and Colour Loft); two dry docks (Clock Tower Storehouse behind); the old Smithery; two more dry docks (and beyond, Masthouses and Mouldloft); more building slips and Boat Houses. In the distance, ships at anchor on Gillingham Reach. Painting by Joseph Farington, 1785. No. 3 covered slip in Chatham Dockyard provides a roof over a shipbuilding slipway, enabling the timbers of the ship under construction to stay dry and sound, unlike traditional outdoor construction. Its wooden roof
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...
es were built in 1838. No. 7 covered slip, built in 1852, is one of the earliest metal trussed roofs. File:ChathamCoveredSlipNo3 (cropped).JPG, Royal Navy Dockyard, Chatham: No. 3 covered slip, 1838, a shed to keep the timbers of the ship under construction dry.
HMS ''Gannet'' is on left. File:Chatham Dockyard Kent.Covered Slip Building predating Railway Stations of Victorian years..jpg, Interior of No. 3 covered slip, showing wooden trusses and ample light. The slipway has been backfilled to serve as a store-room. File:ChathamHDYCoveredS0005.JPG, No. 7 covered slip, an early metal truss roof, 1852 File:ChathamHDYCoveredS0007.JPG, Interior of No. 7 covered slip


Functional design

Some industries had easily-recognised architectural elements, shaped by the functions they performed, such as the glass cones of glassworks, the bottle ovens such as those of the Staffordshire Potteries or the Royal Worcester porcelain works, the tapering roofs of the oast houses that dried the
hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...
from Kent's hop orchards, and the pagoda-like ventilators of Scotch whisky distilleries. File:Lemington glass works.jpg, The distinctive glass cones of Lemington Glass Works,
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, c. 1900 File:GladstonePotteryMuseum(ValVannet)Jul2004.jpg, Bottle kiln for firing ceramics at Gladstone Pottery Museum, Stoke-on-Trent. Early 19th century. File:The Royal Worcester Porcelain Works c1880.jpg, Engraving of The Royal Worcester
porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
works beside the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, c. 1880 File:Hops oast house (4971752858).jpg, Oast houses at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent, used for drying hops for beer. The two on the right are of the usual conical type. Early 19th century. File:StrathislaDistillery-pjt1.jpg, Strathisla distillery,
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
, founded 1786, with 'pagoda' ventilators c. 1872


Workshop of the world

In the mid-19th century, Britain became in
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
's 1838 phrase the "workshop of the world". Production in many industries grew rapidly, assisted by the development of an efficient distribution system in the new railway network. This allowed industries to concentrate production at a distance from sources of raw materials, especially coal. It powered steam engines for mills of all types, for example freeing the cotton mills from having to be beside a fast-flowing river, and enabling iron foundries, and blast furnaces to increase greatly in size.


Designed to impress

The wealth generated by the new industries enabled mill-owners to build to impress. The cotton magnate Eccles Shorrock commissioned Ernest Bates to create a showy design for his India Mill at Darwen, Lancashire, complete with a tall Italianate
campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
-style chimney. This was built in red, white, and black brick, topped with cornices of stone, an ornamental urn at each corner, and an ornate cresting consisting of over 300 pieces of cast iron. File:India Mill.jpg, Eccles Shorrock's India Mill, Darwen and its high Italianate campanile chimney, 1867


Cathedrals of progress

Britain's railways, the first in the world, transformed both ordinary life and industry with unprecedentedly rapid transport. The railways showed off their importance with architecture that both referred to the past and celebrated the future. The French poet Théophile Gautier described the new railway stations as "cathedrals of the new humanity". Newcastle railway station, despite its curved platforms, was given a fully-covered roof in 1850, the earliest surviving one on the country. Bristol Temple Meads railway station has a cathedral-like exterior with Gothic arches and a pinnacled tower, while the 1841 old station there had a hammerbeam roof, said to have been modelled on Westminster Hall's timbers. The
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
's engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, indeed described the station as "a cathedral to the iron horse". Paddington railway station was designed by Brunel, inspired by Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace and the München Hauptbahnhof. File:Newcastle Central Station (1850).jpg, Engraving of the opening of Newcastle railway station, 1850 File:2014 at Bristol Old Station - roof detail above arrival platform.JPG, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway built a hammerbeam roof for Bristol Old Station, 1841 File:Bristol Temple Meads Frontage.jpg, Bristol Temple Meads's cathedral-like main entrance, 1870s Departure platforms Paddington station.jpg,
Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...
, built 1854, seen in 1904


