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Portland House, Aldermaston

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Portland House
Map
General information
LocationAldermaston
Town or cityBerkshire
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51°22′48″N 1°08′48″W / 51.37991°N 1.14670°W / 51.37991; -1.14670
CompletedMid-1980s
Design and construction
Architect(s)Richard Gilbert Scott

Portland House is an office building in Aldermaston, Berkshire, UK. It was designed by Richard Gilbert Scott (1923-2017), the architect son of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. It was one of the buildings he was most proud of, and in his last years was distressed to learn it was under threat. After the Aldermaston estate was bought by Praxis in 2014, Scott's building was - without proper consultation - awarded a Certificate of Immunity from Listing. In June 2017 the Aldermaston estate was again for sale.[1]

Built on the site of Associated Electrical Industries's MERLIN reactor, Portland House was built in the mid-1980s as a new international headquarters for Blue Circle Industries.[2] It was opened by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and won an award in 1986 from The Concrete Society.[3]

After Pioneer Concrete's acquisition of Blue Circle in 2001, the telecommunications company Acterna became tenants of the building.[3]

References

  1. ^ Richard Gilbert Scott obituary, The Guardian, 15 July 2017
  2. ^ Martin, Sally-Anne; Braithwaite, Rosie; Jeffcoate, Paul; Girling, Tony; Moore, Claire (2005). Memories of Life in an English Country Village. Aldermaston: The Book Project. ISBN 0-9549636-0-1.
  3. ^ a b "Aldermaston Manor, A Brief History". Aldermaston Manor. Retrieved 9 July 2010.