Quayside, CWS Warehouse (Malmaison Hotel)

This is probably the oldest surviving large scale ferro concrete building in the country. It was constructed between 1897 and 1900 by T.G. Guerrite of L.G. Mouchel's firm for the Co-operative Wholesale Society (F.E.L. Harris of CWS, architect) using the Hennebique concrete system. The building was built on a ferro-concrete raft in places up to 6 foot thick due to the marshy silt ground conditions. The ferro-concrete raft achieved the uniform speading of the load and was calculated to resist the reaction of the ground at the rate of 2.5 tons per square foot. All the external and internal columns, floors, walls and roof were also constructed in ferro-concrete. The building had eight floors. A further storey with a barrel vault roof was added in 1901. LISTED GRADE 2