Experimenting with styles

Industrial architects experimented freely with non-industrial styles. One of the earliest was Egyptian Revival, a style that arose in response to
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's conquest of Egypt, accompanied by a scientific expedition. Joseph Bonomi designed the Temple Works flax mill offices, in Holbeck, Leeds, modelled on the Mammisi of the Dendera Temple complex, in 1836–1840. File:Denderah. The great vestibul (sic) of the Temple of Hathor - Lehnert & Landrock, Cairo. LCCN2003690040.jpg, The Roman Mammisi at the Dendera Temple complex, Egypt File:Temple Works, Holbeck, Leeds (5255277285).jpg, Temple Works flax mill offices, Holbeck, Leeds, designed by Joseph Bonomi in Egyptian Revival style, 1836–1840 At
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...
, the Metropolitan Water Board's engine house was constructed to look something like a medieval castle, complete with towers and crenellation. The pumping station at Ryhope,
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
, was built in 1869, more or less Jacobean in style with curving Dutch gables, and an octagonal brick chimney. The architectural historian Hubert Pragnell calls it a "cathedral of pistons and brass set within a fine shell of Victorian brickwork with no expense spared". File:Engine House Of Metropolitan Water Board.jpg, Medieval castle:
Engine House,
Stoke Newington, 1854–6 File:Ryhope Pumping Station (cropped).jpg, Jacobean, Dutch gables:
Ryhope pumping station,
Sunderland, 1869
The Bliss Tweed Mill at Chipping Norton was designed in 1872 by George Woodhouse, a Lancashire mill architect. It is constructed of local limestone, and despite its 5 storeys, is grandly modelled to resemble a Charles Barry type
English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
, with the addition of the dominant chimney stack, "a sophisticated aesthetic solution to a functional requirement". The chimney and curved stairwell tower are offset from the centre of the building, while the corners are balustraded and topped with urns. The Templeton Carpet Factory in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
has been called "the most remarkable display of polychromatic brickwork in Britain". It was built in 1892 by William Leiper for James Templeton and Son, for the weaving of Axminster carpets. It was modelled in Venetian Gothic on the Doge's Palace in Venice. File:Bliss Mill from Worcester Road - geograph.org.uk - 329977.jpg, English country house:
Bliss Tweed Mill,
Chipping Norton, 1872 File:Lancienne usine de tapis Templeton (Glasgow) (3834292103) (cropped).jpg, Venetian Gothic:
Templeton Carpet Factory,
Glasgow, 1892


Landmark structures

Some industrial structures have become landmarks in their own right. The Ribblehead Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across the Ribble Valley in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
. It was built by the Midland Railway to a design by John Sydney Crossley, opening in 1876. Faced with limestone and with almost semicircular red brick arches, it is long and high. It is now an admired Grade II*-listed structure. Gas for domestic heating, produced from coal, was stored in enormous cylindrical gasholders, their iron cage frames now surviving in some places around the country as memorials to long-vanished industry (such as the Bromley-by-Bow or Oval gasholders). File:Ribblehead Viaduct (27475839196).jpg, Ribblehead Viaduct, designed by John Sydney Crossley, 1876 File:No5 gasholder.jpg, Nos. 4 and 5 Gasholders, Kelvindale, Glasgow, 1893


Moving towards the modern

The Power House, Chiswick is an electricity generating station, designed by William Curtis Green and J. Clifton Robinson in 1901 for the London United Electrical Tramway Company. It is described by the architectural historian
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
as a "monumental free
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
brick and stone composition" from the "early, heroic era of generating stations" with enormous stone voussoirs. Above the entrance is a pair of large stone figures: one representing "Electricity", her foot on a globe, and her hand emitting lightning flashes by the rotor of a generator; the other representing "Locomotion", her foot on an electric tram and her hand on a winged wheel. File:The Power House, Chiswick (stitched).jpg, The Power House, Chiswick, 1901:
the "early, heroic era of generating stations" File:Electricity and Locomotion on The Power House, Chiswick (cropped).jpg, 'Electricity' and 'Locomotion' above the London United Electrical Tramway Company's Power House doorway
Arthur Sanderson & Sons' Grade II* listed wallpaper printing works in Chiswick was designed by the modernist architect Charles Voysey in 1902, his only industrial building. It is faced in white glazed brick, with Staffordshire blue bricks forming horizontal bands; the plinth, door and window surrounds, and dressings are in Portland stone. It is considered an "important
Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
factory building". It faces Sandersons' more conventional 1893 red brick factory across a narrow street. Charles Holden's modernist station buildings for the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
freely combined cylinders with flat planes. An example is his "futuristic" 1933 Arnos Grove tube station, which has a brightly-lit circular ticket hall in brick with a flat concrete roof. File:Voysey House Sandersons Building design by CFA Voysey 1902.jpg, Modernist wallpaper printing works for Sandersons by Charles Voysey, Chiswick, 1902 File:Arnos Grove underground station 16 November 2012.jpg, Charles Holden's "futuristic" Arnos Grove tube station, 1933


