Pork Farms’ Riverside Bakery was the only building from the 1980s in Nottinghamshire and one of only four from the decade in the region as a whole to make it onto the list compiled by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Built on a brownfield site on the north bank of the River Trent two miles from Nottingham city centre, the building was commissioned by Northern Foods as a factory for producing pork pies and pastries.
When it was opened in 1982 it was regarded as one of the most modern in Europe in design, construction and its ability to comply with stringent EEC regulations for food processing.
“At Cox Freeman, we’re absolutely thrilled that Pork Farms’ Riverside Bakery designed by the company almost 30 years ago has been hailed as one of the top 50 buildings built in the East Midlands over the past 50 years, “ said Chris Boffin, managing director of Cox Freeman, based in Stoney Street in The Lace Market, Nottingham.
“It’s a tremendous accolade to be named on the list, and especially to be one of only a handful of buildings from the 1980s to be chosen. The building was inventive because of its clear span production floor and plant room located within the roof structure. This improved its flexibility and enabled routine maintenance to take place with minimal disruption to the production process.
“The innovation was made possible by the use of modular CUBIC Space Frame roof supported on twelve braced columns around the perimeter with only three internal columns. “
The ‘fifty buildings, 50 years’ project celebrated great modern architecture in the East Midlands over the past five decades, and marked the 50th anniversary of RIBA in the region.
The chosen buildings form the subject of a major exhibition from RIBA that showcases innovative and enduring architecture from the ‘swinging sixties’ onwards. It reveals how architectural creativity is shaped by context, place, culture, social and political trends of the time and, in turn, shapes the identity of the region’s places and spaces. It is being exhibited across the East Midlands over coming months. For details of venues visit the regions’ section of www.architecture.com
Choosing 50 exemplary buildings from 50 years was ‘an incredibly challenging project’ said Nottinghamshire architect Hannah Minton, who chaired the steering group which carried out the intensive short-listing process.
Cox Freeman is a leading specialist in the food and associated process industries, where hygiene and healthcare are essential. The firm has worked for almost every key player in the food sector.
http://www.coxfreeman.co.uk/
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