Page 211 - Beyond Decommissioning

192 Beyond Decommissioning

6.2.2.10 Custard Factory, Birmingham, UK

The Custard Factory (CF) complex, built in the early 1900s, covers a vast area in the
heart of Birmingham, United Kingdom. At its peak, some 1000 people worked there.
In 1964, the production relocated and the factory fell derelict. The redevelopment
of the CF could commence when a significant grant was assigned to the initiative by
the city of Birmingham (1992). A larger financial support was provided by private
investors and allowed the refurbishment of a number of buildings. In this way well
over 100 spaces were assigned to creative businesses. The project was run in two
phases.
Phase one created an arts and media quarter. The former loading dock was
converted into a pond surrounded by a dance studio, shops, art galleries, a cafe ´ and
bar, sculptures and fountains. A 220-seat theatre was also installed.
In 2002 the second phase, which created a hundred studio/offices, lake side stores,
art galleries and restaurants was completed.
In March 2007, the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands,
announced new funding for the Custard Factory of £9.6 m ($12.3 m), to open 100
new office and workspace units. The result was a restored grade II listed building,
which opened in May 2010. CF now provides workspaces to about 1000 people.
Five factors are quoted by Arnesen (2006) to justify the success of this regeneration
project:
l CF is a place to work. There are studio spaces which are flexible and suited to small creative
businesses;
l CF is a place to live. Student flats are established (cheap rents was a prerequisite of the rede-
velopment project);
l CF is a place of commerce. There is a variety of shops, caf es, and consumption-led creative
industries;
l CF is a place to learn. There is a MA course in Fine Arts; dance, crafts, and theater classes are
well established;
l CF is a place of physical regeneration. New life has been injected into a dilapidated,
derelict area.

6.2.2.11 Clementhorpe Maltings, York, UK

The Clementhorpe Maltings was a 19th-century malthouse used until the late 1950s. It
had been unused since deactivation; in fact, the site had been doomed to demolition. It
was listed grade II, which implied that reuse was the preferred option. The maltings
has been converted into six houses, which is a rare conversion case, since most malting
installations are converted into apartments. The selected approach, however, allowed
the party walls of the houses to work as structural members to stiffen the timber and
cast iron framework. This meant a cost saving in that otherwise the maltings would
have had to be stabilized prior to being converted. Moreover, the conversion to houses
made the building harmonize with the contiguous houses of that district of York.
There are several malting features which are hard to conserve, for example, the
soaking cistern, the grain dressing machinery, and the bucket elevators. Kiln furnaces
can also be a problem but they are normally kept as a room feature. At Clementhorpe