Tobacco Dock, Pennington Street, Wapping, London

NOTES: A huge warehouse, occupying some 210,000 sq. ft. (20,000 sq. metres), it was built to store tobacco, wine and spirits on imperforate floors. The building was conceived when cast iron was its infancy. Alexander used new methods of construction combining cast-iron and timber, where he used cast-iron columns to support timber roof trusses to produce clear spans of 16.5 metres. Later the warehouse was used to store furs and skins, with wines and spirits stored in brick vaults underneath. In 1984-1989 Tobacco Dock was converted into a shopping centre by Terry Farrell Partnership. See RIBA116649 for a black and white version of this image.