Asia House 82 Princess Street Manchester

The architect of this building is disputed - IRE Birkett (Pevsner) and contemporary reports or Harry S. Fairhurst. (English Heritage)

Seven storeys, sandstone and brick with Ionic pilasters. The warehouse was built for the Refuge Assurance Company and in 1910 was occupied by the Oxford Packing Company and 36 shipping merchants. Built on a trapezoidal plan, it has two linked blocks which are six storeys high plus an attic above a double basement. Its façade is pink-brown sandstone, brick and marble while the side elevations, where the service and workers’ entrances were located, are in glazed white brick and, at the rear, common brick. The warehouse loading bays are between the blocks and were linked to the packing rooms in the basement by shafts. The elaborate interior—one of the best examples of its kind in an any Manchester warehouse—includes a tiled porch and corridor with ionic pilasters and Venetian windows of glazed green terracotta and Art Nouveau stained glass. In May 1908 advertisements appeared in the Manchester Guardian for rooms to let in this building – the first references to “Asia House” in the newspaper. Completion of building works must therefore have occurred at or about this time

PACKING WAREHOUSES: A MANCHESTER STEEL-FRAME BUILDING - The building above depicted represents an important phase in the development of Manchester's, commercial activities. The tendency during recent years has been for Manchester shipping merchants to give up their own warehouses and seek accommodation in the more modern Packing Warehouses, whore, in suites of offices and rooms adapted to their various requirements, they are relieved of the trouble and cost of special staffs for the making up and packing of their goods, their services being undertaken by the packer upon terms which show a saving as compared with the expenses of the separate warehouse. In the warehouse under review, which Is being erected for Mr. Arthur Vickers, the proprietor of the Oxford-street Packing Company, the needs of both moderate and larger shippers will be met, both as regards extent of once accommodation and in the provision made for the reception and despatch of goods. Mr. I. R. E. Birkett, A.R.I.B.A., has here Introduced some building principles which have not been previously carried out in Manchester warehouses, and the premises were recently the subject of a special visit by a body of architects who evinced particular interest in the method of construction.

This is a steel-frame building in reality, the outer walls being thinner but not less strong than those of other buildings of the same height. The whole of the steel stanchions are encased in solid brickwork, so as to make the building fire-resisting as well as capable of bearing the necessary strain. The lessons of the San Francisco earthquake and fire have had a particular interest for the architect in this instance, and it may be added that the buildings of that city which were constructed and protected in the same way as the one shown above stood the ravages of fire better than the rest. In this instance all the timber used for the flooring and the various fittings Is being treated by the builder, Mr. R. Carlyle, under a patented process, with the object of preventing after-shrinkage and warping. This process has not previously been used in Manchester. Electricity for light and power is to be generated on the premises. Two high-speed passenger elevators and four goods lifts with four loading teagles will furnish part of the hydraulic equipment. Fireproof doors, with the necessary subdivision of cubic space for the purpose, will allow of a low rate of premium for fire insurances. A further precaution against fire ls furnished by the fact that above the ground floor there is a wide division which makes practically two separate buildings. This area, which gives light to the two sections, is crossed by an incombustible bridge on the top floor and each section has an incombustible staircase. Excavations for this warehouse commenced no less than fifteen months ago, so that when it is opened in March a year and nine months will have been occupied in Its creation. It covers about 2,000 square yards. and about 2,000 tons of steel have been used in its construction. [Manchester Evening News - Monday 21 October 1907 page 6]

ARCHITECTURAL IMPROVEMENTS IN MANCHESTER: The New Packing Warehouse erected in Princess-street by the Refuge Assurance Co. for Messrs. J. Robinson and Sons. The architect, Mr. I. Robert E. Birkett of Albert Square. has adhered strictly to the American style of construction. [Manchester Evening News 4 July 1908 page 6 with illustration]

Converted to residential use, Architect Halliday Meecham