dMFK has sensitively reworked a former industrial building located at the heart of Wallis Gilbert’s iconic Nestle Factory in west London.

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Jack Hobhouse

dMFK Architects has completed the second phase of its restoration of Wallis Gilbert’s historic Nestle Factory  in Hayes, west London, for developer Barratt London. The reworked historic structure – formerly known as the Truscon building – sits at the heart of the scheme overlooking the entrance way and incorporates 110 loft-style apartments.

Working collaboratively with Makower Architects and Hawkins\Brown on a mixture of new build and historic restorations, dMFK is responsible for the design and delivery of the ‘heritage cluster’ of the 22-hectare masterplan. This includes 1,500 residential units, industrial and community spaces, publicly accessible gardens, and 1.5 kilometres of redeveloped canal frontage.

“While locally listed, the Truscon building had lost a great deal of its original character in recent years,” says dMFK Architects’ Ben Knight. “Windows had been lost, and unsympathetic additions had compromised the quality of these iconic buildings. Our focus has been on restoring the fabric of the building externally, and on reviving the ‘factory in a garden’ aesthetic while designing for an entirely new set of uses.”

The original concrete façade has been retained and restored, while new thermally-efficient, Crittall-style windows have been installed in keeping with the appearance of the original fenestration. A significant thermally upgrade has taken place inside, allowing the façade to remain fully exposed and intact. The building has been extended upwards in a way that is sympathetic to the original elevations.

Floor levels have not been touched, maintaining the generous industrial-scale ceiling heights inside the apartments. The layout of the flats is designed to minimise external changes. Where internal walls connect with the building envelope, green tiled panels have been introduced, echoing the ‘modern’ style of the neighbouring canteen building across Wallis Gardens.

The Art Deco-style entrance on the south elevation has been restored and now forms the main access to the residential block. It is located at the end of a treelined avenue, which runs through the rebuilt Wallis Gardens and is part of a new east-west route across the site connecting Hayes and Harlington Station on the Elizabeth Line.

The restoration of Wallis Gardens, a 100×100 metre park at the centre of the masterplan and a key element of Gilbert’s original ‘factory in a garden’ ethos, is central to the scheme. It is now fully accessible to the local community with parkland, play areas, and the memory of the factory celebrated through art installations using saved machinery.

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