New types of construction

Alongside new styles of architecture came novel types of construction. William T. Walker's 1903–1904 Clément-Talbot car factory on Barlby Road,
Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...
, had a traditional-looking office entrance in William and Mary style, built of red brick with stone pilasters, cornice, the Talbot family crest, and Porte-cochère. The impressive frontage gave access to a vaulted marble-floored entrance hall that was used as a car showroom, while the main factory building behind it was an early
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
structure. The availability of new materials such as steel and concrete in industrial quantities enabled radically new designs, such as the Tees Transporter Bridge. It has concrete foundations, poured in shafts dug using caissons, down to bedrock far below the high tide mark; the bridge structure is of steel, with granite piers. File:Clement Talbot Works North Kensington (2944231009).jpg, Clément-Talbot car factory by William T. Walker, Ladbroke Grove, 1903–1904 File:Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, stockton side.jpg, Tees Transporter Bridge, designed by Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and built by Sir William Arrol & Co., 1911


Between the wars, 1914 to 1945


"By-pass modern"

The "daylight factory" concept, with long sleek buildings and attractive grassed surroundings, was brought in from America, starting in
Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...
. They often had large windows and were placed along major roads such as the Great West Road in Brentford, West London, earning them the name of "by-pass modern" factories. A well-known exemplar is Wallis, Gilbert and Partners' 1932–1935 Hoover Building in the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style; it was at the time derided for "its overtly commercial character", but is now Grade II-listed. The architectural historian Hubert Pragnell describes it as "the cathedral of modernism" and "an icon of 1930s design". File:Pyrene Building, Great West Road, Brentford.jpg, The Pyrene Building, Great West Road, Brentford, 1929–30 File:Coty Cosmetics Factory, Great West Road, Brentford, 20050123 (cropped).jpg, Coty Cosmetics Factory, Great West Road, Brentford, 1932


Art Deco Egyptian

A distinctively different inter-war building is the Carreras Cigarette Factory, built 1926–1928 on an inner-city site in Mornington Crescent, Camden. It was designed by the architects M. E. Collins, O. H. Collins, and A. G. Porri in a combination of Art Deco and Egyptian Revival styles. The factory has a frontage of under a continuous cornice with flute lines painted red and blue. Its construction is modern, a pioneer of pre-stressed concrete, but it is decorated to recall the glories of ancient Egypt, after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. The company chose a black cat based on the Egyptian cat god Bastet to symbolise its brand, and placed a pair of large cat effigies beside the entrance stairs, as well as smaller cat roundels on the building. File:Panehesy’s EA.6 tomb (Kairoinfo4u).jpg, Columns at Panehesy's tomb, c. 1330 BC File:Greater London House, former Carreras Cigarette Factory 07.jpg, Carreras Cigarette Factory, Camden, 1926–1928 File:Carreras Cigarette Factory cats.jpg, The pair of black cats, modelled on Bastet, guarding the factory entrance


Contemporary


Post-war

Since the Second World War, architects have created impressive industrial buildings in a range of modern or post-modernist styles. One such is the Grade II* British Gas Engineering Research Station at Killingworth, which was built in 1967 to a design by Ryder and Yates. Historic England calls it a "'' tour de force'' of post-war architecture with deliberate references to continental examples in the transformation of service elements into sculptural forms". CZWG's Aztec West in the Bristol West Business Park uses horizontal stripes of brickwork interrupted by tall narrow windows and white concrete bevels to give a pilaster effect and, with its symmetrical concave-fronted buildings, an echo of Art Deco style. File:Former British Gas Engineering Research Station, Killingworth - geograph.org.uk - 1831584 (cropped).jpg, British Gas Engineering Research Station, Killingworth, 1967 File:210 Aztec West. - geograph.org.uk - 499303 (cropped).jpg, Aztec West, Bristol, by CZWG, 1987


21st century

The partnership of architecture and engineering is seen in Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 building, opened in 2008. It is long, wide and tall, making it the largest free-standing building in Britain. The roof is supported on exposed hinged trusses. The architects were Richard Rogers Partnership assisted by aviation architects Pascall+Watson, and the engineers were Arup for the above-ground works and Mott MacDonald for the substructures. File:T5 Trusses 3.jpg, Exposed trusses inside Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, 2008


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{History of architecture Architecture in the United Kingdom Industrial Revolution