The Silver Building was built more than 50 years for British Oil and Cake Mills and sits in the sliver of land between Britannia Village and the Thames, a space which still has remnants of traditional east London industry.
However, the building will join other factories and office buildings, such as the nearby Millennium Mills in the march towards a creative and digital future.
The unremarkable concrete structure will become a home for enterprises and start-ups, with short-term space for such professions as set designers and music producers according to Soda, the architecture practice which specialises in bringing contemporary designs into existing buildings.
How communal areas in the Silver Building may look (Image: Agnese Sanvito)
Soda is working with the Mayor of London’s Office and Silvertown Homes on the project.
The 50,000 sq ft four-storey building, which will open in autumn will offer 34 studios with communal and hospitality areas.
Designer Nick Hartwright said: “Over the coming years we’re going to put Silvertown on the map. We’re going to engage with existing Newham-based businesses and we’re going to bring new enterprises to the area.”
How the Silver Building, on the Woolwich DLR spur, may look (Image: Agnese Sanvito)
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m delighted to support projects such as The Silver Building in Silvertown – the first step in bringing a creative community to the Royal Docks and enabling London’s emerging artists to flourish so that we can maintain our position as the world’s capital of culture.”
British Oil and Cake Mills was formed in 1899 to take over a number of firms dealing with linseed, cottonseed, rapeseed oil seed for human consumption and the manufacture of soap. A by-product, oilseed cake, was a good source of protein for animal feed.